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AWS Secrets Manager vs Vault: What are the differences?
AWS Secrets Manager and Vault are both popular options for managing and securing secrets, but they differ in several key aspects. Here are the main differences between the two.
Integration with Cloud Providers: AWS Secrets Manager is tightly integrated with the AWS ecosystem, allowing seamless integration with other AWS services. On the other hand, Vault is platform-agnostic and can work across multiple cloud providers.
Scalability: AWS Secrets Manager is a fully managed service provided by Amazon, offering automatic scaling and high availability. In contrast, Vault requires manual setup and configuration for scaling and availability.
User Management: AWS Secrets Manager leverages AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for user authentication and access control. Vault, on the other hand, provides its own built-in user management system with fine-grained access control policies.
Secret Types: AWS Secrets Manager primarily focuses on managing credentials and secrets for AWS services, such as database credentials, API keys, and encryption keys. Vault, on the other hand, is more flexible and supports various secret types beyond AWS-specific use cases.
Secret Rotation: AWS Secrets Manager provides built-in automation for secret rotation, ensuring that credentials are regularly updated without manual intervention. Vault offers a similar feature, but it requires custom scripts or plugins to enable automation.
Open Source vs Managed Service: Vault is an open-source tool developed and maintained by HashiCorp, allowing complete control and customization. AWS Secrets Manager, on the other hand, is a managed service provided by Amazon, offering ease of use without the need for infrastructure management.
In summary, AWS Secrets Manager is closely tied to the AWS ecosystem, offering seamless integration and managed scaling, while Vault provides a flexible, platform-agnostic solution with its own user management system and extensive customization options.
Pros of AWS Secrets Manager
- Managed Service5
Pros of Vault
- Secure17
- Variety of Secret Backends13
- Very easy to set up and use11
- Dynamic secret generation8
- AuditLog5
- Privilege Access Management3
- Leasing and Renewal3
- Easy to integrate with2
- Open Source2
- Consol integration2
- Handles secret sprawl2
- Variety of Auth Backends2
- Multicloud1