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Server Administrator Guide

Resources for system administrators and DevOps engineers setting up AWS Session Manager access to private RDS databases and internal services, plus SSH guidance for environments that still need it.

Quick Start

  • AWS Configuration

    Configure EC2 connector instances, Session Manager, IAM roles, security groups, and RDS network access.

    AWS Configuration

  • SSH Server Setup

    Install and configure OpenSSH servers when you still need traditional SSH tunneling.

    SSH Server Setup

  • Server Security

    Harden SSH servers with firewall rules, fail2ban, and 2FA when SSH is required.

    Server Security

  • Monitoring & Logging

    Monitor AWS and SSH access paths, set up logging, and configure security alerts.

    Monitoring & Logging

Common Tasks

Initial Setup

Task Guide
Configure AWS infrastructure AWS Configuration
Install OpenSSH server SSH Server Setup
Harden SSH security Server Security
Set up logging Monitoring & Logging

Configuration Examples

Environment Key Settings
Development Password auth OK, basic logging, open port forwarding
Staging SSH keys required, verbose logging, restricted forwarding
Production Keys only, 2FA, fail2ban, audit logging, IP restrictions

See SSH Server Setup for full configurations.

Security Checklist

Essential (all environments):

  • Disable root login (PermitRootLogin no)
  • Use SSH keys (PubkeyAuthentication yes)
  • Enable logging (LogLevel VERBOSE)
  • Configure firewall rules

Production environments: