DynamoDB (IAM)

Last modified on April 2, 2025

Overview

A datasource consists of a database resource and the credentials used to access it. This guide describes how to add a DynamoDB (IAM) database as a datasource in the StrongDM Admin UI.

Prerequisites

To add a datasource, make sure you have met the following prerequisites:

Properly configure an account for your database resource. If you choose to store credentials for the resource with StrongDM, have those credentials ready. When not using StrongDM, set up a Secret Store integration and be able to enter the location of the secrets required to access the resource.
The hostname or endpoint you enter for your resource must be accessible by at least one gateway or relay. To verify this, log in to the gateway or relay and use the nc -zv <YOUR_HOSTNAME> <YOUR_PORT> Netcat command. For example, use nc -zv testdb-01.fancy.org 5432. If your gateway server can connect to this hostname, you can proceed.
Netcat is a network analysis tool for checking various hostnames and ports by either sending data (a ping) or checking for listeners on ports. The command in the aforementioned example uses the -z flag to check for listeners without sending data and the -v flag to show verbose output. If you do not have Netcat, you can use a package manager such as APT (Advanced Package Tool) to install it. On Linux-based distributions, run apt-get install netcat.

For a DynamoDB resource with role assumption, successful healthchecks to the resource require the access policy in AWS to contain the following permissions:

statement {
    effect = "Allow"
    actions = [
        "dynamodb:ListGlobalTables",
        "dynamodb:ListTables",
        "dynamodb:ListStreams"
    ]
    resources = ["*"]
}

The EC2 instance that is running the gateway or relay must have an IAM role that allows access to DynamoDB.

Add a Datasource

To add your DynamoDB (IAM) database as a StrongDM datasource, use the following steps.

Log in to the StrongDM Admin UI.
Go to Resources > Datasources.
Click Add datasource.
Select DynamoDB (IAM) as the Datasource Type and set other configuration properties for your new database resource.
Complete all required fields.
Click Create to save the resource.
Click the resource name to view status, diagnostic information, and setting details.

Resource properties

Configuration properties are visible when you add a datasource or when you click to view its settings. The following table describes the settings available for your DynamoDB (IAM) database.

Property	Requirement	Description
Display Name	Required	Meaningful name to display the resource throughout StrongDM; exclude special characters like quotes (") or angle brackets (< or >)
Datasource Type	Required	Select DynamoDB (IAM)
Proxy Cluster	Required	Defaults to “None (use gateways)”; if using proxy clusters, select the appropriate cluster to proxy traffic to this resource
Endpoint	Required	API server endpoint of the resource in the format `dynamodb.<REGION>.amazonaws.com`, such as `dynamodb.us-west-2.amazonaws.com`; relay server should be able to connect to your resource
Port Override	Read only	Automatically generated with a value between 1024 to 59999 as long as that port is not used by another resource; preferred port can be modified later under Settings > Port Overrides; after specifying the port override number, you must also update the kubectl configuration, which you can learn more about in section Port Overrides
Region	Required	Region of the resource, such as `us-west-2`
Secret Store	Optional	Credential store location; defaults to Strong Vault; to learn more, see Secret Store options
Assume Role ARN	Optional	Role ARN, such as `arn:aws:iam::000000000000:role/RoleName`, that allows users accessing this resource to assume a role using AWS AssumeRole functionality
Assume Role ARN (path)	Optional	If Secret Store integration is configured for your organization and you selected a Secret Store type that is not StrongDM, enter the path to the secret in your Secret Store (for example, `path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName`); the key argument is optional
Assume Role External ID	Optional	External ID if leveraging an external ID to users assuming a role from another account; if used, it must be used in conjunction with Assume Role ARN; see the AWS documentation on using external IDs for more information
Assume Role External ID (path)	Optional	If Secret Store integration is configured for your organization and you selected a Secret Store type that is not StrongDM, enter the path to the secret in your Secret Store (for example, `path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName`); the key argument is optional
Resource Tags	Optional	Resource tags consisting of key-value pairs `<KEY>=<VALUE>` (for example, `env=dev`)

Secret Store options

By default, datasource credentials are stored in StrongDM. However, these credentials can also be saved in a secrets management tool.

Non-StrongDM options appear in the Secret Store dropdown if they are created under Settings > Secrets Management. When you select another Secret Store type, its unique properties display. For more details, see Configure Secret Store Integrations.

Resource status

After a resource is created, the Admin UI displays that resource as unhealthy until the healthchecks run successfully. When the resource is ready, the Health icon indicates a positive, green status.

When the resource does not display a positive status, click the resource name to go to the Diagnostics tab and check for errors.

DynamoDB (IAM)

Overview #

Prerequisites #

Add a Datasource #

Resource properties #

Secret Store options #

Resource status #