All 7 AWS Secrets Manager & Parameter Store questions
More in AWS Secrets Manager & Parameter Store
What is AWS Secrets Manager and what problem does it solve for applications that need database credentials or API keys? How does automatic secret rotation work in Secrets Manager, and why is it an important security practice? How do applications retrieve secrets at runtime, and what caching strategies help reduce the cost and latency of frequent secret retrieval? How can IAM policies restrict access to specific secrets, ensuring only authorized applications or users can retrieve sensitive credentials? How can Secrets Manager and Parameter Store be integrated with container orchestration platforms like ECS and EKS to securely inject secrets into running applications? How should an organization design a comprehensive secrets management strategy across multiple environments and AWS accounts, balancing security with operational complexity?
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AWS › AWS Secrets Manager & Parameter Store

What is AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store, and how does it differ from Secrets Manager?

Beginner

Answer

Parameter Store lets you store configuration data and secrets as named parameters, offering both a free standard tier suitable for general configuration values and a paid advanced tier with additional features, and while it can store sensitive data using encrypted SecureString parameters, it lacks some of Secrets Manager's more advanced built in features, such as automatic secret rotation, meaning many organizations use Parameter Store for general application configuration and Secrets Manager specifically for credentials requiring automatic rotation.
aws ssm put-parameter --name /myapp/db-host --value 'db.example.com' --type String
Real-world example A company stores its application's general configuration values, like feature flags and non sensitive environment settings, in the free tier of Parameter Store, while using Secrets Manager specifically for its database credentials that need automatic rotation.

Common follow-ups: When would you choose Parameter Store's SecureString type over storing something in Secrets Manager entirely?;What is the cost difference between the standard and advanced Parameter Store tiers?

IAM;AWS Cost Management & Billing
All 7 AWS Secrets Manager & Parameter Store questions