Using service-linked roles for AWS Mainframe Modernization

AWS Mainframe Modernization uses AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) service-linked roles. A service-linked role is a unique type of IAM role that is linked directly to AWS Mainframe Modernization. Service-linked roles are predefined by AWS Mainframe Modernization and include all the permissions that the service requires to call other AWS services on your behalf.

A service-linked role makes setting up AWS Mainframe Modernization easier because you don’t have to manually add the necessary permissions. AWS Mainframe Modernization defines the permissions of its service-linked roles, and unless defined otherwise, only AWS Mainframe Modernization 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 AWS Mainframe Modernization 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 and look for the services that have Yes in the Service-linked roles column. Choose a Yes with a link to view the service-linked role documentation for that service.

Service-linked role permissions for AWS Mainframe Modernization

AWS Mainframe Modernization uses the service-linked role named AWSServiceRoleForAWSM2 – configure the network to connect to your VPC and access resources such as file systems.

The AWSServiceRoleForAWSM2 service-linked role trusts the following services to assume the role:

The role permissions policy named AWSM2ServicePolicy allows AWS Mainframe Modernization to complete the following actions on the specified resources:

{
	"Version": "2012-10-17",
	"Statement": [
		{
			"Effect": "Allow",
			"Action": [
				"ec2:DescribeSubnets",
				"ec2:CreateNetworkInterface",
				"ec2:DeleteNetworkInterface",
				"ec2:DescribeNetworkInterfaces",
				"ec2:CreateNetworkInterfacePermission",
				"ec2:ModifyNetworkInterfaceAttribute"
			],
			"Resource": "*"
		},
		{
			"Effect": "Allow",
			"Action": [
				"elasticfilesystem:DescribeMountTargets"
			],
			"Resource": "*"
		},
		{
			"Effect": "Allow",
			"Action": [
				"elasticloadbalancing:RegisterTargets",
				"elasticloadbalancing:DeregisterTargets"
			],
			"Resource": "*"
		},
		{
			"Effect": "Allow",
			"Action": [
				"fsx:DescribeFileSystems"
			],
			"Resource": "*"
		},
		{
			"Effect": "Allow",
			"Action": [
				"cloudwatch:PutMetricData"
			],
			"Resource": "*",
			"Condition": {
				"StringEquals": {
					"cloudwatch:namespace": [
						"AWS/M2"
					]
				}
			}
		}
	]
}

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 more information, see Service-linked role permissions in the IAM User Guide.

Creating a service-linked role for AWS Mainframe Modernization

You don't need to manually create a service-linked role. When you create a runtime environment in the AWS Management Console, the AWS CLI, or the AWS API, AWS Mainframe Modernization creates the service-linked role for you.

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. When you create a runtime environment, AWS Mainframe Modernization creates the service-linked role for you again.

Editing a service-linked role for AWS Mainframe Modernization

AWS Mainframe Modernization does not allow you to edit the AWSServiceRoleForAWSM2 service-linked role. After you create a service-linked role, you cannot 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 in the IAM User Guide.

Deleting a service-linked role for AWS Mainframe Modernization

If you no longer need to use a feature or service that requires a service-linked role, we recommend that you delete that role. That way you don’t have an unused entity that is not actively monitored or maintained. However, you must clean up the resources for your service-linked role before you can manually delete it.

To manually delete the service-linked role using IAM

Use the IAM console, the AWS CLI, or the AWS API to delete the AWSServiceRoleForAWSM2 service-linked role. For more information, see Deleting a service-linked role in the IAM User Guide.

Supported regions for AWS Mainframe Modernization service-linked roles

AWS Mainframe Modernization supports using service-linked roles in all of the regions where the service is available. For more information, see AWS regions and endpoints.