Amazon Web Service (AWS) IAM Role VS Group

Amazon IAM Service is one of the most crucial components in the AWS security architecture. Here in this guide, i will first cover what is IAM service. Then i will discuss what is IAM Role and also guide you through the steps to create an AWS IAM Role. After this, I will discuss about IAM group and also the steps to create an IAM group. Then finally I will provide the key differences between the AWS IAM Role and AWS IAM Group.

What is Amazon IAM Service?

Amazon IAM Service is a web service provided by AWS that helps secure access to AWS resources and services. 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. IAM service allows organizations or businesses to create and manage users, groups, roles, and their permissions. It is a fundamental security component of AWS security management. It helps the organization maintain security, compliance, and governance on the AWS cloud platform.

IAM Role VS IAM Group

Feature	IAM Role	IAM Group
Definition	Temporary credentials to access the AWS resources.	Collection of IAM users having the same permissions.
Credential	These are not long-term credentials.	All the permissions are inherited from the group’s permission.
Usage	Grant permissions to applications, services, or users assuming specific roles.	Used to simplify permission management for a group of IAM users.
Access Control	Permissions are directly attached to the role.	Permissions are attached to the IAM group.
Example	Granting EC2 instance permissions to access the CloudWatch logs or any S3 buckets.	Assigning permissions to junior developers in an organization for access to AWS development resources.

AWS IAM Role

An IAM Role is a temporary security credential attached to AWS resources such as EC2, Lambda, etc. It defines permissions that help the AWS resources to access other AWS resources. For example, suppose you want your EC2 instance logs to be monitored. Then to do so, you must first create an IAM Role and give it CloudWatch FullAccess. After the creation of the IAM Role, you have to attach it to the EC2 instance.

Here are some simple steps to create an IAM Role :

Step 1: Go to IAM service dashboard. Look at the left side of the dashboard, you will find Roles. Then click it.

Step 2: At top right corner select Create Role .

Step 3: Now you have to give for what service you want to create IAM Role and then click next. Here I have selected EC2.

Step 4: Now you have to select what permissions you want to attach the IAM Role and then click next.

Step 5: Finally give a name to the IAM Role and click create role .

AWS IAM Group

AWS IAM Group is used to group or organize multiple AWS users and assign them the same permissions. Multiple users require the same level of access to AWS within an organization, and AWS IAM Group makes a convenient way to handle these situations. Now follow the below steps to create an IAM Group.

Step 1the : Go to IAM service dashboard. Look at the left side of the dashboard, you will find user groups. Click it.

Step 2Create Group: Then look at the top right corner you will see create group. Click it.

Step 3Create Group: Now give a group name . If you want to add users to the group you can also do so . Then give group permissions . After giving all these inputs , you can select create group .

Conclusion

Here first we learned about what is AWS IAM service. Then learned about the AWS IAM Role and how to create an AWS IAM Role. After this, we learned about what the AWS IAM Group is and also went through the steps to create an AWS IAM group. Finally, we learned about the key differences between IAM Role and IAM Group.

FAQS On AWS IAM Role vs Group

What is the importance of using the IAM service?

IAM service enables you to securely control access to AWS services and resources . You can add and remove permissions to IAM users ,IAM roles and IAM groups for better and secure access .

How permissions are managed within an IAM Role?

Permissions on IAM Role is managed by using particular IAM policies , which here specify allowed or denied actions on AWS resources .

Is it possible for an AWS IAM user to belong to multiple IAM groups?

Yes , AWS IAM user can belong to multiple IAM groups .

How are permissions managed in IAM groups?

Permissions are managed in IAM groups through the IAM policies . These policies defines that what the group member are allowed to access AWS resources on an AWS user account .

What is MFA in IAM?

MFA also called multi factor authentication . It adds an extra layer of security to AWS user accounts .