AWS IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS Single Sign-On) is a cloud-based identity management service that enables centralized access management across multiple AWS accounts and business applications within an organization. For Solutions Architects designing complex organizational structures, IAM Iden…AWS IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS Single Sign-On) is a cloud-based identity management service that enables centralized access management across multiple AWS accounts and business applications within an organization. For Solutions Architects designing complex organizational structures, IAM Identity Center serves as the foundation for implementing scalable identity governance.
Key capabilities include:
**Centralized Identity Management**: IAM Identity Center integrates with external identity providers (IdPs) such as Microsoft Active Directory, Okta, or Azure AD through SAML 2.0 and SCIM protocols. This allows organizations to maintain a single source of truth for user identities while leveraging existing corporate directories.
**Multi-Account Access**: When combined with AWS Organizations, IAM Identity Center simplifies access management across numerous AWS accounts. Administrators can define permission sets that specify what actions users can perform, then assign these sets to users or groups across selected accounts.
**Permission Sets**: These are collections of IAM policies that define access levels. Organizations can create custom permission sets or use AWS-managed policies. Permission sets are deployed as IAM roles in target accounts, enabling temporary credential-based access.
**Application Integration**: Beyond AWS accounts, IAM Identity Center provides SSO access to SAML 2.0-compatible business applications, creating a unified portal for users to access all their resources.
**Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)**: Architects can implement fine-grained access control using user attributes from the identity source, enabling dynamic permission assignment based on user properties.
**Organizational Complexity Considerations**: For multi-account architectures, IAM Identity Center eliminates the need to manage individual IAM users in each account. It supports delegated administration, allowing specific accounts to manage identity center configurations. The service integrates with AWS Control Tower for automated account provisioning with appropriate access configurations.
This service is essential for enterprises requiring consistent identity governance while maintaining security compliance across complex AWS environments.
AWS IAM Identity Center - Complete Guide
Why AWS IAM Identity Center is Important
AWS IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS Single Sign-On or AWS SSO) is critical for organizations managing multiple AWS accounts and applications. It provides centralized access management, enabling administrators to manage workforce identities and access to AWS accounts and business applications from a single location. For the Solutions Architect Professional exam, understanding this service is essential because it directly addresses organizational complexity and enterprise-scale identity management challenges.
What is AWS IAM Identity Center?
AWS IAM Identity Center is a cloud-based identity service that makes it easy to centrally manage SSO access to multiple AWS accounts and business applications. Key features include:
• Centralized Identity Management: Create and manage users and groups in IAM Identity Center, or connect to existing identity sources • Multi-Account Access: Provide access to multiple AWS accounts through AWS Organizations integration • Application Access: Grant access to SAML 2.0-enabled applications and pre-integrated AWS applications • Permission Sets: Define collections of AWS IAM policies that determine what users can do in AWS accounts • User Portal: Provides users with a single sign-on experience through a customizable web portal
How AWS IAM Identity Center Works
Identity Sources: IAM Identity Center supports three identity source options: 1. IAM Identity Center Directory: Built-in directory for creating users and groups 2. Active Directory: Connect via AWS Managed Microsoft AD or AD Connector 3. External Identity Provider: Connect via SAML 2.0 (Okta, Azure AD, etc.)
Integration with AWS Organizations: IAM Identity Center integrates natively with AWS Organizations, allowing you to manage access across all accounts in your organization. When enabled, it becomes the recommended method for workforce access to AWS.
Permission Sets: Permission sets are templates that define what actions users can perform. They contain one or more IAM policies and are assigned to users or groups for specific AWS accounts. When assigned, IAM Identity Center creates corresponding IAM roles in those accounts.
Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC): IAM Identity Center supports ABAC, allowing you to create fine-grained permissions based on user attributes like department, cost center, or title that are passed from your identity provider.
Key Architecture Patterns
• Centralized Identity with Federated Access: Use corporate IdP (like Okta or Azure AD) as the identity source, with IAM Identity Center handling AWS access • Multi-Account Strategy: Deploy IAM Identity Center in the management account to provide access to all member accounts • Delegated Administration: Register a member account as delegated administrator for IAM Identity Center • MFA Enforcement: Configure MFA requirements at the IAM Identity Center level for all federated access
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on AWS IAM Identity Center
Scenario Recognition: • When you see questions about managing access across multiple AWS accounts, think IAM Identity Center • Questions mentioning workforce identity or employee access typically point to IAM Identity Center • Scenarios involving existing corporate directories (Active Directory, Okta, Azure AD) and AWS access suggest IAM Identity Center federation
Key Differentiators to Remember: • IAM Identity Center is for human users (workforce), while IAM roles are often for applications and services • IAM Identity Center provides temporary credentials through assumed roles, not long-term access keys • It requires AWS Organizations for multi-account access management • Permission sets are account-specific assignments - the same permission set can grant different access in different accounts
Common Exam Traps: • Do not confuse IAM Identity Center with Amazon Cognito (Cognito is for customer/application identities) • IAM Identity Center can only have one identity source at a time • Changing identity sources requires careful planning as it can disrupt existing access • IAM Identity Center must be deployed in the management account or use delegated administration
Best Practice Indicators: • Prefer IAM Identity Center over creating individual IAM users in each account • Use permission sets with least privilege principles • Enable MFA for enhanced security • Use session duration settings appropriate for your security requirements
Remember These Limits: • Maximum of 50 permission sets per AWS account assignment • Session durations can be configured from 1 hour to 12 hours • Supports up to 100,000 users and 10,000 groups in the identity store