Security groups on AWS

Question

I understand that AWS/EC2 security groups are just like a firewall. But can I ask:

• How is this implemented, for you Amazon insiders? Is it software or a hardware device that's off-the-shelf?
• What happens within EC2. For example, does the security group stop me from flooding a competing website's HTTP address from within the EC2 environment, by using their private IP address? Can I access their RDP connection on the private address?

Answer 1

Since no one has answered yet - I'll give it a go - I'm not an AWS 'insider' but we have built a cloud management platform on top of it - so we have some experience.

A security group is the same effect as a firewall, and even in some of Amazon's documentation they refer to it as a firewall - but you don't get the same level of control as you would with your own s/w or h/w device - you just get a level of security rule setting functionality.

In a previous business we did something similar for our shared services, and basically it was some hefty hardware firewalls that we admin'd but gave users the ability to set some basic rules for their VM's. I believe AWS is pretty much the same. They have the POWER and the user has LOCAL VM control.

Hopefully someone from Amazon will see this and shed more light for you!

-Ed, digitalmines.com