The Pilot ๐จ๐ฝโโ๏ธ๐โ๏ธ -> Setting Up a Secure and Scalable AWS Environment with Control Tower
Let me share my experience implementing AWS Control Tower to establish a secure and compliant multi-account AWS environment. If you’re looking to set up proper workload isolation and centralized management, this guide will walk you through the key components.
Control Tower Implementaion
Setting up AWS Control Tower created the foundation, establishing Landing Zones that organize workloads across multiple AWS accounts. I found this structure particularly effective in providing clear boundaries and simplified management for cloud infrastructure.
Landing Zones and Account Management
One of the first tasks was configuring dedicated email aliases for both Log Archives and Audit accounts. I then established Landing Zones under the main AWS account, which created a clean hierarchical structure for easier administration.
Organizational Units (OUs) Structure
The environment I built consists of two primary Organizational Units (OUs): Security and Sandbox. Within this structure, I created three essential multi-accounts: Management, Log, and Archive. This design ensures proper workload segregation - a crucial aspect for any enterprise setup.
Security Controls
Security being paramount, I implemented 20 preventive controls to enforce policies across accounts. You’ll find these especially useful for maintaining compliance. I also added 3 detective controls to monitor and identify configuration violations - an essential step for ongoing security management.
Development Account
A key decision was creating a dedicated Development account within the Sandbox OU. This provides you with an isolated environment for testing and experimentation while maintaining security standards.
Automation and Cost Control
To keep things running smoothly, I deployed a CloudShell script that monitors CloudTrail configurations and tracks IAM resource settings daily across all accounts. If you’re concerned about cost management, you’ll appreciate how this automation helps prevent unnecessary expenses. Find Script here => https://gist.github.com/adeboyefrancis/4fb783ce208fc08b9f31878961fc242b#file-gistfile1-txt
By combining Control Tower, Landing Zones, OUs, and IAM Identity Center, you get a comprehensive management solution. From my experience, this architecture provides the perfect balance of centralized control and enhanced security, while following AWS best practices.
Benefits and Outcomes
โ Centralized multi-account management
โ Enhanced security posture
โ Streamlined compliance monitoring
โ Cost-effective resource utilization
โ Scalable AWS environment
Resource links
Landing Zones with AWS Control Tower