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What is AWS Config?

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AWS Config is a service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that enables you to assess, audit, and evaluate the configuration of your AWS resources. It helps you to maintain compliance with your desired configurations and provides a detailed view of the changes made to your AWS resources over time. Here's a technical breakdown of AWS Config:

  1. Resource Tracking:
    • AWS Config keeps track of the configuration details of AWS resources within your account.
    • It covers a wide range of AWS resource types, including compute instances, storage volumes, networking components, security groups, and more.
  2. Configuration History:
    • AWS Config maintains a historical record of configuration changes to resources.
    • Each change is captured along with details such as who made the change, when it was made, and what the configuration looked like before and after the change.
  3. Configuration Items:
    • The fundamental building blocks of AWS Config are Configuration Items (CIs).
    • A CI represents a specific resource and its configuration at a particular point in time.
    • AWS Config continuously records changes to these CIs, providing a chronological record.
  4. Configuration Snapshots:
    • Periodically, AWS Config takes configuration snapshots of all resources in your account.
    • Snapshots provide a point-in-time view of the configurations, making it easier to understand the state of your resources at specific moments.
  5. Rules and Compliance:
    • AWS Config allows you to define custom rules to evaluate the configurations of your resources.
    • These rules can be used to check for compliance with industry standards, security best practices, and internal policies.
  6. Notifications:
    • AWS Config supports the use of AWS Lambda functions to trigger notifications when configuration changes violate predefined rules.
    • This enables you to respond promptly to any non-compliance or unexpected modifications.
  7. Query Language (AWS Config Rules Language):
    • AWS Config provides a query language that allows you to express conditions for evaluating configurations.
    • This language is used when defining rules for AWS Config.
  8. Integration with AWS CloudTrail:
    • AWS Config integrates with AWS CloudTrail, which provides a record of API calls made on your account.
    • This integration enhances the ability to trace and understand who made changes to configurations.
  9. Console and API Access:
    • AWS Config can be accessed and configured through the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI (Command Line Interface), and SDKs (Software Development Kits).
    • This enables both manual configuration assessment and programmatic access for automation.
  10. Secure and Scalable:
    • AWS Config is designed to be secure, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of your configuration data.
    • It scales to accommodate large numbers of resources and changes within AWS accounts.