# Identity and Access Management for Direct Connect AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is an AWS service that helps an administrator securely control access to AWS resources. IAM administrators control who can be *authenticated* (signed in) and *authorized* (have permissions) to use Direct Connect resources. IAM is an AWS service that you can use with no additional charge. **Topics** + [Audience](#security_iam_audience) + [Authenticating with identities](#security_iam_authentication) + [Managing access using policies](#security_iam_access-manage) + [How Direct Connect works with IAM](security_iam_service-with-iam.md) + [Identity-based policy examples for Direct Connect](security_iam_id-based-policy-examples.md) + [Service-linked roles](using-service-linked-roles.md) + [AWS managed policies](security-iam-awsmanpol.md) + [Troubleshooting](security_iam_troubleshoot.md) ## Audience How you use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) differs based on your role: + **Service user** - request permissions from your administrator if you cannot access features (see [Troubleshooting Direct Connect identity and access](security_iam_troubleshoot.md)) + **Service administrator** - determine user access and submit permission requests (see [How Direct Connect works with IAM](security_iam_service-with-iam.md)) + **IAM administrator** - write policies to manage access (see [Identity-based policy examples for Direct Connect](security_iam_id-based-policy-examples.md)) ## Authenticating with identities Authentication is how you sign in to AWS using your identity credentials. You must be authenticated as the AWS account root user, an IAM user, or by assuming an IAM role. You can sign in as a federated identity using credentials from an identity source like AWS IAM Identity Center (IAM Identity Center), single sign-on authentication, or Google/Facebook credentials. For more information about signing in, see [How to sign in to your AWS account](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/signin/latest/userguide/how-to-sign-in.html) in the *AWS Sign-In User Guide*. For programmatic access, AWS provides an SDK and CLI to cryptographically sign requests. For more information, see [AWS Signature Version 4 for API requests](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_sigv.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ### AWS account root user When you create an AWS account, you begin with one sign-in identity called the AWS account *root user* that has complete access to all AWS services and resources. We strongly recommend that you don't use the root user for everyday tasks. For tasks that require root user credentials, see [Tasks that require root user credentials](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_root-user.html#root-user-tasks) in the *IAM User Guide*. ### Federated identity As a best practice, require human users to use federation with an identity provider to access AWS services using temporary credentials. A *federated identity* is a user from your enterprise directory, web identity provider, or Directory Service that accesses AWS services using credentials from an identity source. Federated identities assume roles that provide temporary credentials. For centralized access management, we recommend AWS IAM Identity Center. For more information, see [What is IAM Identity Center?](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/singlesignon/latest/userguide/what-is.html) in the *AWS IAM Identity Center User Guide*. ### IAM users and groups An *[IAM user](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_users.html)* is an identity with specific permissions for a single person or application. We recommend using temporary credentials instead of IAM users with long-term credentials. For more information, see [Require human users to use federation with an identity provider to access AWS using temporary credentials](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/best-practices.html#bp-users-federation-idp) in the *IAM User Guide*. An [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_groups.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_groups.html) specifies a collection of IAM users and makes permissions easier to manage for large sets of users. For more information, see [Use cases for IAM users](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/gs-identities-iam-users.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ### IAM roles An *[IAM role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles.html)* is an identity with specific permissions that provides temporary credentials. You can assume a role by [switching from a user to an IAM role (console)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_use_switch-role-console.html) or by calling an AWS CLI or AWS API operation. For more information, see [Methods to assume a role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_manage-assume.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. IAM roles are useful for federated user access, temporary IAM user permissions, cross-account access, cross-service access, and applications running on Amazon EC2. For more information, see [Cross account resource access in IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies-cross-account-resource-access.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Managing access using policies You control access in AWS by creating policies and attaching them to AWS identities or resources. A policy defines permissions when associated with an identity or resource. AWS evaluates these policies when a principal makes a request. Most policies are stored in AWS as JSON documents. For more information about JSON policy documents, see [Overview of JSON policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies.html#access_policies-json) in the *IAM User Guide*. Using policies, administrators specify who has access to what by defining which **principal** can perform **actions** on what **resources**, and under what **conditions**. By default, users and roles have no permissions. An IAM administrator creates IAM policies and adds them to roles, which users can then assume. IAM policies define permissions regardless of the method used to perform the operation. ### Identity-based policies Identity-based policies are JSON permissions policy documents that you attach to an identity (user, group, or role). These policies control what actions identities can perform, on which resources, and under what conditions. To learn how to create an identity-based policy, see [Define custom IAM permissions with customer managed policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_create.