---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Operations Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/de-DE/it-operations-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - de-DE

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Operations Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itom

bundleId :

    - itom

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Access setup for AWS service accounts

# Access setup for AWS service accounts {#ariaid-title1}

* Freigeben Version: Australia
* 
* Aktualisiert 12. März 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 6 Minuten Lesedauer

Cloud Discovery and Cloud Provisioning and Governance need access to resources in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) service accounts. Learn about different methods of configuring such access.

Cloud Discovery and Cloud Provisioning and Governance access resources in AWS service accounts through MID Servers. You must authorize inbound traffic to Amazon EC2 instances from the MID Server for setting up initial communication. For more information, see [Configure security group inbound rules using the AWS Management Console](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/DAX.create-cluster.console.configure-inbound-rules.html).

## Types of AWS credentials {#access-aws-accounts__section_uzm_dgl_mpb}

There are permanent and temporary AWS credentials that you can use for configuring access to AWS service accounts.

Permanent
:   The permanent credentials are the actual AWS credentials for the service account that you add to the Connections and Credentials module of ServiceNow AI Platform. While it might be time consuming to manage credentials on ServiceNow AI Platform, you avoid the complex configurations involved in using temporary credentials.

Temporary

:   The temporary credentials are generated by the AWS Security Token Service (AWS STS) for IAM roles. After you configure IAM roles for AWS accounts, the MID Server accesses AWS resources with these temporary credentials. You can use the default IAM role, OrganizationAccountAccessRole, or create custom IAM roles.

    Assuming IAM roles in a large AWS organization is more convenient and offers better security than using large numbers of permanent credentials for all AWS accounts. Temporary credentials are only acquired on behalf of a service account when there's no permanent credential specified for that service account in the Service Accounts
    \[cmdb_ci_cloud_service_account\] table.

    The MID Server uses the [AssumeRole](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/STS/latest/APIReference/API_AssumeRole.html) action in the [AWS Security Token Service API](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/STS/latest/APIReference/Welcome.html) to assume a member account role. Parameters passed to this API determine which additional security restrictions are applied to the role when it accesses the AWS resources.

    By default, the MID Server is configured to assume the OrganizationAccountAccessRole, which grants temporary credentials to all the members of a primary account. This action occurs automatically if no permanent credentials exist for the member accounts. This configuration doesn't apply any additional security or restrict access to any resources in member accounts.

    By default, the ServiceNow instance caches temporary credentials for member accounts for 60 minutes. This interval enables the horizontal discovery process to run multiple times without generating new
    credentials during each discovery. You can avoid credential caching or modify the caching period using [MID Server properties](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=r_MIDServerProperties&version=australia&pubname=australia-servicenow-platform&ft:locale=en-US).

## IAM roles and permissions {#access-aws-accounts__section_vch_wyh_nkb}

To enhance security provided by the default AWS
OrganizationAccountAccessRole role, you can customize the AWS roles that MID Servers can assume to receive temporary credentials for member accounts. You can configure additional permissions to improve security and customize the way that the member account's role is assumed
when discovering cloud resources.

## Methods of granting access {#access-aws-accounts__section_oyq_md5_kpb}

For the purposes of configuring access for AWS accounts, the following terms are used:

Trusting accounts
:   The trusting accounts don't have permanent AWS credentials. You configure the trust relationship for IAM roles in these accounts to rely on other accounts for access.

Trusted accounts
: The trusted accounts are used by the trusting accounts for access. The ServiceNow UI refers to the trusted accounts as accessor accounts.  
Typically, you set up access to the AWS accounts in your organization using the following methods:

Configuring access for a single account
:
    * Configure AWS credentials on the ServiceNow AI Platform to avoid the complexity of creating and setting up IAM roles. For more information, see [Configure access to the AWS accounts using permanent AWS credentials](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/DkrIiE~71yz_3IZddgg60w "To securely access data on your provider account, the Discovery process must present appropriate credentials. To make the credentials available to Discovery and Cloud Provisioning and Governance, you first create a user with programmatic access in the AWS Management Console. You then securely store the credentials in a service account at ServiceNow AI Platform.").
    * Create an AWS service account on the ServiceNow AI Platform. For more information, see [Create AWS service accounts](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/uTa4K3UBhqLrbRzrstyZrA "Create AWS service accounts on the ServiceNow AI Platform to access your AWS account during AWS discovery.").
    {#access-aws-accounts__ul_lrx_kht_zfc}

Configuring access for an account that trusts an accessor account with AWS credentials
:
    Abbildung : 1. Setting up any AWS account to rely on a trusted account with AWS credentials   


:
    * Configure any type of account---discrete (independent), management, or member---to rely on a trusted account with AWS credentials for access.
    * Configuring an IAM role belonging to the trusting accounts to trust the user of the trusted account enables using only one set of AWS credentials for providing access to multiple AWS accounts.

