Overview

ACM removes the time-consuming manual process of purchasing, uploading, and renewing SSL/TLS certificates. These certificates are what enable secure HTTPS connections between your users and your website or application, showing the padlock icon in web browsers.

The service handles the complicated parts of certificate management automatically. When you request a certificate through ACM, it takes care of the validation process and, once issued, automatically renews certificates before they expire. This means you don't have to worry about your secure connections breaking due to expired certificates.

One of the best features of ACM is that certificates provided through ACM for use with AWS services are free. This can save significant costs compared to purchasing certificates from traditional providers, especially when you need certificates for multiple domains or subdomains.

ACM also integrates deeply with other AWS services, automatically deploying certificates where they're needed. This eliminates the error-prone process of manually copying and installing certificate files on your servers.

Example uses

Secure Websites: Add HTTPS security to websites hosted on AWS services like CloudFront or Elastic Load Balancing.
API Security: Secure API endpoints with HTTPS to protect data in transit.
Internal Services: Secure communication between internal services using private certificates.
Multiple Domains: Secure multiple subdomains (like *.example.com) with a single certificate.

Integration with other AWS services

ACM works seamlessly with several AWS services:

AWS Elastic Load Balancing: Automatically deploy certificates for load balancers
Amazon CloudFront: Secure content delivery with HTTPS
Amazon API Gateway: Add HTTPS security to your APIs
AWS Elastic Beanstalk: Secure web applications automatically

Think of ACM as your certificate expert that handles all the complex parts of keeping your HTTPS connections secure and up-to-date, while you focus on building your application.

AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)