The Connect action in the AWS EC2 package enables users to securely connect to an EC2 instance, facilitating the creation of an automation session based on the defined authentication parameters.

The session authentication is based on the AWS Signature Version 4 (SigV4) protocol. The SigV4 protocol combines and creates an encrypted HMAC-SHA256 key based on the AWS credentials such as Access Key, Secret Access Key, region, and service. The Connect action uses the aws4 library for the request.

The Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and Session Token support the following options:

  • Credential: The mapped credential from the Credential Vault.
  • Variable: The predefined Credential variable.
  • Insecure string: A plaintext, unencrypted credential entered directly in the Settings panel.

Settings

The following settings are available in the Connect action:

Base URL
The base URL for the EC2 endpoint. Specify the endpoint in the following format: 
https://ec2.<region-code>.amazonaws.com
, where region-code is the region in which you launch the EC2 instance.
Access key
The Access Key ID associated with the IAM user to authenticate the connection to AWS.
Secret key
Pairs with the Access Key ID to authenticate the connection to AWS.
Session token
The temporary AWS credential that authorizes the user. Applicable only to Single Sign-On (SSO) connections
Region
The location of the EC2 instance. Use the official AWS region code. For example., us-east-2 for United States (Ohio).
EC2 Session
The session identifier. The system automatically assigns Default as the session name. You can provide a string variable, or map a global session or use a session variable.