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. Identity-based policies can be *inline policies* (embedded directly into a single identity) or *managed policies* (standalone policies attached to multiple identities). To learn how to choose between managed and inline policies, see [Choose between managed policies and inline policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies-choosing-managed-or-inline.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ### Resource-based policies Resource-based policies are JSON policy documents that you attach to a resource. Examples include IAM *role trust policies* and Amazon S3 *bucket policies*. In services that support resource-based policies, service administrators can use them to control access to a specific resource. You must [specify a principal](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_elements_principal.html) in a resource-based policy. Resource-based policies are inline policies that are located in that service. You can't use AWS managed policies from IAM in a resource-based policy. ### Other policy types AWS supports additional policy types that can set the maximum permissions granted by more common policy types: + **Permissions boundaries** – Set the maximum permissions that an identity-based policy can grant to an IAM entity. For more information, see [Permissions boundaries for IAM entities](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_boundaries.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. + **Service control policies (SCPs)** – Specify the maximum permissions for an organization or organizational unit in AWS Organizations. For more information, see [Service control policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/organizations/latest/userguide/orgs_manage_policies_scps.html) in the *AWS Organizations User Guide*. + **Resource control policies (RCPs)** – Set the maximum available permissions for resources in your accounts. For more information, see [Resource control policies (RCPs)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/organizations/latest/userguide/orgs_manage_policies_rcps.html) in the *AWS Organizations User Guide*. + **Session policies** – Advanced policies passed as a parameter when creating a temporary session for a role or federated user. For more information, see [Session policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies.html#policies_session) in the *IAM User Guide*. ### Multiple policy types When multiple types of policies apply to a request, the resulting permissions are more complicated to understand. To learn how AWS determines whether to allow a request when multiple policy types are involved, see [Policy evaluation logic](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_evaluation-logic.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. # How Direct Connect works with IAM Before you use IAM to manage access to Direct Connect, learn what IAM features are available to use with Direct Connect. **IAM features you can use with Direct Connect** | IAM feature | Direct Connect support | | --- | --- | | [Identity-based policies](#security_iam_service-with-iam-id-based-policies) | Yes | | [Resource-based policies](#security_iam_service-with-iam-resource-based-policies) | No | | [Policy actions](#security_iam_service-with-iam-id-based-policies-actions) | Yes | | [Policy resources](#security_iam_service-with-iam-id-based-policies-resources) | Yes | | [Policy condition keys (service-specific)](#security_iam_service-with-iam-id-based-policies-conditionkeys) | Yes | | [ACLs](#security_iam_service-with-iam-acls) | No | | [ABAC (tags in policies)](#security_iam_service-with-iam-tags) | Partial | | [Temporary credentials](#security_iam_service-with-iam-roles-tempcreds) | Yes | | [Principal permissions](#security_iam_service-with-iam-principal-permissions) | Yes | | [Service roles](#security_iam_service-with-iam-roles-service) | Yes | | [Service-linked roles](#security_iam_service-with-iam-roles-service-linked) | No | To get a high-level view of how Direct Connect and other AWS services work with most IAM features, see [AWS services that work with IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_aws-services-that-work-with-iam.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Identity-based policies for Direct Connect **Supports identity-based policies:** Yes Identity-based policies are JSON permissions policy documents that you can attach to an identity, such as an IAM user, group of users, or role. These policies control what actions users and roles can perform, on which resources, and under what conditions. To learn how to create an identity-based policy, see [Define custom IAM permissions with customer managed policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_create.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. With IAM identity-based policies, you can specify allowed or denied actions and resources as well as the conditions under which actions are allowed or denied. To learn about all of the elements that you can use in a JSON policy, see [IAM JSON policy elements reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_elements.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ### Identity-based policy examples for Direct Connect To view examples of Direct Connect identity-based policies, see [Identity-based policy examples for Direct Connect](security_iam_id-based-policy-examples.md). ## Resource-based policies within Direct Connect **Supports resource-based policies:** No Resource-based policies are JSON policy documents that you attach to a resource. Examples of resource-based policies are IAM *role trust policies* and Amazon S3 *bucket policies*. In services that support resource-based policies, service administrators can use them to control access to a specific resource. For the resource where the policy is attached, the policy defines what actions a specified principal can perform on that resource and under what conditions. You must [specify a principal](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_elements_principal.html) in a resource-based policy. Principals can include accounts, users, roles, federated users, or AWS services. To enable cross-account access, you can specify an entire account or IAM entities in another account as the principal in a resource-based policy. For more information, see [Cross account resource access in IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies-cross-account-resource-access.