A cloud solutions architect needs to execute urgent mission-critical tasks on the AWS Management console. But he has left his Windows-based machine at home. Given that only Non-Graphical User Interface (non-GUI), Linux-based machines are currently available, what would be the most secure option to administer these tasks on the cloud infrastructure?

Answer options:

A.Share the AWS Management Console credentials with the person at home over the phone to execute the tasks on his behalf.
B.Use third-party remote desktop software to access the Windows-based machine at home from the non-GUI workstations and administer the required tasks.
C.Use Secure Shell (SSH) to securely connect to the Windows-based machine from one of the non-GUI Linux-based machines and log onto the AWS Management console.
D.Install and run AWS CLI on one of the non-GUI Linux-based machines, in a shell environment such as bash. The cloud solutions architect will be able to access ALL services just as they can also be accessed from a Windows-based machine.

Correct Answer – D
AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) is an open-source tool that enables access and interaction with AWS services using commands in the command-line shell. With minimal configuration, the cloud solutions architect would start using the functionality equivalent to that provided by the browser-based AWS Management Console from the command prompt in a terminal program such as bash.
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-chap-welcome.html
Option A is INCORRECT because sharing AWS Management console credentials is a bad-practice and poses a high-security risk.
https://aws.amazon.com/iam/details/managing-user-credentials/
Option B is INCORRECT because accessing the AWS Management console via third-party remote desktop software is insecure since the remote machine can be compromised.
Option C is INCORRECT because it is rather cumbersome in comparison. The secure option is the direct access method of AWS CLI.