What is AWS Systems Manager?
AWS Systems Manager helps you centrally view, manage, and operate nodes at scale in AWS, on-premises, and multicloud environments. With the launch of an unified console experience, Systems Manager consolidates various tools to help you complete common node tasks across AWS accounts and Regions.
To use Systems Manager, nodes must be managed, which means SSM Agent is installed on the machine and the agent can communicate with the Systems Manager service. To help you identify why nodes aren't reporting as managed, Systems Manager offers a one-click agent issue diagnosis and remediation runbook that you can configure to run automatically according to a schedule you define. This feature helps identify why nodes can't connect to Systems Manager, including networking misconfigurations. This feature also provides recommended runbooks for remediating networking issues and other problems preventing nodes from being configured as managed nodes.
The unified console experience also includes a dashboard that provides a high-level overview of your nodes. You can drill down for more specific node insights such as which nodes are running outdated operating system (OS) software. You can also use filters for granular views based on instance metadata like OSs, AWS Regions, accounts, and SSM Agent versions. These filters help you retrieve relevant information at a specific account or application level across your entire organization.
How can Systems Manager benefit my operations?
Benefits of Systems Manager include the following:
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Enhance visibility across your entire infrastructure
Systems Manager provides a centralized view of nodes across your organization's accounts and Regions. Quickly access instance information such as ID, name, OS details, and installed agents. Use Amazon Q Developer to query instance metadata using natural language, helping you identify issues and take action faster.
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Boost operational efficiency with automation
Automate common operational tasks and reduce time and effort required to maintain your systems. Systems Manager provides safe and secure remote management of your nodes at scale without logging into your servers. You no longer need to use bastion hosts, SSH, or remote PowerShell. Systems Manager also provides a simple way of automating common administrative tasks across groups of nodes such as registry edits, user management, and software and patch installations.
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Simplify node management at scale in any environment
Systems Manager helps you manage nodes across AWS, on-premises, and multicloud environments. Schedule automated diagnoses to identify SSM Agent issues and remediate them with one-click runbooks. After your nodes are configured as managed nodes, you can execute critical operational tasks such as applying security patches, initiating logged sessions, and running commands remotely.
Who should use Systems Manager?
Systems Manager is used by IT operations managers and operators, DevOps engineers, security and compliance managers, and IT directors and CIOs. Broadly speaking, Systems Manager is appropriate for the following:
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Organizations that want to improve the management and security of their nodes at scale.
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Organizations that want to increase visibility and operational agility when managing their infrastructure.
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Organizations that want to increase operational efficiency at scale.
What are the main features of Systems Manager?
Primary features of Systems Manager include the following:
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Centralized views of your nodes
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Patching nodes at scale
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Automated diagnosis and remediation of common node issues
Supported AWS Regions
For a list of AWS Regions that support AWS Systems Manager tools released before the new Systems Manager experience, see Systems Manager service endpoints in the Amazon Web Services General Reference.
The new Systems Manager experience, released on November 21, 2024, is available in the following AWS Regions:
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US East (N. Virginia) Region
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US East (Ohio) Region
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US West (N. California) Region
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US West (Oregon) Region
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Canada (Central) Region
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South America (São Paulo) Region
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Asia Pacific (Mumbai) Region
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Asia Pacific (Tokyo) Region
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Asia Pacific (Seoul) Region
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Asia Pacific (Singapore) Region
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Asia Pacific (Sydney) Region
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Europe (Frankfurt) Region
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Europe (Stockholm) Region
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Europe (Ireland) Region
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Europe (London) Region
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Europe (Paris) Region
