Using roles to collect inventory and view OpsData

Systems Manager uses the service-linked role named AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM – AWS Systems Manager uses this IAM service role to manage AWS resources on your behalf.

Service-linked role permissions for inventory, OpsData, and OpsItems

The AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role trusts only ssm.amazonaws.com to assume this role.

You can use the Systems Manager service-linked role AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM for the following:

• The Systems Manager Inventory capability uses the service-linked role AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM to collect inventory metadata from tags and resource groups.

• The Explorer capability uses the service-linked role AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM to enable viewing OpsData and OpsItems from multiple accounts. This service-linked role also allows Explorer to create a managed rule when you enable Security Hub as a data source from Explorer or OpsCenter.

Important

Previously, the Systems Manager console provided you with the ability to choose the AWS managed IAM service-linked role AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM to use as the maintenance role for your tasks. Using this role and its associated policy, AmazonSSMServiceRolePolicy, for maintenance window tasks is no longer recommended. If you're using this role for maintenance window tasks now, we encourage you to stop using it. Instead, create your own IAM role that enables communication between Systems Manager and other AWS services when your maintenance window tasks run.

For more information, see Setting up Maintenance Windows.

The managed policy that is used to provide permissions for the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM role is AmazonSSMServiceRolePolicy. For details about the permissions it grants, see AWS managed policy: AmazonSSMServiceRolePolicy.

Creating the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role for Systems Manager

You can use the IAM console to create a service-linked role with the EC2 use case. Using commands for IAM in the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) or using the IAM API, create a service-linked role with the ssm.amazonaws.com service name. For more information, see Creating a service-linked role in the IAM User Guide.

If you delete this service-linked role, and then need to create it again, you can use the same process to recreate the role in your account.

Editing the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role for Systems Manager

Systems Manager doesn't allow you to edit the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role. After you create a service-linked role, you can't change the name of the role because various entities might reference the role. However, you can edit the description of the role using IAM. For more information, see Editing a service-linked role in the IAM User Guide.

Deleting the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role for Systems Manager

If you no longer need to use any feature or service that requires a service-linked role, then we recommend that you delete that role. That way you don’t have an unused entity that isn't actively monitored or maintained. You can use the IAM console, the AWS CLI, or the IAM API to manually delete the service-linked role. To do this, you must first manually clean up the resources for your service-linked role, and then you can manually delete it.

Because the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role can be used by multiple capabilities, ensure that none are using the role before attempting to delete it.

• Inventory: If you delete the service-linked role used by the Inventory capability, then the Inventory data for tags and resource groups will no longer be synchronized. You must clean up the resources for your service-linked role before you can manually delete it.

• Explorer: If you delete the service-linked role used by the Explorer capability, then the cross-account and cross-Region OpsData and OpsItems are no longer viewable.

Note

If the Systems Manager service is using the role when you try to delete tags or resource groups, then the deletion might fail. If that happens, wait for a few minutes and try the operation again.

To delete Systems Manager resources used by the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM

1. To delete tags, see Add and delete tags on an individual resource.

2. To delete resource groups, see Delete groups from AWS Resource Groups.

To manually delete the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role using IAM

Use the IAM console, the AWS CLI, or the IAM API to delete the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role. For more information, see Deleting a service-linked role in the IAM User Guide.

Supported Regions for the Systems Manager  AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role

Systems Manager supports using the AWSServiceRoleForAmazonSSM service-linked role in all of the AWS Regions where the service is available. For more information, see AWS Systems Manager endpoints and quotas.