Microsoft Workloads on AWS

Category: Security, Identity, & Compliance

Automated user creation and provisioning in Active Directory and Amazon WorkSpaces

For customers that have workloads in the AWS Cloud, a common use case is the provisioning of new user accounts in Active Directory, and subsequently, WorkSpaces for these new users. In this blog post, we will present an efficient and reusable solution to automate the creation, provisioning, and deprovisioning of Microsoft Active Directory (AD) user […]

Optimizing large-scale migration of SQL Server databases to Amazon EC2 using backup metadata

In this blog post, we explore how the Microsoft SQL Server backup metadata, known as backup headers, can be leveraged when migrating from on premises to Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). This technique is particularly useful when access to source database information is non-existent or only backup files are available with no access to […]

Automatically create self-managed licenses in multiple accounts using tags

In this blog post, we will demonstrate how you can set up self-managed licenses to be tracked automatically through tagging. Managing licenses for software running on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is critical for compliance and auditing purposes. Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides a free tool, AWS License Manager, to help you manage your licenses. However, license […]

How to generate TLS certificates for a highly available Remote Desktop Gateway Farm

Introduction In this blog post, I am going to show you how to generate, import, test, and troubleshoot a properly created Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate for a Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) farm. Secure management of your Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances for Microsoft Windows Server is a top priority for any […]

Secure API authorization in Amazon API Gateway using Microsoft Entra ID

In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of setting up an AWS Lambda authorizer with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) using OpenID Connect (OIDC). This will allow you to use the authentication from Entra ID as an identity provider for your Amazon API Gateway. Securing your APIs is crucial […]

Accelerate Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling for Microsoft Windows workloads

In this blog post, we will present a sample solution and provide recommendations on how to reduce both the cost and time associated with a Microsoft Windows Server instance joining an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) Auto Scaling group up to 78%. Customers using Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling often desire faster scale-out times to […]

Automate rotating IAM credentials for SQL Server backups to Amazon S3

In this blog post, we will look at how to automate the rotation of the AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) credentials synchronized with Microsoft SQL Server credentials to meet password rotation requirements. Solution overview The IAM Access key and Secret access key are used to create a SQL Server credential; therefore, to rotate the […]

Use custom attributes for Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) with Microsoft Entra ID and AWS IAM Identity Center

In this blog post, you will learn how to use custom attributes for Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly known as Azure Active Directory) as the single sign-on (SSO) identity provider integrated with AWS IAM Identity Center (formerly known as AWS SSO). ABAC allows you to control access or fine-grained permissions to […]

Integrate multiple Microsoft Entra ID tenants with AWS IAM Identity Center

In this blog post, we will guide you through configuring cross-tenant synchronization with multiple Microsoft Entra ID tenants using AWS IAM Identity Center. By following the steps outlined in this post, you can simplify access to your Amazon Web Services (AWS) resources while enabling collaboration efforts between Entra ID tenants within your organization. Background Organizations […]

It’s end of support time again. Are your Microsoft Windows Servers secure?

With the upcoming end of support for Microsoft Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 on October 10, 2023, and the ongoing challenges faced by those on Windows Server 2008/2008 R2, many organizations find themselves in a delicate position. Transitioning away from these older versions isn’t always straightforward. Some organizations are running third-party software that is not yet […]