- Setting up the permissions required to run Plerion infrastructure
- Installing the infrastructure in the regions where you want to run workload scans
Step 1: Set up permissions
1
On the Plerion dashboard, go to Settings > Integrations
2
Find AWS workload service account and click the + button
3
Launch the CloudFormation stack
Click 
Launch stack to open the Quick create stack page in AWS CloudFormation.4
Confirm the service account is added
- After the CloudFormation stack completes, the service account will be created automatically.
- You will see it listed on the Service Accounts page in Plerion.
5
Open the service account details
6
Configure regions for deployment
- From the service account details page, configure the regions where you want to install the Plerion infrastructure.
- See Step 2: Install infrastructure in regions.
Limitations
- An AWS account can only be associated with one service account.
- Service accounts cannot be shared across tenants or organizations.
- A maximum of 10 service accounts can be created in a tenant.
Resources created
Creating the CloudFormation stack will deploy:| Resource | Resource type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PlerionWorkloadAccessRole | AWS::IAM::Role | Role assumed by the Plerion Control Plane to manage the service account. |
| PlerionWorkloadAccessPolicy | AWS::IAM::ManagedPolicy | Policy attached to the role above, granting permissions to manage appliances and clean up resources. |
| PlerionInstanceProfileRole | AWS::IAM::Role | Role attached to appliance instances, allowing them to assume target account roles. |
| PlerionInstanceProfile | AWS::IAM::InstanceProfile | Instance profile using the appliance role. |
| PlerionAPICallFunction | AWS::Lambda::Function | Calls the Plerion API to create the service account automatically. |
| PlerionAPILambdaExecutionRole | AWS::IAM::Role | Role attached to the Lambda function, allowing it to call the Plerion API. |
| PlerionAPICall | Custom::PlerionAPICall | Custom resource for creating the service account through the API. |
Troubleshooting
Error:PlerionInstanceProfileRole already exists in the stackCause: This indicates the AWS account is already being used as a service account in another Plerion organization.
Fix: Remove the existing service account and stack, or use a different AWS account.
Step 2: Install infrastructure in regions
1
On the service account dashboard, click Enable Region
2
Launch the CloudFormation stack
Select the region where you want to install the Plerion infrastructure and click 
Launch Stack.3
Complete the AWS CloudFormation wizard
Follow the on-screen steps in AWS CloudFormation to deploy the infrastructure.
4
Confirm the region is enabled
- After the stack finishes, the region will appear as enabled in the service account dashboard.
- Enable and install infrastructure in all regions where you want to run workload scans.
5
Link target accounts to the service account
- After installing infrastructure in all required regions, link target accounts.
- See Linking target accounts to a service account.
Resources created
Installing the CloudFormation template will create the following resources in each region:| Resource | Resource type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ElasticIpAZ1 | AWS::EC2::EIP | The Elastic IP address for the NAT Gateway. |
| InternetGateway | AWS::EC2::InternetGateway | Allow the VPC to access the internet. |
| NatGatewayAZ1 | AWS::EC2::NatGateway | The NAT Gateway allows the private subnet to access the internet securely |
| PlerionAPICall | Custom::PlerionAPICall | Custom resource to call the Plerion API to create the service account automatically. |
| PlerionAPICallFunction | AWS::Lambda::Function | The Lambda function will be used to call the Plerion API to create the service account automatically. |
| PlerionAPILambdaExecutionRole | AWS::IAM::Role | The role that will be attached to the PlerionAPICallFunction to allow the function to call the Plerion API. |
| PlerionApplianceAutoScalingGroup | AWS::AutoScaling::AutoScalingGroup | The AutoScaling group that will be used to manage the appliance instances. |
| PlerionApplianceLaunchLifecycleHook | AWS::AutoScaling::LifecycleHook | The lifecycle hook that will be used to manage the appliance instances. |
| PlerionApplianceLaunchTemplate | AWS::EC2::LaunchTemplate | The launch template that will be used to launch the appliance instances. |
| PlerionApplianceQueueBacklogNoInstances | AWS::CloudWatch::Alarm | The alarm that will be used to scale out the appliance instances. |
| PlerionApplianceQueueBacklogPerInstanceScaleIn | AWS::CloudWatch::Alarm | The alarm that will be used to terminate appliances when the queue has a smaller backlog |
| PlerionApplianceQueueBacklogPerInstanceScaleOut | AWS::CloudWatch::Alarm | The alarm that will be used to scale out the appliance instances when the workload scan queue has a backlog. |
| PlerionApplianceQueueNoBacklogWithInstancesScaleIn | AWS::CloudWatch::Alarm | The alarm that will be used to terminate appliances when the queue has no backlog. |
| PlerionApplianceScanQueue | AWS::SQS::Queue | The queue that will be used to manage the workload scan queue. |
| PlerionApplianceSecurityGroup | AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup | The security group that will be used to manage the appliance instances. The security group allows outbound access to allow the appliance to scan and send results |
| PlerionApplianceSubnetAZ1Private | AWS::EC2::Subnet | The private subnet that will be used to launch the appliance instances. |
| PlerionApplianceTerminationLifecycleHook | AWS::AutoScaling::LifecycleHook | The lifecycle hook that will be used to manage the appliance instances. |
| PlerionApplianceVPC | AWS::EC2::VPC | The VPC that will be used to launch the appliance instances. |
| PlerionKmsKey | AWS::KMS::Key | The KMS key that will be used to encrypt the resources being copied from the target accounts. |
| PlerionScaleInPolicy | AWS::AutoScaling::ScalingPolicy | The policy that will be used to terminate appliances when the queue has no backlog. |
| PlerionScaleOutPolicy | AWS::AutoScaling::ScalingPolicy | The policy that will be used to scale out the appliance instances when the workload scan queue has a backlog. |
| PlerionSubnetAZ1Public | AWS::EC2::Subnet | The public subnet that will be used to host the NAT Gateway. |
| RouteTableAssociationAZ1Private | AWS::EC2::SubnetRouteTableAssociation | The association between the private subnet and the private route table. |
| RouteTableAZ1PrivateCommon | AWS::EC2::RouteTable | The private route table that will be used to route traffic to the NAT Gateway. |
| RouteTableAZ1Public | AWS::EC2::RouteTable | The public route table that will be used to route traffic to the internet. |
| RouteTableAZ1PublicSubnetAssociation | AWS::EC2::SubnetRouteTableAssociation | The association between the public subnet and the public route table. |
| RouteTablePrivateCommonAZ1InternetRoute | AWS::EC2::Route | The route that will be used to route traffic to the internet via NAT Gateway. |
| RouteTablePublicAZ1InternetRoute | AWS::EC2::Route | The route that will be used to route traffic to the internet. |
| ServiceAccountOrganization | Custom::RetrieveOrganizationIdFunction | Custom resource to retrieve the organization ID from the current AWS account. |
| ServiceAccountOrganizationFunction | AWS::Lambda::Function | The Lambda function will be used to retrieve the organization ID from the current AWS account. |
| ServiceAccountOrganizationFunctionExecutionRole | AWS::IAM::Role | The role that will be attached to the ServiceAccountOrganizationFunction to allow the function to retrieve the organization ID from the current AWS account. |
| VPCGatewayAttachment | AWS::EC2::VPCGatewayAttachment | The attachment between the VPC and the Internet Gateway. |
Troubleshooting
Error:AWS::SQS::Queue with identifier plerion-appliance-scan-queue already existsCause: This occurs if Plerion infrastructure is already installed in that region.
Fix:
- Delete the existing infrastructure and retry; or
- Choose a different region