AWS EC2 DevBox with SSM Access

This project provides a Terraform configuration for creating a secure development environment on AWS EC2, accessible via AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Session Manager. It's designed for developers who need a remote development environment that's both secure and easy to access via VS Code.

Features

• 🔒 Secure Access: No inbound ports open, all access via AWS SSM
• 🔗 VS Code Integration: Easy connection via VS Code Remote-SSH
• 📊 Monitoring: CloudWatch metrics and logs enabled
• 🏗️ Infrastructure as Code: Complete Terraform configuration
• 🔄 Cross-Platform: Support for both PowerShell and Bash

Prerequisites

• AWS CLI configured with appropriate credentials
• Terraform >= 1.0
• VS Code with Remote-SSH extension installed
• PowerShell or Bash shell

Quick Start

1. Initialize Terraform

   terraform init

2. Apply the configuration

   terraform apply

3. Run the setup script

   For PowerShell:

   .\scripts\setup-vscode.ps1

   For Bash:

   ./scripts/setup-vscode.sh

4. Start the SSM tunnel

   For PowerShell:

   .\scripts\start-tunnel.ps1

5. Connect via VS Code

   • Open Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P)
   • Type "Remote-SSH: Connect to Host"
   • Select "devbox"

Project Structure

.
├── main.tf                 # Root Terraform configuration
├── versions.tf             # Provider and version constraints
├── outputs.tf             # Root outputs
├── modules/
│   └── ec2-devbox/        # EC2 instance module
│       ├── main.tf        # Main module configuration
│       ├── iam.tf         # IAM roles and policies
│       ├── variables.tf   # Module variables
│       ├── outputs.tf     # Module outputs
│       └── README.md      # Module documentation
└── scripts/
    ├── setup-vscode.ps1   # PowerShell setup script
    ├── setup-vscode.sh    # Bash setup script
    └── start-tunnel.ps1   # PowerShell tunnel script

Security Features

• No inbound security group rules
• SSM access only (no SSH keys needed)
• Minimal IAM permissions
• CloudWatch logging and monitoring
• IMDSv2 required

Customization

The module supports various customization options through variables:

module "devbox" {
  source = "./modules/ec2-devbox"

  name_prefix      = "custom-name"
  instance_type    = "t3.large"  # For more resources
  root_volume_size = 100         # Larger storage
  
  tags = {
    Environment = "Development"
    Project     = "MyProject"
  }
}

Monitoring

The instance comes with CloudWatch monitoring enabled for:

• CPU usage
• Memory usage
• Disk usage
• System logs (/var/log/messages, /var/log/secure)

View these metrics in the AWS CloudWatch console under:

• Metrics: EC2 instance metrics
• Logs: /ec2/devbox/

Troubleshooting

1. VS Code can't connect

   • Ensure the SSM tunnel is running
   • Check AWS CLI credentials
   • Verify instance is running

2. No metrics in CloudWatch

   • Wait a few minutes for metrics to appear
   • Check instance has internet access
   • Verify IAM roles are correct

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• AWS Systems Manager team for the excellent SSM Session Manager
• Visual Studio Code team for Remote-SSH capabilities
• Terraform and HashiCorp for the excellent IaC tools