AWS AWSCloudFormation documentation change
Summary
Rewrote documentation to provide comprehensive guidance for Windows-based CloudFormation stacks, added resource reference table, and emphasized security practices like Secrets Manager credential handling
Security assessment
The changes add documentation about security features like AWS Secrets Manager for credential management, IAM roles for permissions, and SSM Parameter Store for secure configuration. However, there's no evidence of addressing a specific security vulnerability.
Diff
diff --git a/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/cfn-windows-stacks.md b/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/cfn-windows-stacks.md index 6521bd2a4..3ed0f6f96 100644 --- a//AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/cfn-windows-stacks.md +++ b//AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/cfn-windows-stacks.md @@ -3 +3 @@ -In this section +# Deploy Windows-based stacks using CloudFormation @@ -5 +5 @@ In this section -# Working with Microsoft Windows stack templates +This page provides links to technical reference documentation for CloudFormation resources commonly used in Windows-based deployments. @@ -7 +7 @@ In this section -AWS CloudFormation allows you to create Microsoft Windows stacks based on Amazon EC2 Windows Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) and provides you with the ability to install software, to use remote desktop to access your stack, and to update and configure your stack. +CloudFormation provides support for deploying and managing Microsoft Windows stacks through Infrastructure as Code (IaC). You can use CloudFormation for automated provisioning of Windows-based EC2 instances, SQL Server on Amazon RDS, and Microsoft Active Directory through AWS Directory Service. @@ -9 +9 @@ AWS CloudFormation allows you to create Microsoft Windows stacks based on Amazon -The topics in this section are designed to demonstrate how common tasks related to creation and management of Windows instances are accomplished with AWS CloudFormation. +AWS provides pre-configured Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) specifically designed for Windows platforms to help you quickly deploy applications on Amazon EC2. These AMIs include default Microsoft settings and AWS-specific customizations. With CloudFormation, you can choose an appropriate AMI, launch an instance, and access it using Remote Desktop Connection, just as you would with any other Windows Server. The AMIs contain essential software components, including EC2Launch (versions vary by Windows Server edition), AWS Systems Manager, CloudFormation, AWS Tools for PowerShell, and various network, storage, and graphics drivers to ensure optimal performance and compatibility with AWS services. For more information, see the [AWS Windows AMI Reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ec2/latest/windows-ami-reference/windows-amis.html). @@ -11,5 +11 @@ The topics in this section are designed to demonstrate how common tasks related -## In this section - - * [Microsoft Windows Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) and AWS CloudFormation templates](./cfn-windows-stacks-amis-and-templates.html) - - * [Bootstrapping AWS CloudFormation Windows stacks](./cfn-windows-stacks-bootstrapping.html) +CloudFormation also supports software configuration tools, such as `UserData` scripts, which can run PowerShell or batch commands when an EC2 instance first boots up. It also offers helper scripts (`cfn-init`, `cfn-signal`, `cfn-get-metadata`, and `cfn-hup`) and supports the `AWS::CloudFormation::Init` metadata for managing packages, files, and services on Windows instances. @@ -16,0 +13 @@ The topics in this section are designed to demonstrate how common tasks related +For enterprise environments, CloudFormation enables domain joining, Windows license management through EC2 licensing models, and secure credential handling with AWS Secrets Manager. Combined with version-controlled templates and repeatable deployments, CloudFormation helps organizations maintain consistent, secure, and scalable Windows environments across multiple AWS Regions and accounts. @@ -17,0 +15 @@ The topics in this section are designed to demonstrate how common tasks related +For details on CloudFormation resources commonly used in Windows-based deployments, see the following technical reference topics. @@ -18,0 +17,12 @@ The topics in this section are designed to demonstrate how common tasks related +Resource type | Description +---|--- +[AWS::EC2::Instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-ec2-instance.html) | For launching Windows EC2 instances. +[AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-ec2-securitygroup.html) | To define firewall rules for Windows workloads. +[AWS::AutoScaling::AutoScalingGroup](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-autoscaling-autoscalinggroup.html) [AWS::EC2::LaunchTemplate](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-ec2-launchtemplate.html) | For scaling Windows EC2 instances. +[AWS::DirectoryService::MicrosoftAD](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-directoryservice-microsoftad.html) | For deploying Microsoft Active Directory. +[AWS::FSx::FileSystem](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-fsx-filesystem.html) | For deploying FSx for Windows File Server. +[AWS::RDS::DBInstance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-rds-dbinstance.html) | For provisioning SQL Server on Amazon RDS. +[AWS::CloudFormation::Init](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-init.html) | Used within EC2 metadata for configuring instances. For more information, see [Bootstrapping Windows-based CloudFormation stacks](./cfn-windows-stacks-bootstrapping.html). +[AWS::SecretsManager::Secret](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-secretsmanager-secret.html) | For securely managing credentials and Windows passwords. +[AWS::SSM::Parameter](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-ssm-parameter.html) | For storing configuration values securely. +[AWS::IAM::InstanceProfile](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-iam-instanceprofile.html) [AWS::IAM::Role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-iam-role.html) | For granting permissions to applications running on EC2 instances. @@ -28 +38 @@ Amazon Timestream -Windows AMIs and templates +Bootstrapping Windows stacks