Course Content
AWS Solutions Architect Associate
AWS Solutions Architect Associate
AWS CloudTrail
Key Features:
- API Call Logging: Records every API interaction, detailing the actor, action, and timing, giving you a full picture of AWS usage;
- Event History: Offers a 90-day lookback at account activity without any additional setup;
- Trail Management: Allows you to tailor logging to your needs, capturing both broad management events like policy changes and more specific data events like S3 object accesses.
Setup:
- Choose an S3 bucket to store your logs;
- Ensure their authenticity with Log File Validation;
- Optionally encrypt logs using AWS KMS for enhanced security.
Logging and Auditing:
- Management Events: Track significant activities like resource creation or deletion;
- Data Events: Log more granular interactions like S3 object operations (be cautious as these can generate a lot of data);
- CloudTrail Insights: Detects unusual patterns in API activity, acting as an early warning system for potential security issues.
Security and Compliance:
- Maintains immutable records of activities, crucial for audits;
- Integrity Validation: Ensures logs haven't been tampered with;
- IAM: Helps manage who can access these logs;
- Integrating with CloudWatch allows for real-time monitoring, where you can set up alarms and filters to react to specific API calls that might indicate an issue;
- With EventBridge, CloudTrail can trigger responses to events, like running a Lambda function when certain conditions are met.
To make the most of CloudTrail, centralize your logs to simplify management and use S3 for cost-effective retention. Encrypt logs to enhance security and be selective about logging data events to manage costs effectively. Automate trail creation for new accounts using AWS Config to ensure comprehensive oversight.
CloudTrail is useful for various scenarios, such as conducting forensic analysis after incidents, troubleshooting system changes, monitoring changes for governance, and ensuring compliance through detailed logging.
As we conclude this course, we've covered a wide range of AWS services, from EC2 to CloudTrail, providing you with foundational knowledge to build robust cloud solutions. I hope this journey has sparked your interest in further exploring AWS, a field that is ever-growing. Thank you for joining this educational adventure, and here's to your success in mastering the cloud landscape. See you in the next learning opportunity!
1. What is the primary function of AWS CloudTrail?
2. Which feature of AWS CloudTrail allows you to review account activities for the past 90 days without additional configuration?
3. What does Log File Validation in CloudTrail ensure?
4. How can you use AWS CloudTrail for real-time event monitoring?
Thanks for your feedback!
