Question

What is an IAM Role, and how is it different from an IAM User?

Answer 1

An IAM Role is an AWS identity with specific permissions that determine what actions can be performed. Unlike an IAM User, a role does not have long-term credentials such as a password or access keys. Instead, roles are meant to be assumed by trusted entities such as users, applications, or AWS services, which are provided temporary security credentials.

Example Code:

{
    "RoleName": "ExampleRole",
    "AssumeRolePolicyDocument": {
        "Version": "2012-10-17",
        "Statement": [
            {
                "Effect": "Allow",
                "Principal": {
                    "Service": "ec2.amazonaws.com"
                },
                "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
            }
        ]
    },
    "Description": "An example role for EC2",
    "MaxSessionDuration": 3600
}