AWS IAM Identity Center adds optimistic locking for users and groups
AWS IAM Identity Center now supports optimistic locking for users and groups to prevent conflicting updates in the identity store.
AWS IAM Identity Center has introduced optimistic locking for users and groups within its identity store. This update helps prevent data conflicts and accidental overwrites when multiple administrators or automated workflows attempt to modify the same identity at the same time.
What is new in AWS IAM Identity Center?
The update introduces a Revision value for every user and group in the identity store. This value changes whenever attributes are modified, whether through the IAM Identity Center console, Active Directory sync, or SCIM provisioning.
- API operations such as Create, Describe, Update, and List now return the current Revision value.
- The UpdateUser, UpdateGroup, DeleteUser, and DeleteGroup operations can now accept a Revision as a parameter.
- If a request is made with a Revision that does not match the current value in the identity store, the API returns a ConflictException.
- Providing a Revision is optional; requests that omit it will continue to function as they did previously, ensuring backward compatibility for existing integrations.
Why does optimistic locking matter for administrators?
In environments where multiple administrators are working simultaneously or where high-frequency automated workflows are managing identities, there is a risk of "silent overwrites." Without optimistic locking, one update could overwrite the changes made by another process just milliseconds prior. By using the Revision value, organizations can ensure data integrity, as the system will reject any update based on outdated information.
How does the Identity Store API handle revisions?
This capability is implemented through the Identity Store API, though it is important to note that conditional requests are not supported through the SCIM endpoint. Additionally, group membership operations do not utilize the Revision value, and adding or removing members from a group will not change the Revision of the user or the group itself.
For builders, this allows for more robust error handling in automation scripts. For example, a developer can call DescribeUser to retrieve the current Revision, perform necessary logic, and then pass that Revision into an UpdateUser request. If a concurrent process has modified the user in the interim, the developer's update will fail with a ConflictException, signaling the workflow to re-read the user data and retry with the latest values.
Is this feature available in my region?
Optimistic locking for IAM Identity Center is available in all AWS Regions where the service is currently offered. This feature is provided at no additional cost.
Source: aws.amazon.com