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Policy actions for Direct Connect **Supports policy actions:** Yes Administrators can use AWS JSON policies to specify who has access to what. That is, which **principal** can perform **actions** on what **resources**, and under what **conditions**. The `Action` element of a JSON policy describes the actions that you can use to allow or deny access in a policy. Include actions in a policy to grant permissions to perform the associated operation. To see a list of Direct Connect actions, see [Actions Defined by Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-actions-as-permissions) in the *Service Authorization Reference*. Policy actions in Direct Connect use the following prefix before the action: ``` Direct Connect ``` To specify multiple actions in a single statement, separate them with commas. ``` "Action": [ "directconnect:action1", "directconnectaction2" ] ``` ## Policy resources for Direct Connect **Supports policy resources:** Yes Administrators can use AWS JSON policies to specify who has access to what. That is, which **principal** can perform **actions** on what **resources**, and under what **conditions**. The `Resource` JSON policy element specifies the object or objects to which the action applies. As a best practice, specify a resource using its [Amazon Resource Name (ARN)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference-arns.html). For actions that don't support resource-level permissions, use a wildcard (\$1) to indicate that the statement applies to all resources. ``` "Resource": "*" ``` To see a list of Direct Connect resource types and their ARNs, see [Resources Defined by Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-resources-for-iam-policies) in the *AWS Direct Connect API Reference*. To learn with which actions you can specify the ARN of each resource, see [Actions Defined by Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-actions-as-permissions). To view examples of Direct Connect identity-based policies, see [Identity-based policy examples for Direct Connect](security_iam_id-based-policy-examples.md). To view examples of Direct Connect resource-based policies, see [Direct Connect identity-based policy examples using tag-based conditions](security_iam_resource-based-policy-examples.md). ## Policy condition keys for Direct Connect **Supports service-specific policy condition keys:** Yes Administrators can use AWS JSON policies to specify who has access to what. That is, which **principal** can perform **actions** on what **resources**, and under what **conditions**. The `Condition` element specifies when statements execute based on defined criteria. You can create conditional expressions that use [condition operators](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_elements_condition_operators.html), such as equals or less than, to match the condition in the policy with values in the request. To see all AWS global condition keys, see [AWS global condition context keys](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_condition-keys.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. To see a list of Direct Connect condition keys, see [Condition Keys for Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-policy-keys) in the *AWS Direct Connect API Reference*. To learn with which actions and resources you can use a condition key, see [Actions, Resources, and Condition Keys for Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html) in the *Service Authorization Reference*. To view examples of Direct Connect identity-based policies, see [Identity-based policy examples for Direct Connect](security_iam_id-based-policy-examples.md). ## ACLs in Direct Connect **Supports ACLs:** No Access control lists (ACLs) control which principals (account members, users, or roles) have permissions to access a resource. ACLs are similar to resource-based policies, although they do not use the JSON policy document format. ## ABAC with Direct Connect **Supports ABAC (tags in policies):** Partial Attribute-based access control (ABAC) is an authorization strategy that defines permissions based on attributes called tags. You can attach tags to IAM entities and AWS resources, then design ABAC policies to allow operations when the principal's tag matches the tag on the resource. To control access based on tags, you provide tag information in the [condition element](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_elements_condition.html) of a policy using the `aws:ResourceTag/key-name`, `aws:RequestTag/key-name`, or `aws:TagKeys` condition keys. If a service supports all three condition keys for every resource type, then the value is **Yes** for the service. If a service supports all three condition keys for only some resource types, then the value is **Partial**. For more information about ABAC, see [Define permissions with ABAC authorization](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/introduction_attribute-based-access-control.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. To view a tutorial with steps for setting up ABAC, see [Use attribute-based access control (ABAC)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/tutorial_attribute-based-access-control.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Using temporary credentials with Direct Connect **Supports temporary credentials:** Yes Temporary credentials provide short-term access to AWS resources and are automatically created when you use federation or switch roles. AWS recommends that you dynamically generate temporary credentials instead of using long-term access keys. For more information, see [Temporary security credentials in IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_credentials_temp.html) and [AWS services that work with IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_aws-services-that-work-with-iam.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Cross-service principal permissions for Direct Connect **Supports forward access sessions (FAS):** Yes Forward access sessions (FAS) use the permissions of the principal calling an AWS service, combined with the requesting AWS service to make requests to downstream services. For policy details when making FAS requests, see [Forward access sessions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_forward_access_sessions.html). ## Service roles for Direct Connect **Supports service roles:** Yes A service role is an [IAM role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles.html) that a service assumes to perform actions on your behalf. An IAM administrator can create, modify, and delete a service role from within IAM. For more information, see [Create a role to delegate permissions to an AWS service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_create_for-service.