Rule: S3 Bucket Cross-Region Replication Should Be Enabled
This rule ensures that S3 bucket cross-region replication is enabled for data redundancy and disaster recovery.
| Rule | S3 bucket cross-region replication should be enabled |
| Framework | FedRAMP Moderate Revision 4 |
| Severity | ✔ Critical |
AWS S3 Bucket Cross-Region Replication for FedRAMP Moderate Revision 4
Cross-region replication (CRR) is an Amazon S3 feature that automatically replicates data across AWS regions. For organizations aiming to comply with Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate Revision 4, enabling CRR can help in meeting data residency and recovery objectives by ensuring that copies of your data are available in multiple geographic locations.
Understanding CRR in Context of FedRAMP Moderate Revision 4
FedRAMP is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. The "Moderate" baseline includes controls that are necessary for cloud services that handle sensitive federal information.
Cross-region replication aids in:
- Maintaining data durability by protecting against region-specific failures.
- Meeting compliance requirements related to data residency and geographically distributed backups.
Enabling S3 Bucket Cross-Region Replication
Prerequisites
- Ensure you have the necessary permissions to manage S3 buckets and replication rules.
- Source and destination buckets must have versioning enabled.
- The destination bucket must be in a different AWS region.
Step-by-Step Guide
- 1.
Enable Versioning on Source and Destination Buckets
aws s3api put-bucket-versioning --bucket YourSourceBucketName --versioning-configuration Status=Enabled aws s3api put-bucket-versioning --bucket YourDestinationBucketName --versioning-configuration Status=Enabled - 2.
Create a Replication Rule
- Navigate to the Amazon S3 console and choose the source bucket.
- Go to the "Management" tab and click on "Replication."
- Click "Add rule" to create a new replication rule.
- 3.
Configure Rule Settings
- Specify the objects to replicate (e.g., all or specific prefixes or tags).
- Select the destination bucket and region.
- Set up the IAM role which S3 can assume to replicate objects.
- 4.
Review and Save the Replication Rule
- Verify all details are correct.
- Click "Save" to activate the replication rule.
Troubleshooting Steps
- Replication not starting: Check if versioning is enabled on both buckets and whether the IAM role has the correct permissions.
- Incomplete replication: Ensure the IAM role has sufficient permissions for all resources in the rule and check for any object-specific settings (like object locks or ownership).
- Latency concerns: Monitor the replication status and if there are delays, consider the data size and network latency.
Necessary AWS CLI Commands
To create a replication role:
aws iam create-role --role-name s3-replication-role --assume-role-policy-document file://trust-policy.json
To attach the policy to the role:
aws iam put-role-policy --role-name s3-replication-role --policy-name s3-replication-policy --policy-document file://permission-policy.json
Remediating Common Issues with CLI commands
Enable Versioning on a Bucket:
aws s3api put-bucket-versioning --bucket YourBucketName --versioning-configuration Status=EnabledCheck Replication Status:
aws s3api get-bucket-replication --bucket YourSourceBucketName
After ensuring that cross-region replication is set up correctly and following best practices, your S3 bucket configuration will be better aligned with FedRAMP Moderate Revision 4 requirements. This enhances your cloud service's security and reliability, and can potentially contribute to improved SEO as a result of your organization's compliance posture and robust data management capabilities.