AWS Systems Manager Distributor

One time by using AWS Systems Manager Run Command

On a schedule by using AWS Systems Manager State Manager

One package, many platforms

When you create a package in Distributor, the system creates an AWS Systems Manager document (SSM document). You can attach .zip files to this document. When you run Distributor, the system processes the instructions in the SSM document and installs the software package in the .zip file on the specified targets. Distributor supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, Ubuntu Server, Debian Server, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For more information about supported platforms, see Supported package platforms and architectures.

Control package access across groups of managed instances

You can use Run Command or State Manager to control which of your managed nodes get a package and which version of that package. Run Command and State Manager are capabilities of AWS Systems Manager. Managed nodes can be grouped by instance or device IDs, AWS account numbers, tags, or AWS Regions. You can use State Manager associations to deliver different versions of a package to different groups of instances.

Many AWS agent packages included and ready to use

Distributor includes many AWS agent packages that are ready for you to deploy to managed nodes. Look for packages in the Distributor Packages list page that are published by Amazon. Examples include AmazonCloudWatchAgent and AWSPVDriver.

Automate deployment

To keep your environment current, use State Manager to schedule packages for automatic deployment on target managed nodes when those machines are first launched.

Any AWS customer who wants to create new or deploy existing software packages, including AWS published packages, to multiple Systems Manager managed nodes at one time.

Software developers who create software packages.

Administrators who are responsible for keeping Systems Manager managed nodes current with the most up-to-date software packages.

Deployment of packages to both Windows and Linux instances

With Distributor, you can deploy software packages to Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances and AWS IoT Greengrass core devices for Linux and Windows Server. For a list of supported instance operating system types, see Supported package platforms and architectures.

Deploy packages one time, or on an automated schedule

You can choose to deploy packages one time, on a regular schedule, or whenever the default package version is changed to a different version.

Completely reinstall packages, or perform in-place updates

To install a new package version, you can completely uninstall the current version and install a new one in its place, or only update the current version with new and updated components, according to an update script that you provide. Your package application is unavailable during a reinstallation, but can remain available during an in-place update. In-place updates are especially useful for security monitoring applications or other scenarios where you need to avoid application downtime.

Console, CLI, PowerShell, and SDK access to Distributor capabilities

You can work with Distributor by using the Systems Manager console, AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), AWS Tools for PowerShell, or the AWS SDK of your choice.

IAM access control

By using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies, you can control which members of your organization can create, update, deploy, or delete packages or package versions. For example, you might want to give an administrator permissions to deploy packages, but not to change packages or create new package versions.

Logging and auditing capability support

You can audit and log Distributor user actions in your AWS account through integration with other AWS services. For more information, see Auditing and logging Distributor activity.

A .zip file of software per target operating system platform. Each .zip file must include the following.

A JSON-formatted manifest file that describes the package contents. The manifest isn't included in the .zip file, but it's stored in the same Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) bucket as the .zip files that form the package. The manifest identifies the package version and maps the .zip files in the package to target managed node attributes, such as operating system version or architecture. For information about how to create the manifest, see Step 2: Create the JSON package manifest.