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. **Warning** Changing the permissions for a service role might break Direct Connect functionality. Edit service roles only when Direct Connect provides guidance to do so. ## Service-linked roles for Direct Connect **Supports service-linked roles:** No A service-linked role is a type of service role that is linked to an AWS service. The service can assume the role to perform an action on your behalf. Service-linked roles appear in your AWS account and are owned by the service. An IAM administrator can view, but not edit the permissions for service-linked roles. For details about creating or managing service-linked roles, see [AWS services that work with IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_aws-services-that-work-with-iam.html). Find a service in the table that includes a `Yes` in the **Service-linked role** column. Choose the **Yes** link to view the service-linked role documentation for that service. # Identity-based policy examples for Direct Connect By default, users and roles don't have permission to create or modify Direct Connect resources. To grant users permission to perform actions on the resources that they need, an IAM administrator can create IAM policies. To learn how to create an IAM identity-based policy by using these example JSON policy documents, see [Create IAM policies (console)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_create-console.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. For details about actions and resource types defined by Direct Connect, including the format of the ARNs for each of the resource types, see [Actions, Resources, and Condition Keys for Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html) in the *Service Authorization Reference*. **Topics** + [Policy best practices](#security_iam_service-with-iam-policy-best-practices) + [Actions, resources, and conditions](#security_iam_service-dx-id-based-policies) + [Using the console](#security_iam_id-based-policy-examples-console) + [Allow users to view their own permissions](#security_iam_id-based-policy-examples-view-own-permissions) + [Read-only access to Direct Connect](#security_iam_id-based-policy-examples-read-access) + [Full access to Direct Connect](#security_iam_id-based-policy-examples-full-access) + [Tag-based condition keys](security_iam_resource-based-policy-examples.md) ## Policy best practices Identity-based policies determine whether someone can create, access, or delete Direct Connect resources in your account. These actions can incur costs for your AWS account. When you create or edit identity-based policies, follow these guidelines and recommendations: + **Get started with AWS managed policies and move toward least-privilege permissions** – To get started granting permissions to your users and workloads, use the *AWS managed policies* that grant permissions for many common use cases. They are available in your AWS account. We recommend that you reduce permissions further by defining AWS customer managed policies that are specific to your use cases. For more information, see [AWS managed policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_managed-vs-inline.html#aws-managed-policies) or [AWS managed policies for job functions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_job-functions.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. + **Apply least-privilege permissions** – When you set permissions with IAM policies, grant only the permissions required to perform a task. You do this by defining the actions that can be taken on specific resources under specific conditions, also known as *least-privilege permissions*. For more information about using IAM to apply permissions, see [ Policies and permissions in IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. + **Use conditions in IAM policies to further restrict access** – You can add a condition to your policies to limit access to actions and resources. For example, you can write a policy condition to specify that all requests must be sent using SSL. You can also use conditions to grant access to service actions if they are used through a specific AWS service, such as CloudFormation. For more information, see [ IAM JSON policy elements: Condition](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_elements_condition.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. + **Use IAM Access Analyzer to validate your IAM policies to ensure secure and functional permissions** – IAM Access Analyzer validates new and existing policies so that the policies adhere to the IAM policy language (JSON) and IAM best practices. IAM Access Analyzer provides more than 100 policy checks and actionable recommendations to help you author secure and functional policies. For more information, see [Validate policies with IAM Access Analyzer](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access-analyzer-policy-validation.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. + **Require multi-factor authentication (MFA)** – If you have a scenario that requires IAM users or a root user in your AWS account, turn on MFA for additional security. To require MFA when API operations are called, add MFA conditions to your policies. For more information, see [ Secure API access with MFA](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_credentials_mfa_configure-api-require.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. For more information about best practices in IAM, see [Security best practices in IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/best-practices.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Direct Connect actions, resources, and conditions With IAM identity-based policies, you can specify allowed or denied actions and resources as well as the conditions under which actions are allowed or denied. Direct Connect supports specific actions, resources, and condition keys. To learn about all of the elements that you use in a JSON policy, see [IAM JSON Policy Elements Reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_elements.