Bastion Host (Jump Host) on AWS

Managing Linux and Windows servers in private subnets requires a secure, reliable gateway that keeps bad actors out while letting authorized administrators in. The Bastion Host gives you that gateway: a hardened, purpose-built entry point to your cloud infrastructure that eliminates the complexity of VPNs.

Your servers sit behind firewalls and security groups for good reason. But when you need to manage those systems, you need a secure path in. A bastion host acts as a single, fortified access point between the public internet and your private network. All administrative SSH and RDP sessions route through this controlled entry point, giving you centralized access management and audit visibility.

With built-in intrusion protection, multi-factor authentication, and key-based authentication, the Bastion Host on AWS ensures that only authorized personnel reach your private servers -- whether they run Linux, Windows, or macOS.

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Support - Add a second layer of verification beyond passwords and keys to prevent unauthorized access
• Multi-Operating System Support - Connect to and manage Linux, Windows, and macOS systems from a single bastion host
• Intrusion Detection and Protection - Automatically blocks any IP address that repeatedly fails SSH authentication for 10 minutes, stopping brute-force attacks in real time
• Firewall Protection - Built-in firewall rules restrict traffic to only what is necessary for secure administration
• Key-Based Authentication - Supports SSH public key authentication for secure, passwordless connections to your bastion host
• Lean Deployment - Minimal footprint with only the packages needed for secure access, reducing your attack surface
• Built on Ubuntu 20.04 - Based on a stable, well-supported Ubuntu LTS release

Deploy the Bastion Host AMI into a public subnet within your Amazon VPC. Your private servers remain in private subnets with no direct internet access. Administrators connect to the bastion host using SSH or RDP, and from there access private instances securely. Security groups on both the bastion host and your private instances control exactly which traffic is permitted.

This architecture follows AWS best practices for secure remote administration: a single, hardened entry point with restricted access, sitting between the internet and your private resources.

A development or operations team managing a fleet of Linux application servers and Windows database servers in private subnets can deploy this bastion host as their single secure gateway. Team members authenticate with SSH keys and MFA, connect to the bastion, and then reach any private instance they are authorized to access. The built-in intrusion detection automatically blocks brute-force attempts, and the lean Ubuntu base minimizes the attack surface. This approach works for teams of any size from a solo administrator managing a handful of instances to a larger operations team supporting dozens of servers across multiple private subnets.

1. Click Continue to Subscribe above to begin the deployment process
2. Configure your instance type and networking based on your requirements
3. Launch your server; first-run deployment completes in approximately 60 seconds
4. Access your bastion host using the public IP address assigned by AWS
5. Follow the Quick Start guide to complete initial setup and begin connecting to your private servers

Stop exposing your private infrastructure to unnecessary risk. Deploy the Bastion Host on AWS today and give your team a secure, centralized gateway to every server in your environment. Click Continue to Subscribe to get started, or visit the documentation to learn more about configuration and setup.