: Aws iam groups vs roles Next, IAM makes a request to grant the principal access to resources. Please check out AWS IAM Faqs for more details. Any user in that user group automatically has Admins group permissions. Understanding how to use them effectively is crucial when preparing for the AWS CSA-SAA AWS IAM service manages access, authenticates identities, uses policies for access control, supports IAM users, groups, roles, identity-based, resource-based policies. Identity-based policies are attached to an IAM user, group, or role. Learn the difference between Users, Groups, Roles, and Policies, and see real-world use cases for each. AWS IAM is Oct 17, 2012 · Amazon Cognito identity pools assign your authenticated users a set of temporary, limited-privilege credentials to access your AWS resources. An IAM role does not have any credentials and cannot make direct requests to AWS services. 🔸 FREE AWS Training Resources 👉 https://learn. It's the gatekeeper of your AWS kingdom, determining who is allowed in and what they're allowed to do once inside. In AWS, there are three main components of IAM: users, roles, and groups. Dec 6, 2023 · Comprehensive Guide to AWS IAM: Creating Users, Roles, Groups, and Assigning Policies Introduction Amazon Web Services (AWS) Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a powerful service that allows Jul 6, 2018 · IAM Roles are more used to determine what the identity can and cannot do in AWS. An IAM user group is a collection of IAM users. For Sep 13, 2017 · What is the difference between an IAM role and an IAM user? The IAM FAQ has an entry explaining it, but it was vague and not very clear: An IAM user has permanent long-term credentials and is used to directly interact with AWS services. These policies let you specify what that identity can do (its permissions). In AWS IAM, roles, policies, and groups are all used to manage access to AWS resources. An IAM role is an IAM identity that you can create in your account that has specific permissions. AWS Policy vs. Both IAM Users and IAM Roles allow access to AWS services, but how do they differ in practice? When should I us Mar 9, 2017 · A role is a preset of Policies for your AWS services. You can define rules to choose the role for each user based on claims in the user's ID token. Aug 20, 2022 · AWS IAM permissions and policy. digitalcloud. We’ll Apr 4, 2021 · AWS IAM One of the things that I got so confused about AWS IAM, in the beginning, was Roles and Policies. In this post, we will explore the differences AWS Certification Course By sticking to these practices, you’ll build a secure and scalable environment while mastering the tools that AWS Solutions Architects rely on. An entity's permissions boundary allows it to perform only the actions that are allowed by both its identity-based policies and its permissions boundaries. And also give Feb 15, 2024 · Use this tutorial to start with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). You can define a default role for authenticated users. An IAM identity provides access to an AWS account. You can also define a Feb 7, 2021 · TL;DR → When to use Users vs Roles in AWS IAM is a confusing topic for many people but with the visuals and examples I’ll share, you'll realize it’s surprisingly simple. A role assigns permission sets to entities that "assume" the role. When you create a permissions policy to restrict access to a resource, you can choose an identity-based policy or a resource-based policy. IAM Groups : Authorizes access to Amazon resources - i. Manage access in AWS by creating policies and attaching them to IAM identities (users, groups of users, or roles) or AWS resources. We strongly recommend that you do not use the root user for your everyday tasks, even the administrative ones. Using the AWS Management Console, you’ll learn how to create roles, users, and policies. For Other examples of resources that support resource-based policies include an Amazon S3 bucket or an AWS KMS key. A role can be assumed by different classes of entities including platform services, identity providers or external accounts. User groups let you specify permissions for multiple users, which can make it easier to manage the permissions for those users. Feb 14, 2023 · ‍In this article, we're talking about IAM identities. Jan 23, 2023 · In conclusion, IAM users, groups, policies and roles are the fundamental building blocks of AWS security. Unlike IAM users, roles use temporary credentials that expire, significantly reducing the risk associated with long-term access keys. You can use IAM roles to delegate access to IAM users managed within your account, to IAM users under a different AWS account, or to an AWS service such as EC2. IAM is one of the most important and widely used services from AWS. IAM service allows organizations or businesses to create and manage users, groups, roles, and their permissions. You can create groups and add users to the groups. Unlike IAM Users, roles are not tied to a single identity and are designed for short-term access. What is the difference between role and group in AWS? Dec 23, 2024 · AWS offers two main ways to manage access to resources: IAM users and IAM roles. Understanding IAM users, roles, and May 28, 2021 · AWS administrators can define access through IAM roles, users and groups. IAM Users IAM users are entities within your AWS account that represent individual users or applications. IAM identity can be associated with one or more policies. AWS evaluates these policies when an IAM principal (user or role) makes a request. Provides a conceptual overview of AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) identities, including IAM users and IAM roles, which you can create in order to provide access to resources in you AWS account for people and processes. The other two components Users and Groups are straightforward, with no confusion. Aug 23, 2015 · Briefed the terms AWS IAM Groups and AWS Security Groups in simple words : Security Groups : Acts as a virtual firewall that controls traffic to your EC2 instances - i. IAM allows you to manage access to AWS resources securely. The identities managed in AWS Identity and Access Management are IAM users, IAM roles, and IAM groups. 