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ### Actions Administrators can use AWS JSON policies to specify who has access to what. That is, which **principal** can perform **actions** on what **resources**, and under what **conditions**. The `Action` element of a JSON policy describes the actions that you can use to allow or deny access in a policy. Include actions in a policy to grant permissions to perform the associated operation. Policy actions in Direct Connect use the following prefix before the action: `directconnect:`. For example, to grant someone permission to run an Amazon EC2 instance with the Amazon EC2 `DescribeVpnGateways` API operation, you include the `ec2:DescribeVpnGateways` action in their policy. Policy statements must include either an `Action` or `NotAction` element. Direct Connect defines its own set of actions that describe tasks that you can perform with this service. The following example policy grants read access to Direct Connect. ------ #### [ JSON ] **** ``` { "Version":"2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "directconnect:Describe*", "ec2:DescribeVpnGateways" ], "Resource": "*" } ] } ``` ------ The following example policy grants full access to Direct Connect. ------ #### [ JSON ] **** ``` { "Version":"2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "directconnect:*", "ec2:DescribeVpnGateways" ], "Resource": "*" } ] } ``` ------ To see a list of Direct Connect actions, see [Actions Defined by Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-actions-as-permissions) in the *IAM User Guide*. ### Resources Administrators can use AWS JSON policies to specify who has access to what. That is, which **principal** can perform **actions** on what **resources**, and under what **conditions**. The `Resource` JSON policy element specifies the object or objects to which the action applies. As a best practice, specify a resource using its [Amazon Resource Name (ARN)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference-arns.html). For actions that don't support resource-level permissions, use a wildcard (\$1) to indicate that the statement applies to all resources. ``` "Resource": "*" ``` Direct Connect uses the following ARNs: **Direct connect resource ARNs** | Resource Type | ARN | | --- | --- | | dxcon | arn:\$1\$1Partition\$1:directconnect:\$1\$1Region\$1:\$1\$1Account\$1:dxcon/\$1\$1ConnectionId\$1 | | dxlag | arn:\$1\$1Partition\$1:directconnect:\$1\$1Region\$1:\$1\$1Account\$1:dxlag/\$1\$1LagId\$1 | | dx-vif | arn:\$1\$1Partition\$1:directconnect:\$1\$1Region\$1:\$1\$1Account\$1:dxvif/\$1\$1VirtualInterfaceId\$1 | | dx-gateway | arn:\$1\$1Partition\$1:directconnect::\$1\$1Account\$1:dx-gateway/\$1\$1DirectConnectGatewayId\$1 | For more information about the format of ARNs, see [Amazon Resource Names (ARNs) and AWS Service Namespaces](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/aws-arns-and-namespaces.html). For example, to specify the `dxcon-11aa22bb` interface in your statement, use the following ARN: ``` "Resource": "arn:aws:directconnect:us-east-1:123456789012:dxcon/dxcon-11aa22bb ``` To specify all virtual interfaces that belong to a specific account, use the wildcard (\$1): ``` "Resource": "arn:aws:directconnect:*:*:dxvif/*" ``` Some Direct Connect actions, such as those for creating resources, cannot be performed on a specific resource. In those cases, you must use the wildcard (\$1). ``` "Resource": "*" ``` To see a list of Direct Connect resource types and their ARNs, see [Resource Types Defined by Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-resources-for-iam-policies) in the *IAM User Guide*. To learn with which actions you can specify the ARN of each resource, see [Actions Defined by Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-actions-as-permissions). If a resource ARN or a resource ARN pattern other than `*` is specified in the `Resource` field of the IAM policy statement for DescribeConnections, DescribeVirtualInterfaces, DescribeDirectConnectGateways, DescribeInterconnects, or DescribeLags, then the specified `Effect` will not occur unless the matching resource ID is also passed in the API call. However, if you provide `*` as the resource instead of a specific resource ID in the IAM policy statement, the specified `Effect` will work. In the following example, neither specified `Effect` will succeed if the `DescribeConnections` action is called without a `connectionId` passed in the request. ``` "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "directconnect:DescribeConnections" ], "Resource": [ "arn:aws:directconnect:*:123456789012:dxcon/*" ] }, { "Effect": "Deny", "Action": [ "directconnect:DescribeConnections" ], "Resource": [ "arn:aws:directconnect:*:123456789012:dxcon/example1" ] } ] ``` However, in the following example, `"Effect": "Allow"` will succeed for the `DescribeConnections` action since `*` was provided for the `Resource` field of the IAM policy statement, regardless of whether the `connectionId` was specified in the request. ``` "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "directconnect:DescribeConnections ], "Resource": [ "*" ] } ] ``` ### Condition keys Administrators can use AWS JSON policies to specify who has access to what. That is, which **principal** can perform **actions** on what **resources**, and under what **conditions**. The `Condition` element specifies when statements execute based on defined criteria. You can create conditional expressions that use [condition operators](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_elements_condition_operators.html), such as equals or less than, to match the condition in the policy with values in the request. To see all AWS global condition keys, see [AWS global condition context keys](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_condition-keys.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. Direct Connect defines its own set of condition keys and also supports using some global condition keys. To see all AWS global condition keys, see [AWS Global Condition Context Keys](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_policies_condition-keys.