AWS IAM Policy

Obsrv requires specific AWS permissions to create and manage IAM resources and supporting infrastructure when running on an Amazon EKS cluster.

This document describes the required prerequisites, IAM policy definition, and steps to apply the policy.


Overview

Obsrv components rely on AWS services such as IAM, EKS, EC2, VPC, and S3. To ensure secure and controlled access, a restricted IAM policy (ObsrvIAMRestrictedPolicy) is used to grant only the minimum required permissions.


Prerequisites

AWS Account Requirements

You must have an AWS account with permissions to create and manage the following resources:

  • IAM users, roles, and policies

  • EKS-related IAM resources

  • VPCs

  • EC2 instances

  • S3 buckets


Environment Setup

Before installing or operating Obsrv:

  • Choose the AWS region where the existing EKS cluster is running

  • Ensure kubectl is configured to access the target EKS cluster

  • Ensure AWS CLI is configured with credentials that have admin-level access for infrastructure provisioning


IAM Policy: ObsrvIAMRestrictedPolicy

The ObsrvIAMRestrictedPolicy defines the minimum IAM permissions required to:

  • Install Obsrv on an existing EKS cluster

  • Create and manage IAM users, roles, policies, and IRSA configuration required by Obsrv components


Notes

  • Replace <AWS_ACCOUNT_ID> with your actual AWS account ID

  • Scope ARNs according to your environment and naming conventions

  • This policy is intended only for Obsrv infrastructure setup and IAM configuration


Policy Definition


Applying the ObsrvIAMRestrictedPolicy

The ObsrvIAMRestrictedPolicy must be attached to an IAM user or IAM role used during Obsrv installation and operation.

You can apply this policy using either the AWS Console or the AWS CLI.


Option 1: Attach Policy Using AWS Console

  1. Go to AWS Console → IAM → Policies

  2. Click Create policy

  3. Select the JSON tab

  4. Paste the ObsrvIAMRestrictedPolicy JSON definition

  5. Review and Create policy

  6. Attach the policy to:

    • The IAM user used for Obsrv installation or

    • The IAM role used for infrastructure provisioning


Option 2: Attach Policy Using AWS CLI

Step 1: Save the Policy Definition

Save the policy JSON to a file:

Step 2: Create the IAM Policy

Step 3: Attach the Policy to a User or Role

Attach to an IAM User:

Attach to an IAM Role:


Note: IAM Roles for Service Accounts (IRSA)

Obsrv components use IAM Roles for Kubernetes ServiceAccounts (IRSA) to access AWS services.

  • If a single ServiceAccount is used across namespaces, the same IAM role must be referenced in all Obsrv namespaces.

  • If different ServiceAccounts are used per namespace, ensure each IAM role has the required permissions.

Incorrect IRSA configuration may lead to AWS authentication failures and AWS-dependent Obsrv components not functioning correctly.

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