SSL/TLS termination in AWS - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is SSL/TLS termination?

SSL/TLS termination is the process where encrypted traffic is decrypted at a specific point, usually at a load balancer or proxy, before it reaches the backend servers.

beginner

Why do we use SSL/TLS termination in cloud infrastructure?

We use SSL/TLS termination to offload the work of decrypting traffic from backend servers, improving performance and simplifying certificate management.

beginner

Where does SSL/TLS termination typically happen in AWS?

In AWS, SSL/TLS termination typically happens at the Elastic Load Balancer (ELB), such as Application Load Balancer (ALB) or Classic Load Balancer.

intermediate

What is the difference between SSL/TLS termination and SSL/TLS passthrough?

SSL/TLS termination decrypts traffic at the load balancer, while SSL/TLS passthrough sends encrypted traffic directly to backend servers without decrypting it first.

beginner

What AWS service can manage SSL/TLS certificates for termination?

AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) can provision, manage, and deploy SSL/TLS certificates for use with AWS services like ELB.

Where does SSL/TLS termination usually occur in AWS?

A At the Elastic Load Balancer

B Directly on backend EC2 instances

C On the client device

D In the AWS S3 bucket

SSL/TLS termination typically happens at the Elastic Load Balancer to offload decryption from backend servers.

What is the main benefit of SSL/TLS termination?

A Disables encryption for faster traffic

B Encrypts traffic between client and load balancer

C Stores certificates in backend servers

D Improves backend server performance by offloading decryption

SSL/TLS termination improves backend performance by handling decryption at the load balancer.

Which AWS service helps manage SSL/TLS certificates for termination?

A Amazon S3

B AWS Lambda

C AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)

D AWS CloudTrail

AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) manages SSL/TLS certificates for AWS services.

What happens in SSL/TLS passthrough?

A Traffic is unencrypted from client to backend

B Encrypted traffic is sent directly to backend servers without decryption

C Traffic is decrypted at the load balancer

D Certificates are terminated at the client

In passthrough, encrypted traffic passes through the load balancer to backend servers without decryption.

Why might you choose SSL/TLS passthrough over termination?

A To keep encryption end-to-end between client and backend

B To improve load balancer performance

C To simplify certificate management

D To reduce backend server load

Passthrough keeps encryption from client all the way to backend servers for end-to-end security.

Explain what SSL/TLS termination is and why it is used in cloud infrastructure.

Think about where encrypted traffic is decrypted and how it helps servers.

Describe the difference between SSL/TLS termination and SSL/TLS passthrough in AWS.

Consider where the encrypted traffic is decrypted in each case.