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. You can use condition keys with the tag resource. For more information, see [Example: Restricting Access to a Specific Region](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ExamplePolicies_EC2.html#iam-example-region). To see a list of Direct Connect condition keys, see [Condition Keys for Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-policy-keys) in the *IAM User Guide*. To learn with which actions and resources you can use a condition key, see [Actions Defined by Direct Connect](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_awsdirectconnect.html#awsdirectconnect-actions-as-permissions). ## Using the Direct Connect console To access the Direct Connect console, you must have a minimum set of permissions. These permissions must allow you to list and view details about the Direct Connect resources in your AWS account. If you create an identity-based policy that is more restrictive than the minimum required permissions, the console won't function as intended for entities (s or roles) with that policy. To ensure that those entities can still use the Direct Connect console, also attach the following AWS managed policy to the entities. For more information, see [Adding Permissions to a User](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_users_change-permissions.html#users_change_permissions-add-console) in the *IAM User Guide*: ``` directconnect ``` You don't need to allow minimum console permissions for users that are making calls only to the AWS CLI or the AWS API. Instead, allow access to only the actions that match the API operation that you're trying to perform. ## Allow users to view their own permissions This example shows how you might create a policy that allows IAM users to view the inline and managed policies that are attached to their user identity. This policy includes permissions to complete this action on the console or programmatically using the AWS CLI or AWS API. ``` { "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Sid": "ViewOwnUserInfo", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "iam:GetUserPolicy", "iam:ListGroupsForUser", "iam:ListAttachedUserPolicies", "iam:ListUserPolicies", "iam:GetUser" ], "Resource": ["arn:aws:iam::*:user/${aws:username}"] }, { "Sid": "NavigateInConsole", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "iam:GetGroupPolicy", "iam:GetPolicyVersion", "iam:GetPolicy", "iam:ListAttachedGroupPolicies", "iam:ListGroupPolicies", "iam:ListPolicyVersions", "iam:ListPolicies", "iam:ListUsers" ], "Resource": "*" } ] } ``` ## Read-only access to Direct Connect The following example policy grants read access to Direct Connect. ------ #### [ JSON ] **** ``` { "Version":"2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "directconnect:Describe*", "ec2:DescribeVpnGateways" ], "Resource": "*" } ] } ``` ------ ## Full access to Direct Connect The following example policy grants full access to Direct Connect. ------ #### [ JSON ] **** ``` { "Version":"2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "directconnect:*", "ec2:DescribeVpnGateways" ], "Resource": "*" } ] } ``` ------ # Direct Connect identity-based policy examples using tag-based conditions You can control access to resources and requests by using tag key conditions. You can also use a condition in your IAM policy to control whether specific tag keys can be used on a resource or in a request. For information about how to use tags with IAM policies, see [Controlling Access Using Tags](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_iam-tags.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Associating Direct Connect virtual interfaces based on tags The following example shows how you might create a policy that allows associating a virtual interface only if the tag contains the environment key and the preprod or production values. ------ #### [ JSON ] **** ``` { "Version":"2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "directconnect:AssociateVirtualInterface" ], "Resource": "arn:aws:directconnect:*:*:dxvif/*", "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "aws:ResourceTag/environment": [ "preprod", "production" ] } } }, { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "directconnect:DescribeVirtualInterfaces", "Resource": "*" } ] } ``` ------ ## Controlling access to requests based on tags You can use conditions in your IAM policies to control which tag key–value pairs can be passed in a request that tags an AWS resource. The following example shows how you might create a policy that allows using the Direct Connect TagResource action to attach tags to a virtual interface only if the tag contains the environment key and the preprod or production values. As a best practice, use the `ForAllValues` modifier with the `aws:TagKeys` condition key to indicate that only the key environment is allowed in the request. ------ #### [ JSON ] **** ``` { "Version":"2012-10-17", "Statement": { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "directconnect:TagResource", "Resource": "arn:aws:directconnect:*:*:dxvif/*", "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "aws:RequestTag/environment": [ "preprod", "production" ] }, "ForAllValues:StringEquals": {"aws:TagKeys": "environment"} } } } ``` ------ ## Controlling tag keys You can use a condition in your IAM policies to control whether specific tag keys can be used on a resource or in a request. The following example shows how you might create a policy that allows you to tag resources, but only with the tag key environment ------ #### [ JSON ] **** ``` { "Version":"2012-10-17", "Statement": { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "directconnect:TagResource", "Resource": "*", "Condition": { "ForAllValues:StringEquals": { "aws:TagKeys": [ "environment" ] } } } } ``` ------ # Service-linked roles for Direct Connect AWS Direct Connect uses AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)[ service-linked roles](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_terms-and-concepts.html#iam-term-service-linked-role). A service-linked role is a unique type of IAM role that is linked directly to Direct Connect. Service-linked roles are predefined by Direct Connect and include all the permissions that the service requires to call other AWS services on your behalf. A service-linked role makes setting up Direct Connect easier because you don’t have to manually add the necessary permissions. Direct Connect defines the permissions of its service-linked roles, and unless defined otherwise, only Direct Connect can assume its roles. The defined permissions include the trust policy and the permissions policy, and that permissions policy cannot be attached to any other IAM entity. You can delete a service-linked role only after first deleting their related resources. This protects your Direct Connect resources because you can't inadvertently remove permission to access the resources. For information about other services that support service-linked roles, see [AWS Services That Work with IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_aws-services-that-work-with-iam.html) and look for the services that have **Yes **in the **Service-Linked Role** column. Choose a **Yes** with a link to view the service-linked role documentation for that service. ## Service-linked role permissions for Direct Connect Direct Connect uses