AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Documents Overview

• SSM Documents: Central to AWS Systems Manager, allowing the definition of actions and parameters.
• Formats: JSON or YAML.

• Predefined Documents: AWS provides many out-of-the-box documents.
• Custom Documents: Users can create their own documents for specific needs.
• Use Cases: Running commands, State Manager, Patch Manager, Automation, and integrating with SSM Parameter Store.

Creating and Using SSM Documents

• Location: Found under Shared Resources in the Systems Manager console.
• Types: Owned by Amazon, owned by me, shared with me, or all documents.
• Example: AWS-ApplyPatchBaseline for patching Windows platforms.
• Content: Includes parameters and runtime configuration with commands.
• Versioning: Custom documents can have multiple versions.

Run Command Feature in SSM

• Purpose: Execute documents (scripts) or single commands across EC2 instances.

• Rate and Error Control: Allows progressive execution and error handling.
• Integration: Works with IAM, CloudTrail, and does not require SSH.
• Output: Can be viewed in the console, sent to S3, or CloudWatch Logs.