AWS Directory Service

Seamlessly migrate AD-dependent workloads to AWS with security and scalability

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Benefits of Directory Service

Easily integrate your on-premises Active Directory with cloud services like Amazon RDS, FSx, and EC2. Migrate your AD to the cloud with just a few clicks, allowing your users to access these resources using their familiar AD credentials.
Benefit from end-to-end encryption for your sensitive data, enabled by the AWS Nitro System. Meet a wide range of compliance requirements, including SOC, PCI, HIPAA, and FedRAMP.
Offload the management of your Active Directory infrastructure, ensuring high availability and accessibility, even during regional failures or disasters. Improve operational efficiency through autonomous management tasks.
Leverage your existing AD skills, applications, and policies, while benefiting from a fully managed, native Windows Server-based Active Directory. Maintain a consistent user experience and management approach across on-premises and cloud environments.

How it works

AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory, also known as AWS Managed Microsoft AD, activates your directory-aware workloads and AWS resources to use managed AD on AWS.

Diagram showing how AWS Directory Service helps you manage a directory, deploy or migrate apps, integrate with directory-aware AWS services, and manage access within AWS Managed Microsoft AD.

Why use Directory Service?

AWS Directory Service provides a comprehensive, cloud-native solution to simplify AD-dependant workload integration, enhance security and compliance, and streamline cloud migration. By offering a fully-managed, native Microsoft Active Directory, it enables organizations to leverage their existing AD investments, skills, and applications, while benefiting from the scalability, reliability, and security of AWS.

Use cases

Migrate your on-premises Active Directory to the cloud to enable seamless access to cloud-hosted applications and services like Amazon RDS, Amazon FSx, and Amazon EC2.

Quickly deploy new cloud workloads by leveraging the seamless domain join capabilities to your Managed AD or existing AD using AD Connector.

Integrate your existing AD identities with cloud applications like Amazon WorkSpaces, Amazon QuickSight, Amazon Connect, and AWS License Manager to boost productivity and streamline access.

Safeguard your organization's sensitive data by leveraging the end-to-end encryption provided by the AWS Nitro System.

Achieve compliance with industry standards like SOC, PCI, HIPAA, and FedRAMP to meet your regulatory requirements.

Centralize identity and access management across your on-premises and cloud environments to enhance security posture.

Ensure high availability and accessibility of your directory services by leveraging the reliable AWS infrastructure, including multi-region deployments and in-country Availability Zones.

Increase operational efficiency by offloading the management of backup, restoration, patching, and upgrading tasks for your Active Directory.

Adopt a modular, decoupled approach to Active Directory management by deploying resource forests, which limit the blast radius and empower independent teams, while maintaining trusted connections to your on-premises AD.

Provide a familiar, native Active Directory experience for your users and IT administrators, leveraging their existing skills and expertise.

Ensure a consistent management approach and user experience across your on-premises and cloud-based Active Directory deployments.

Seamlessly integrate your legacy AD-dependent applications and workloads with the cloud-hosted Active Directory service.

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