a service-linked role named `AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect`. This allows Direct Connect to retrieve the MACSec secret stored in AWS Secrets Manager on your behalf. The `AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect` service-linked role trusts the following services to assume the role: + `directconnect.amazonaws.com` The `AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect` service-linked role uses the managed policy `AWSDirectConnectServiceRolePolicy`. You must configure permissions to allow an IAM entity (such as a user, group, or role) to create, edit, or delete a service-linked role. For the `AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect` service-linked role to be created successfully, the IAM identity that you use Direct Connect with must have the required permissions. To grant the required permissions, attach the following policy to the IAM identity. ------ #### [ JSON ] **** ``` { "Version":"2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Action": "iam:CreateServiceLinkedRole", "Condition": { "StringLike": { "iam:AWSServiceName": "directconnect.amazonaws.com" } }, "Effect": "Allow", "Resource": "*" }, { "Action": "iam:GetRole", "Effect": "Allow", "Resource": "*" } ] } ``` ------ For more information, see [Service-linked role permissions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/using-service-linked-roles.html#service-linked-role-permissions) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Creating a service-linked role for Direct Connect You don't need to manually create a service-linked role. AWS Direct Connect creates the service-linked role for you. When you run the `associate-mac-sec-key` command, AWS creates a service-linked role that allows Direct Connect to retrieve the MACsec secrets that are stored in AWS Secrets Manager on your behalf in the AWS Management Console, the AWS CLI, or the AWS API. **Important** This service-linked role can appear in your account if you completed an action in another service that uses the features supported by this role. To learn more, see [A New Role Appeared in My IAM Account](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/troubleshoot_roles.html#troubleshoot_roles_new-role-appeared). If you delete this service-linked role, and then need to create it again, you can use the same process to recreate the role in your account. Direct Connect creates the service-linked role for you again. You can also use the IAM console to create a service-linked role with the AWS Direct Connect use case. In the AWS CLI or the AWS API, create a service-linked role with the `directconnect.amazonaws.com` service name. For more information, see [Creating a service-linked role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/using-service-linked-roles.html#create-service-linked-role) in the *IAM User Guide*. If you delete this service-linked role, you can use this same process to create the role again. ## Editing a service-linked role for Direct Connect Direct Connect does not allow you to edit the `AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect` service-linked role. After you create a service-linked role, you can't change the name of the role because various entities might reference the role. However, you can edit the description of the role using IAM. For more information, see [Editing a service-linked role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/using-service-linked-roles.html#edit-service-linked-role) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Deleting a service-linked role for Direct Connect You don't need to manually delete the `AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect` role. When you delete your service linked role, you must delete all the associated resources that are stored in AWS Secrets Manager web service. The AWS Management Console, the AWS CLI, or the AWS API, Direct Connect cleans up the resources and deletes the service-linked role for you. You can also use the IAM console to delete the service-linked role. To do this, you must first manually clean up the resources for your service-linked role and then you can delete it. **Note** If the Direct Connect service is using the role when you try to delete the resources, then deletion might fail. If this happens, wait a few minutes, and then try the operation again. **To delete Direct Connect resources used by the `AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect`** 1. Remove the association between all MACsec keys and connections. For more information, see [Remove the association between a MACsec secret key and an Direct Connect connection](disassociate-key-connection.md) 1. Remove the association between all MACsec keys and LAGs. For more information, see [Remove the association between a MACsec secret key and an Direct Connect endpoint LAG](disassociate-key-lag.md) **To manually delete the service-linked role using IAM** Use the IAM console, the AWS CLI, or the AWS API to delete the `AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect` service-linked role. For more information, see [Deleting a service-linked role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/using-service-linked-roles.html#delete-service-linked-role) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## Supported regions for Direct Connect service-linked roles Direct Connect supports using service-linked roles in all AWS Regions where the MAC Security feature is available. For more information, see [AWS Direct Connect Locations](https://aws.amazon.com/directconnect/locations/). # AWS managed policies for AWS Direct Connect An AWS managed policy is a standalone policy that is created and administered by AWS. AWS managed policies are designed to provide permissions for many common use cases so that you can start assigning permissions to users, groups, and roles. Keep in mind that AWS managed policies might not grant least-privilege permissions for your specific use cases because they're available for all AWS customers to use. We recommend that you reduce permissions further by defining [ customer managed policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_managed-vs-inline.html#customer-managed-policies) that are specific to your use cases. You cannot change the permissions defined in AWS managed policies. If AWS updates the permissions defined in an AWS managed policy, the update affects all principal identities (users, groups, and roles) that the policy is attached to. AWS is most likely to update an AWS managed policy when a new AWS service is launched or new API operations become available for