Amazon Certificate Manager

Posted in AWS Tutorial

Updated on Dec 30, 2023

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 25 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM) is a service provided by AWS that makes it easy to provision, manage, and deploy SSL/TLS certificates for your applications.

In this tutorial, we'll explore how to use ACM to secure the communication between your Application Load Balancer (ALB) and your users by deploying an SSL/TLS certificate.

📚 Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

An AWS account with access to ACM and an ALB.
An ALB set up and running with your application.

📜 Requesting a Certificate in ACM

Follow these steps to request an HTTPS certificate for your domain

Open the AWS Management Console.
Navigate to the Certificate Manager service.

Photo Credit to CodeToFun
Click on the Request a certificate button.

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Click on Request a public certificate.
Configure the ACM Domain Names and Validation Methods.

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Configure the ACM Key algorithm by choosing RSA 2048, and then click on the Request button.

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From the Certificates section, click on the specific Certificate ID.

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Open the Hosted Zone, select the specific domain (quizarmy.com), and then click on the Create Record button.
To validate the ACM certificate for your subdomain (www.quizarmy.com), you should copy the CNAME name and CNAME value from ACM, then create a CNAME record as depicted in the image.

Caution: When specifying the CNAME name, make sure to exclude .domain-name.com from it.

Photo Credit to CodeToFun
To validate the ACM certificate for your domain (quizarmy.com), you should copy the CNAME name and CNAME value from ACM, then create a CNAME record as depicted in the image.

Caution: When specifying the CNAME name, make sure to exclude .domain-name.com from it.

Photo Credit to CodeToFun
Now, the hosted zone for the specified domain (quizarmy.com) should appear as depicted in the image below.

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After 5 minutes, check your ACM certificate; the status of our domains should reflect success, as depicted in the image below

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Navigate to your Application Load Balancer, select the load balancer for which you want to establish a secure connection (HTTPS). Then, access the Listeners and Rules tab and click the Add Listener button.

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Configure Application load balancers Listener Configuration as follows:
1. Protocol: HTTPS.
2. Port: 443.
3. Routing actions: Forward to target groups.
4. Target group: Select your specific target group.
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Configure Application load balancers Secure listener settings as follows:
1. Certificate source: From ACM.
2. Certificate (from ACM): Choose the certificate that we obtained earlier.
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Click on the Add button.
Congratulations! We have successfully added the listener.

🕵️‍♂️ Testing Your Secure Connection

Test your secure connection by following these steps.

Open your web browser.
Navigate to your application using the secure URL (e.g., https://www.example.com).
Verify that the connection is secure, and the SSL/TLS certificate is valid.

I will verify the domain name quizarmy.com, as it belongs to me.

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🔄 Certificate Renewal and Management

ACM takes care of the renewal process for you. Certificates provided by ACM are automatically renewed and managed, ensuring a secure and hassle-free experience.

Return to the ACM console.
Explore the options for managing and monitoring your certificates.
Set up notifications for certificate expirations or other relevant events.

🎉 Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully explored Amazon Certificate Manager and secured the communication between your users and your Application Load Balancer using SSL/TLS certificates.

ACM simplifies the process of obtaining and managing certificates, allowing you to focus on building secure and reliable applications.

Remember to regularly monitor your certificates and update them as needed. Additionally, consider using ACM in conjunction with other AWS services for a comprehensive security strategy.