Resource Access Management:Use RAM to limit the period of time in which users are allowed to access Alibaba Cloud resources

Step 1: Create a custom policy

1. Log on to the RAM console by using your Alibaba Cloud account.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Permissions > Policies.
3. On the Policies page, click Create Policy.
4. On the Create Policy page, click the JSON tab.
5. Enter the policy document and click Next to edit policy information.

   The following policy indicates that the authorized RAM user can access Alibaba Cloud ECS only before 17:00 on August 12, 2019 (UTC+8). In this case, the acs:CurrentTime parameter in the Condition element is set to 2019-08-12T17:00:00+08:00.

   {
     "Statement": [
       {
         "Action": "ecs:*",
         "Effect": "Allow",
         "Resource": "*",
         "Condition": {
             "DateLessThan": {
                 "acs:CurrentTime": "2019-08-12T17:00:00+08:00"
             }
         }
       }
     ],
     "Version": "1"
   }

   Note The Condition element applies only to the actions specified for the current policy. You can change the value 2019-08-12T17:00:00+08:00 based on your business requirements.
6. Specify the Name and Description fields.
7. Check and optimize the document of the custom policy.
   • Basic optimization

     The system automatically optimizes the policy statement. The system performs the following operations during basic optimization:

     • Deletes unnecessary conditions.
     • Deletes unnecessary arrays.
   • Optional:Advanced optimization

     You can move the pointer over Optional advanced optimize and click Perform. The system performs the following operations during the advanced optimization:

     • Splits resources or conditions that are incompatible with actions.
     • Narrows down resources.
     • Deduplicates or merges policy statements.
8. Click OK.

Step 2: Create a RAM user

1. Log on to the RAM console by using your Alibaba Cloud account.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Identities > Users.
3. On the Users page, click Create User.
4. In the User Account Information section of the Create User page, configure the following parameters:
   • Logon Name: The logon name can be up to 64 characters in length, and can contain letters, digits, periods (.), hyphens (-), and underscores (_).
   • Display Name: The display name can be up to 128 characters in length.
   • Optional:Tag: You can click the icon. In the dialog box that appears, specify the Tag Key and Tag Value parameters. You can add one or more tags to the RAM user. This way, you can manage the RAM user based on the tags.

   Note You can click Add User to create multiple RAM users at a time.
5. In the Access Mode section, select an access mode and configure the required parameters.

   To ensure the security of your Alibaba Cloud account, we recommend that you select only one access mode for the RAM user. This way, the RAM user for an individual is separated from the RAM user for a program.

   • Console Access

     If the RAM user represents an individual, we recommend that you select Console Access for the RAM user. This way, the RAM user can use a username and password to access Alibaba Cloud. If you select Console Access, you must configure the following parameters:

     • Console Password: You can select Automatically Regenerate Default Password or Reset Custom Password. If you select Reset Custom Password, you must specify a password. The password must meet the complexity requirements. For more information, see Configure a password policy for RAM users.
     • Password Reset: specifies whether the RAM user is required to reset the password upon the next logon.
     • Multi-factor Authentication: specifies whether to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for the RAM user. If you select Required to Enable MFA for the RAM user, the RAM user must bind an MFA device when the RAM user logs on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console. For more information, see Enable an MFA device for a RAM user.
   • OpenAPI Access

     If the RAM user represents a program, we recommend that you select OpenAPI Access for the RAM user. This way, the RAM user can use an AccessKey pair to access Alibaba Cloud. If you select OpenAPI Access, the system automatically generates an AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret for the RAM user. For more information, see Create an AccessKey pair.

6. Click OK.

Step 3: Attach the policy to the RAM user

Attach the policy that you created in Step 1 to the RAM user that you created in Step 2.

1. Log on to the RAM console by using your Alibaba Cloud account.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Identities > Users.
3. On the Users page, find the RAM user to which you want to attach the custom policy, and click Add Permissions in the Actions column.
4. In the Add Permissions panel, grant permissions to the RAM user.
   1. Select the authorization scope.
      • Alibaba Cloud Account: The authorization takes effect on the current Alibaba Cloud account.
      • Specific Resource Group: The authorization takes effect in a specific resource group.
        Note If you select Specific Resource Group for Authorized Scope, make sure that the required cloud service supports resource groups. For more information, see Services that work with Resource Group.
   2. Specify the principal.
      The principal is the RAM user to which you want to grant permissions. By default, the current RAM user is specified. You can also specify another RAM user.
   3. Select policies.
      Note You can attach a maximum of five policies to a RAM user at a time. If you need to attach more than five policies to a RAM user, perform the operation multiple times.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Complete.