Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

AWS Certificate Manager VS Smallstep SSH

Compare AWS Certificate Manager VS Smallstep SSH and see what are their differences

AWS Certificate Manager logo AWS Certificate Manager

AWS Certificate Manager from Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Smallstep SSH logo Smallstep SSH

Single Sign-on SSH
  • AWS Certificate Manager Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-15
  • Smallstep SSH Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-04

AWS Certificate Manager features and specs

  • Automated Certificate Management
    AWS Certificate Manager automates the creation, renewal, and deployment of SSL/TLS certificates, reducing manual effort and the risk of human error.
  • Seamless Integration
    AWS Certificate Manager integrates easily with other AWS services such as Elastic Load Balancing (ELB), Amazon CloudFront, and Amazon API Gateway, simplifying the process of securing web applications.
  • Free Public Certificates
    AWS offers free public SSL/TLS certificates through AWS Certificate Manager, allowing users to secure their domains without additional cost.
  • Enhanced Security
    Automated renewal and deployment of certificates help ensure that your applications and services remain secure and compliant with industry standards.
  • Scalability
    AWS Certificate Manager can handle a large number of certificates, making it suitable for enterprises with many domains and subdomains.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Certificate Manager

  • AWS Ecosystem Dependency
    AWS Certificate Manager is deeply integrated with AWS services, which can be a limitation for businesses that utilize multi-cloud or hybrid cloud strategies.
  • Limited Customization
    Users have less control over certificate details and configurations compared to managing their own certificates manually or through other certificate authorities.
  • Proprietary Limitations
    AWS Certificate Manager's certificates can only be used with supported AWS services, which restricts their use in non-AWS environments.
  • Region Availability
    Some AWS regions may have limited support or features for AWS Certificate Manager compared to others, which can affect global deployment strategies.
  • Learning Curve
    New users may find it challenging to understand and utilize all the features and integrations provided by AWS Certificate Manager without sufficient AWS knowledge.

Smallstep SSH features and specs

  • Enhanced Security
    Smallstep SSH enables strong authentication practices by integrating with identity providers, reducing the chances of compromised passwords and ensuring secure connections.
  • Centralized Access Management
    The platform centralizes user access management, allowing admins to easily manage and revoke user access across multiple servers and services from a single point of control.
  • Ease of Integration
    Smallstep SSH integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure and identity providers like Okta and Google Workspace, simplifying the onboarding process for enterprises.
  • Improved Compliance
    With detailed logging and custom policies, Smallstep SSH helps organizations meet various compliance requirements by offering traceability and accountability for user actions.
  • Scalability
    Designed with scalability in mind, Smallstep SSH can efficiently handle growing organizational needs without sacrificing performance or security.

Possible disadvantages of Smallstep SSH

  • Complexity of Setup
    For organizations unfamiliar with identity provider integrations or certificate-based authentication, the initial setup can be complex and may require specialized knowledge.
  • Dependence on External Identity Providers
    Reliance on external identity providers for authentication means that downtime or disruptions with these services can impact Smallstep SSH functionality.
  • Limited Offline Access
    Because the solution is designed to work with identity providers, offline mode functionality is limited, which might be a concern for systems that require constant availability.
  • Cost Considerations
    For small organizations or startups, the cost of implementing and maintaining an enterprise-level authentication system like Smallstep SSH might be prohibitive.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with transitioning from traditional SSH management to Smallstep SSH's certificate-based approach, which might necessitate training for IT staff.

AWS Certificate Manager videos

How can I add certificates for websites to the ELB using AWS Certificate Manager?

Smallstep SSH videos

No Smallstep SSH videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWS Certificate Manager and Smallstep SSH)
Domain Name Registrar
100 100%
0% 0
Identity And Access Management
Network & Admin
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AWS Certificate Manager seems to be a lot more popular than Smallstep SSH. While we know about 24 links to AWS Certificate Manager, we've tracked only 1 mention of Smallstep SSH. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWS Certificate Manager mentions (24)

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Smallstep SSH mentions (1)

  • SSH With SSO
    Through a combination of the properties that are in an SSH certificate and configuration on the hosts, you'll be able to realize RBAC. If you're using the open source step-ca, this will require you to configure things yourself on the hosts. We also have an offering where this capability and management/auditing of the rules is hosted for you, which makes that specific part easier: https://smallstep.com/sso-ssh/. Source: almost 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS Certificate Manager and Smallstep SSH, you can also consider the following products

Google Authenticator - Google Authenticator is a multifactor app for mobile devices.

Keystash.io - Centralized Linux user and SSH key management software

Authy - Best rated Two-Factor Authentication smartphone app for consumers, simplest 2fa Rest API for developers and a strong authentication platform for the enterprise.

OneLogin - On-demand SSO, directory integration, user provisioning and more

Azure Multi-Factor Authentication - Azure Multi-Factor Authentication helps safeguard access to data and applications while meeting user demand for a simple sign-in process.

BastionXP - BastionXP Identity Based Infrastructure Access Platform is a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) / Certificate Authority (CA) that creates, signs and distributes SSH, SSL X.509 certificates to servers and users upon successful SSO login via OAuth or SAML