Connect to Windows Server 2016 GameLift Instance with SDK version 5

Question

Is it possible to make an RDP connection to a **Windows Server 2016** GameLift instance which runs a game server built with SDK version 5 and above?

Here are the steps I follow from the documentation here: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/gamelift/latest/developerguide/fleets-remote-access.html.

1. I try to get the instance access details by calling the `get-instance-access` API. This throws an error and suggests me to use the `get-compute-access` API instead.
```
C:\Users\Merih>aws gamelift get-instance-access --fleet-id fleet-7aeb08ab-b5ac-47a2-a77e-f165ded62973 --instance-id i-0559c2e5e5b85679f

An error occurred (InvalidRequestException) when calling the GetInstanceAccess operation: This API does not support fleets using builds integrated with GameLift Server SDK 5 and above. Use the GetComputeAccess operation to access this fleet resource.
```
2. When I call the `get-compute-access` API, I am returned the credentials which I believe can only be used with SSM. It cannot be used for an RDP session.

```
C:\Users\Merih>aws gamelift get-compute-access --fleet-id fleet-7aeb08ab-b5ac-47a2-a77e-f165ded62973 --compute-name i-0559c2e5e5b85679f
{
    "FleetId": "fleet-7aeb08ab-b5ac-47a2-a77e-f165ded62973",
    "Credentials": {
        "AccessKeyId": "omitted",
        "SecretAccessKey": "omitted",
        "SessionToken": "omitted"
    }
}
```
3. I navigate to Session Manager in hoping that I can start a session. However the instance is not listed even though the required IAM role is attached to the instance with `AmazonSSMManagedInstanceCore` policy.

So, I hit this deadend and I cannot start an RDP session to my Windows Server 2016 GameLift instance.

I see a lot of posts from people who managed to connect to Linux hosts with SSM.

Is it really not possible to connect to Windows if you are using SDK version 5 and above?

Accepted Answer

Hey Merih,

Yes, the expected method for accessing compute on SDK 5 fleets is through SSM; however, you won't be able to create an SSM session through the console. You should be able to connect via the aws cli:

```
// Step 1 : Acquire credentials to start a session
aws gamelift get-compute-access --fleet-id  --region  --compute-name

// Step 2: Expected response
{
    "FleetId": "",
    "Credentials": {
        "AccessKeyId": "",
        "SecretAccessKey": "",
        "SessionToken": ""
    }
}

// Step 3: Export credentials obtained from previous call
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=
export AWS_SESSION_TOKEN=

// Step 4: 
aws ssm start-session --target  --region  
```
Let us know if you're still having trouble even with the above steps, and I've reached out to the team about updating our documentation.

Regards!

Answer

Hi Jackson!

I'm now able to connect to the instance and start a PowerShell session.

Thank you very much for your help.

Cheers,

Merih

Connect to Windows Server 2016 GameLift Instance with SDK version 5

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