existing services. For more information, see [AWS managed policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_managed-vs-inline.html#aws-managed-policies) in the *IAM User Guide*. ## AWS managed policy: AWSDirectConnectFullAccess You can attach the `AWSDirectConnectFullAccess` policy to your IAM identities. This policy grants permissions that allow full access to Direct Connect. To view the permissions for this policy, see [AWSDirectConnectFullAccess](https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/home#/policies/arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSDirectConnectFullAccess) in the AWS Management Console. ## AWS managed policy: AWSDirectConnectReadOnlyAccess You can attach the `AWSDirectConnectReadOnlyAccess` policy to your IAM identities. This policy grants permissions that allow read-only access to Direct Connect. To view the permissions for this policy, see [AWSDirectConnectReadOnlyAccess](https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/home#/policies/arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSDirectConnectReadOnlyAccess) in the AWS Management Console. ## AWS managed policy: AWSDirectConnectServiceRolePolicy This policy is attached to the service-linked role named **AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect** to allow Direct Connect to retrieve MAC Security secrets on your behalf. For more information, see [Service-linked roles for Direct Connect](using-service-linked-roles.md). To view the permissions for this policy, see [AWSDirectConnectServiceRolePolicy](https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/home#/policies/arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/aws-service-role/AWSDirectConnectServiceRolePolicy) in the AWS Management Console. ## Direct Connect updates to AWS managed policies View details about updates to AWS managed policies for Direct Connect since this service began tracking these changes. For automatic alerts about changes to this page, subscribe to the RSS feed on the Direct Connect Document history page. | Change | Description | Date | | --- | --- | --- | | [AWSDirectConnectServiceRolePolicy](#security-iam-awsmanpol-AWSDirectConnectServiceRolePolicy) - New policy | To support MAC Security, the AWSServiceRoleForDirectConnect service-linked role was added. | March 31, 2021 | | Direct Connect started tracking changes | Direct Connect started tracking changes to its AWS managed policies. | March 31, 2021 | # Troubleshooting Direct Connect identity and access Use the following information to help you diagnose and fix common issues that you might encounter when working with Direct Connect and IAM. **Topics** + [I am not authorized to perform an action in Direct Connect](#security_iam_troubleshoot-no-permissions) + [I am not authorized to perform iam:PassRole](#security_iam_troubleshoot-passrole) + [I want to allow people outside of my AWS account to access my Direct Connect resources](#security_iam_troubleshoot-cross-account-access) ## I am not authorized to perform an action in Direct Connect If you receive an error that you're not authorized to perform an action, your policies must be updated to allow you to perform the action. The following example error occurs when the `mateojackson` IAM user tries to use the console to view details about a fictional `my-example-widget` resource but doesn't have the fictional `directconnect:GetWidget` permissions. ``` User: arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/mateojackson is not authorized to perform: directconnect:GetWidget on resource: my-example-widget ``` In this case, the policy for the `mateojackson` user must be updated to allow access to the `my-example-widget` resource by using the `directconnect:GetWidget` action. If you need help, contact your AWS administrator. Your administrator is the person who provided you with your sign-in credentials. ## I am not authorized to perform iam:PassRole If you receive an error that you're not authorized to perform the `iam:PassRole` action, your policies must be updated to allow you to pass a role to Direct Connect. Some AWS services allow you to pass an existing role to that service instead of creating a new service role or service-linked role. To do this, you must have permissions to pass the role to the service. The following example error occurs when an IAM user named `marymajor` tries to use the console to perform an action in Direct Connect. However, the action requires the service to have permissions that are granted by a service role. Mary does not have permissions to pass the role to the service. ``` User: arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/marymajor is not authorized to perform: iam:PassRole ``` In this case, Mary's policies must be updated to allow her to perform the `iam:PassRole` action. If you need help, contact your AWS administrator. Your administrator is the person who provided you with your sign-in credentials. ## I want to allow people outside of my AWS account to access my Direct Connect resources You can create a role that users in other accounts or people outside of your organization can use to access your resources. You can specify who is trusted to assume the role. For services that support resource-based policies or access control lists (ACLs), you can use those policies to grant people access to your resources. To learn more, consult the following: + To learn whether Direct Connect supports these features, see [How Direct Connect works with IAM](security_iam_service-with-iam.md). + To learn how to provide access to your resources across AWS accounts that you own, see [Providing access to an IAM user in another AWS account that you own](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_common-scenarios_aws-accounts.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. + To learn how to provide access to your resources to third-party AWS accounts, see [Providing access to AWS accounts owned by third parties](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_common-scenarios_third-party.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. + To learn how to provide access through identity federation, see [Providing access to externally authenticated users (identity federation)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_common-scenarios_federated-users.html) in the *IAM User Guide*. + To learn the difference between using roles and resource-based policies for cross-account access, see [Cross account resource access in IAM](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies-cross-account-resource-access.html) in the *IAM User Guide*.