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What is the difference between an IAM user and an IAM role?
AA user is free; a role costs $0.01 per use
BA user can only access S3; a role can only access EC2
CA user represents a person or app with long-lived credentials; a role is assumed temporarily and provides short-lived credentials
DA user is global; a role is bound to a single Availability Zone
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. A user represents a person or app with long-lived credentials; a role is assumed temporarily and provides short-lived credentials
IAM users have long-lived passwords/access keys tied to a person or service. IAM roles are assumable identities — when a principal (user, service, federated identity) assumes the role, STS issues short-lived credentials. Roles are the preferred way to grant EC2 instances or Lambda functions access to other AWS services.
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