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?

Jackson_AWS · 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!

Merih · 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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