Overview
Dartmouth College offers AWS accounts to faculty and staff for research, academic, and administrative purposes. AWS (Amazon Web Services) is a comprehensive public cloud platform that provides a wide range of infrastructure services, including:
- Virtual Machines: Deploy and manage scalable compute resources with Amazon EC2.
- Storage: Secure, scalable storage options like Amazon S3 for files, data, and backups.
- Databases: Managed relational, NoSQL, and in-memory databases, such as Amazon RDS.
- Containers and Orchestration: Containerized application management using services like Amazon ECS and EKS.
- Network Tools: Networking capabilities including VPNs, load balancers, and VPCs.
- Security Tools: Integrated security services for identity management, encryption, and compliance.
Who Can Request an AWS Account?
Faculty, staff, and researchers at Dartmouth can request AWS accounts for academic, research, or administrative projects. Students must work under the sponsorship of a faculty or staff member.
Request Process
1. Submit a request through the Dartmouth AWS Request Form. You will need to provide:
- Department Name / Account Purpose.
- Chart String or PATEO (full 25 digits required to avoid delays).
- Research Data Security Plan (for researchers handling sensitive data).
- Technical Contact (NetID + Email Address).
- Billing Contact (NetID + Email Address).
- Console Access List (NetIDs + Email Addresses for administrative access).
- Billing Access List (NetIDs + Email Addresses for billing and cost reporting access).
- Data Classification Information (type of data to be stored in AWS).
2. Processing: Once submitted, the Infrastructure Services team will configure the account, including SSO for secure login. You will receive access instructions by email.
Account Setup and Access
Single Sign-On (SSO): Dartmouth AWS accounts are integrated with SSO, allowing users to access AWS services using their Dartmouth NetID credentials. You’ll be assigned appropriate roles based on your requirements.
Role Management: Once your account is active, you can manage access through role assignments using Dartmouth’s identity management system, allowing you to control who has permissions within the account.
Security Policies
Dartmouth College adheres to institutional and industry-standard security protocols to protect AWS resources. AWS accounts are configured with:
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Ensures secure access to AWS resources.
- IAM Role Management: Fine-grained access control to define who can manage or access specific services.
- Compliance: If your project involves sensitive data (HIPAA, FERPA), specific configurations will be applied to ensure compliance with these regulations.
Billing and Cost Management
Centralized Billing: AWS billing is centrally managed by Dartmouth’s ITC. All usage is charged monthly against the provided chart strings or PATEO strings.
Service Costs: AWS operates on a pay-as-you-go model, meaning charges are based on actual usage. Detailed billing statements are processed through Dartmouth's internal billing systems and allocated based on the provided funding source. Be sure to budget for AWS costs as part of your project planning.
Data Privacy and Compliance
All AWS subaccounts at Dartmouth must comply with Dartmouth College’s Data Incident Security Compliance (DISC) Policy. This policy governs the handling and protection of sensitive data, including research, academic, and administrative information. Compliance with DISC policies is the responsibility of the requestor and the designated responsible party for the AWS subaccount. This includes ensuring that appropriate security controls, such as encryption and access management, are applied to meet Dartmouth’s data privacy requirements.
Support and Training
Dartmouth offers support for AWS services, including training and guidance on using AWS services efficiently. The Infrastructure Services team is available for consultations to help optimize your cloud setup.
For more information or to request an AWS account, visit the AWS Request Form or contact Dartmouth Infrastructure Services.