New connection methods for the AWS EC2 Connector provide increased security

FlexNet Manager Suite version 2019 R2
The AWS EC2 Connector now offers two additional methods for establishing a connection between FlexNet Manager Suite and AWS EC2:
  1. Configuring Connections to AWS EC2 using IAM Roles — This method uses IAM roles that generate temporary security credentials. This method allows you to collect inventory from multiple accounts using a single temporary access key ID, a secret access key, and a security token that indicates when the credentials expire. This increases security by reducing the need for long-term access keys which must be manually revoked and which require a security policy attached to the user to then grant the necessary permissions.
  2. Configuring Connections to AWS EC2 (FlexNet Beacon Installed on EC2 instance) using IAM Roles — This method enhances the role based method listed above by installing FlexNet Beacon installed directly on an AWS EC2 instance which eliminates the need for users to enter any credentials to verify their identity. This method follows Amazon's best practice guidelines which recommend minimizing the use of long-term access keys for increased security.
Note: Existing connections are not affected and will continue to work.