Amazon Directory Service - Getting Started with Amazon Web Services in China
Region AvailabilityFeature Availability and Implementation DifferencesGuides and ReferencesGeneral Information About Amazon Web Services in China
Services or capabilities described in Amazon Web Services documentation might vary by Region. To see the differences applicable to the China Regions, see Getting Started with Amazon Web Services in China (PDF).

Amazon Directory Service

Amazon Directory Service provides multiple ways to use Microsoft Active Directory (AD) with other Amazon services. Directories store information about users, groups, and devices, and administrators use them to manage access to information and resources. Amazon Directory Service provides multiple directory choices for customers who want to use existing Microsoft AD or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)–aware applications in the cloud. It also offers those same choices to developers who need a directory to manage users, groups, devices, and access.

Region Availability

Amazon Directory Service is available in the following regions in China:

  • Beijing Region

  • Ningxia Region

Feature Availability and Implementation Differences

The Amazon Web Services in China implementation of Amazon Directory Service is unique in the following ways:

  • Only the Amazon Managed Microsoft AD directory type and the AD Connector directory type are supported by Amazon Directory Service in the Beijing and Ningxia Regions.

  • The following directory types are not currently supported in the Beijing and Ningxia Regions:

    • Simple AD

    • Amazon Cloud Directory

  • The following Amazon Managed Microsoft AD features are not currently supported in both the Beijing and Ningxia Regions:

    • Mapping users to IAM roles for access to the Amazon Web Services Management Console

  • The following Amazon Managed Microsoft AD features are not currently supported in the Beijing Region:

    • Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

  • The following Amazon services are not currently supported by Amazon Directory Service in both the Beijing and Ningxia Regions:

    • Amazon WorkDocs

    • Amazon WorkMail

    • Amazon QuickSight

    • Amazon Chime

    • Amazon Connect

    • Amazon Web Services Management Console

  • The following Amazon services are not currently supported by Amazon Directory Service in the Beijing Region:

    • WorkSpaces

  • Amazon Resource Names (ARNs) and endpoints have different values in the Beijing and Ningxia Regions.

  • Only signature version 4 signing is supported in the Beijing and Ningxia Regions.

Guides and References

Amazon Web Services in China user guides are available in HTML and PDF, in both Chinese and English. API references are available in HTML and PDF. Some API references may be available only in English. Currently, not all API references are available in the Beijing and Ningxia Regions. Links to some API references will take you to the global Amazon Web Services site. Note that some features and functionality described in the guides and references may not be available in the current Amazon Web Services in China release.

General Information About Amazon Web Services in China

The following information applies to all Amazon Web Services that are available in the China Regions.

Amazon Web Services Accounts in the China Regions

To use services in the Beijing and Ningxia Regions, you need an account and credentials specific to each of those Regions.

  • Accounts and credentials for other Amazon Regions will not work for services operating in the Beijing and Ningxia Regions.

  • Accounts and credentials for the Beijing and Ningxia Regions will not work for other Amazon Regions.

  • For more information, see Signup, Accounts, and Credentials.

Domain for Amazon Web Services in China

The domain for Amazon Web Services in China is www.amazonaws.cn.

Endpoints & Amazon Resource Names (ARNs)

For information about endpoints and ARNs in Amazon Web Services in China, see Endpoints and ARNs for Amazon Web Services in China.

Availability Zones for the China Regions

  • In the Beijing Region, there are three Availability Zones.

  • In the Ningxia Region, there are three Availability Zones.

General Information for Amazon Web Services in China

The following applies to all Amazon Web Services that are available in the China Regions. For detailed information about specific Amazon Web Services, see the service-specific topic in this guide.

  • Amazon Identity and Access Management (IAM)

    • You can grant or deny a service access to resources using the Principal policy element.

    • Service principal values vary by Region.

  • EC2-Classic Platform

    • The EC2-Classic platform is not supported.

  • Free Usage Tier

    • The free usage tier is supported in the Ningxia Region.

    • The free usage tier is not supported in the Beijing Region.

Amazon Web Services Console

The console for Amazon Web Services in China is unique to China. The screenshots in the Amazon Web Services guides might differ from what you see on your console. For information about differences in service functionality, see the topics for each service in this guide.

Code Examples

The Amazon Web Services documentation might include endpoints and ARNs in code examples that are not specific to the Beijing and Ningxia Regions. When using examples, verify you are using the endpoints and ARNs for your Region.