0 I am learning AWS IAM and I understand that an IAM role is meant for a specific AWS resource to access other resources , while IAM groups are a group of users that can be attached to a policy. Conclusion In this article, we looked at the differences between IAM Users, Groups, and Roles. Sep 27, 2022 · You can then assign the IAM Role to the EC2 instance. A role defines a set of permissions and access policies that determine what actions a user or AWS service can take. What's the Difference? IAM Group and IAM Roles are both components of AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) that help manage permissions and access control within an AWS environment. They serve different purposes, and each has an associated set of permissions using policies. Users can belong to one or more groups and their authorization is the union of those permission sets. An IAM identity represents a user, and can be authenticated and then authorized to perform actions in AWS. , Determines what all IP addresses on specific protocols/prots can access the AWS instances. Unlike IAM users, which are assigned to specific individuals, roles can be temporarily used by AWS services like EC2 and Lambda or even by external entities. Oct 24, 2025 · An AWS IAM policy defines the permissions of an identity (users, groups, and roles) or resource within the AWS account. For example, you could have a user group called Admins and give that user group typical administrator permissions. IAM Identity Center doesn't support nested groups (A group within a group). Feb 7, 2022 · O ne of the most common questions that arises when learning about AWS IAM is what the difference between roles and groups is and when to use which. With IAM, you can create and manage users, groups, roles, and permissions, ensuring that only authorized identities can perform specific actions in your AWS environment. Jan 2, 2025 · Understanding IAM Roles in AWS: AssumeRole and Assigning Roles AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is the backbone of security in AWS, enabling you to control access to resources securely. Learn their advantages for automation, cross-account access, and security, plus advanced use cases like federation and future trends like AI recommendations. Aug 4, 2025 · Discover what IAM roles AWS are and when to use them over users or groups in 2025, managing 200+ services across 36 regions with temporary credentials. A user group is a collection of IAM users managed as a unit. May 21, 2025 · The Foundations of AWS IAM: Building Blocks of Cloud Security Before we delve into the specifics of Users and Roles, it's essential to understand the broader context of AWS IAM. Jul 23, 2025 · Here the IAM can be integrated with other AWS services like EC2, S3, Lambda, and many other services to permit these resources to access other services or resources on the AWS cloud platform. Groups are useful when assigning access to AWS accounts and applications. We also looked at when to use each identity. This guide dives deep into IAM roles, policies, and trust relationships, offering a structured understanding to simplify these critical concepts. IAM roles are for restricting AWS user/account/role access to the AWS API. The permissions for each user are controlled through IAM roles that you create. You should create an IAM Role when you are creating an application that runs in AWS and needs to make requests to other AWS Services. Aug 2, 2025 · AWS IAM Roles allow users, applications and services to securely access resources without requiring permanent credentials. A permissions boundary is an advanced feature for using a managed policy to set the maximum permissions that an identity-based policy can grant to an IAM entity. Follow these best practices for using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to help secure your AWS account and resources. Security groups are for restricting network access to resources that exist inside your VPC. In those cases, the principal is implicitly the identity where the policy is attached. Jan 21, 2025 · AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a cornerstone of AWS security, providing granular control over access to AWS resources. A user is an AWS representation of an entity (real person or service) which typically has privileges linked to it. AWS Policy is a document that defines permissions and restrictions for specific actions on AWS resources, while AWS Role is a set of permissions that can be assigned to users, groups, or services to grant Groups are a logical combination of users that you define. Conclusion Understanding the difference between IAM users, groups, and roles is essential for effective IAM access management. An AWS IAM policy regulates access to AWS resources to help ensure that only authorized users have access to specific digital assets. A group is a collection of users with common permissions linked at the group level. In this video, we simplify AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) for beginners. Feb 7, 2021 · Today we’ll finally clarify IAM, specifically when to use Users vs Roles. Sep 12, 2022 · IAM Key Terms IAM provides three primary types of identity: users, groups, roles. Mar 3, 2022 · AWS Identify and Access Management (IAM) provides fine-grained permissions to AWS services and resources. AWS supports permissions boundaries for IAM entities (users or roles). Sep 2, 2025 · Learn AWS IAM Roles: how they differ from users, how AssumeRole works, and how to use them for EC2, Lambda, cross-account, and federation. In this article, let me make clear about IAM Roles and Policies. At its core, IAM is a web service that helps you securely control access to AWS resources. With the visuals and examples I’ll share, you’ll realize it’s surprisingly simple. Work through the other assigned IAM policies, starting with policies that can modify, create, or delete resources and other configuration items. Easy way to understand the AWS IAM entities User, Group, Roles. Aug 