    {#access-aws-accounts__ul_rc5_mht_zfc} For more information, see [Configure access using temporary credentials based on trusted AWS accounts with AWS credentials](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/p_FSIhK0JtZXeD3GYb7I5w "Configure the trusting account whose resources need to be accessed, to rely on the trusted account using the Identity and Access Management (IAM) role.").

Configuring access for an account that trusts an accessor account without AWS credentials
:
    Abbildung : 2. Setting up any AWS account to rely on a trusted account without AWS credentials   


:
    * Configure any type of account---discrete (independent), management, or member---to rely on a trusted account without AWS credentials for access.
    * Configure an account without AWS credentials using an IAM role and permissions to access the trusting service account.
    * Set up the IAM role of the trusting account to grant access to the IAM role of the trusted account.

    {#access-aws-accounts__ul_bhf_pht_zfc}For more information, see [Configure access using temporary credentials based on trusted AWS accounts without AWS credentials](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/y4xZNC8lForFzN6T7l0mAg "Set up a trusted credential-less account that other AWS accounts can rely on for access.").

Configuring access for AWS member accounts by using a trust chain from the accessor through the management account.
:
    Abbildung : 3. Configuring member accounts to use their management account for access   


:
    * Configure the IAM roles of the member accounts to trust the IAM role of their management account. For more information, see [Configure access using temporary credentials for trusting AWS member accounts in management-accessor trust chain](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/15m9TBv6QW6sJ4OYdW6A1w "Configure access for AWS member accounts by using a trust chain from the accessor through the management account.").
    * Configure the management accounts to trust the accessor accounts with or without AWS credentials. For more information, see:
      * [Configure access using temporary credentials based on trusted AWS accounts with AWS credentials](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/p_FSIhK0JtZXeD3GYb7I5w "Configure the trusting account whose resources need to be accessed, to rely on the trusted account using the Identity and Access Management (IAM) role.").
      * [Configure access using temporary credentials based on trusted AWS accounts without AWS credentials](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/y4xZNC8lForFzN6T7l0mAg "Set up a trusted credential-less account that other AWS accounts can rely on for access.").
      {#access-aws-accounts__ul_erm_5ft_zfc}
    {#access-aws-accounts__ul_yz2_yht_zfc}

## How Cloud Discovery determines which credentials to use {#access-aws-accounts__section_vqm_mbn_phb}

Member account trusts management account
:
    Cloud Discovery uses the following logic to determine which credentials to use to discover AWS cloud resources in member accounts:

    1. If permanent credentials are defined for the member account in the Cloud Service Account \[cmdb_ci_cloud_service_account\] table, Discovery uses those credentials. The Cloud Service Accounts \[cmdb_ci_cloud_service_account\] table contains the information on the service account types, like management or member, and their credentials.
    2. If no permanent credentials are defined for the member account, Discovery checks the Cloud Service Account AWS Org Assume Role Params \[cloud_service_account_aws_org_assume_role_params\] table for any special parameters associated with the member account. If parameters exist in that table, Discovery uses the temporary credentials acquired from specifying a role and its parameters in the AWS Security Token Service API AssumeRole action.
    3. If no special parameters are associated with the member account in the \[cloud_service_account_aws_org_assume_role_params\] table, Discovery checks that table for parameters associated with the management account. If parameters exist that define a role for the management account, Discovery uses the temporary credentials provided by that role.
    4. If no special parameters are present in the \[cloud_service_account_aws_org_assume_role_params\] table for either management or member accounts, Discovery uses the defaults defined for the OrganizationAccountAccessRole role.
    {#access-aws-accounts__ol_onb_5bn_phb}

Member or management account trusts accessor account
:
    1. If permanent credentials are defined for the member or management account in the Cloud Service Account \[cmdb_ci_cloud_service_account\] table, Discovery uses those credentials. The Cloud Service Accounts \[cmdb_ci_cloud_service_account\] table contains the information on the service account types, like management or member, and their credentials.
    2. If no permanent credentials are defined for the account, Discovery checks the Cloud Service Account AWS Cross Assume Role Params \[cloud_service_account_aws_cross_assume_role_params\] table for any special parameters associated with the account. If parameters exist in that table, Discovery uses the temporary credentials acquired from specifying a role and its parameters in the AWS Security Token Service API AssumeRole action.
    {#access-aws-accounts__ol_ovp_pvl_bgc}
**Zugehörige Informationen**   

* [Step-by-Step Guide to Configure AWS Cloud Discovery in ServiceNow Using Patterns \[KB2184482\]](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB2184482)
* [AWS Cloud Discovery Setup -- Use Case Guide with CloudFormation Templates \[KB2221157\]](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB2221157)