2, 2025 · AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a security service in Amazon Web Services that enables you to securely control access to AWS resources. Jul 14, 2025 · AWS IAM roles are secure identities with specific permissions, designed to be assumed by trusted entities like applications or services. Jan 28, 2024 · An IAM identity represents a user, user groups and roles, and can be authenticated and then authorized to perform actions in AWS. Rather than assign each user individually, you give permissions to a group. Users are for people, and roles are for AWS resources. The available permission sets cover a wide range of user requirements, enabling end users to provision AWS accounts quickly and in compliance with enterprise guidelines. Basically it is a set of permissions that grant access to actions and resources in AWS. IAM grants or denies access in response to an authorization request. In this article, we will take a closer look at the differences between IAM Roles and IAM Policies. Aug 30, 2021 · An IAM identity represents a user, user groups and roles, and can be authenticated and then authorized to perform actions in AWS. IAM Groups are used to group users together and assign permissions to the entire group, making it easier to manage permissions for multiple users at once. How to provide permissions to AWS resources. May 11, 2021 · IAM roles allow you to delegate access with defined permissions to trusted entities without having to share long-term access keys. AWS Control Tower uses user groups to manage specialized roles within shared accounts, with all group members inheriting the associated permission sets or roles. Mar 19, 2023 · An IAM role deep dive, covering trust policies, service-linked roles, service roles, and permission boundaries, and how to apply them in the real world. Later, as you add or remove users from a group, the user As a developer working with Amazon Web Services (AWS), understanding the intricacies of Identity and Access Management (IAM) is crucial. Roles allow you to delegate access with defined permissions to trusted entities (like EC3) without having to share long-term access keys. Groups contain 0 or more users and assign permission sets to the users contained within a group. Each IAM identity can be associated with one or more policies. Identity-based policies are permissions policies that you attach to IAM identities (users, groups, or roles). What’s the difference between an IAM User and an IAM Role in AWS? I’m a bit confused. , Determines what all resources can be accessed by users in your AWS account. Jun 6, 2025 · The cornerstone of AWS security is provided by a global service called AWS IAM, which stands for Identity and Access Management (IAM). For A policy is an object in AWS that, when associated with an identity or resource, defines their permissions. IAM matches the sign-in credentials to a principal (an IAM user, AWS STS federated user principal, IAM role, or application) trusted by the AWS account and authenticates permission to access AWS. training/t Jun 23, 2025 · An IAM Role is a temporary identity that an entity—such as an AWS service, application, or even an IAM User—can assume to gain specific permissions. There are 4 parts to IAM, Users, Groups, Roles, and Policies. In this article, we will explore the differences between IAM users and IAM roles, and help you determine which one is best suited for your organization’s needs. Dec 23, 2024 · When managing access to cloud resources, Identity and Access Management (IAM) plays a crucial role in ensuring security and operational efficiency. . You cannot use the Principal element in an identity-based policy. A policy is an object in AWS that, when associated with an identity or resource, defines their permissions. AWS Role What's the Difference? AWS Policy and AWS Role are both important components of AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) that help control access to AWS resources. Apr 28, 2025 · A comprehensive guide to AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) concepts - how Users, Groups, Roles, and Policies work together to create a secure cloud environment Test your AWS knowledge with exam-style questions, including detailed answers and explanations. These identities are in addition to your root user that AWS created along with your AWS account. Common security risks include overly permissive roles, misconfigured trust policies allowing unauthorized access, and Oct 21, 2024 · A Comprehensive Guide to AWS IAM Roles, Groups, and Security Amazon Web Services (AWS) Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a critical component for managing access to your AWS resources Apr 7, 2021 · Learn the difference between AWS IAM and AWS IAM Identity Center and which is better suited for your business. We'll be looking at users, roles, and groups in AWS IAM, how each of them work, and how to secure your AWS resources by managing these identities. An IAM role is similar to an IAM user, in that it is an AWS identity with permission policies that determine what the identity can and cannot do in AWS. e. Mar 17, 2025 · AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a fundamental component of AWS security, allowing you to manage access to AWS services and resources securely. To link an IdP directly to IAM, you create an identity provider entity to establish a trust relationship between your AWS account and the IdP. If a new user joins your Aug 5, 2020 · IAM Users and Roles both enable you to manage access to your AWS resources with specific sets of permissions, but the two types of IAM access are used differently in practice. Learn how and when to create each type of AWS credential. It allows you to create and manage AWS users and groups. For details about how to use roles to delegate access across AWS accounts, see IAM tutorial: Delegate access across AWS accounts using IAM roles. IAM User Users Review the AWS IAM users, groups, and roles that are attached to the IAM policy AdministratorAccess.

Aws iam groups vs roles. Please check out AWS IAM Faqs for more details.