Bastion Host

A bastion host is a server or a device that is deliberately exposed to the Internet and used to access an internal network. It serves as a secure gateway or entry point for remote access to the internal network, typically via SSH or RDP. It often hosts a single application for this purpose, usually a reverse proxy or load balancer.

Bastion hosts are often hardened and secured with additional security measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, and multi-factor authentication, to prevent unauthorized access and minimize the risk of compromise.

You would use a bastion host when you need to remotely access systems in a secure manner. A few specific use cases for a bastion host are:

1. Remote administration of servers: A bastion host can be used to securely access and manage remote servers, allowing administrators to perform tasks such as software upgrades, system backups, and security monitoring.

2. Secure access to cloud infrastructure: A bastion host can be used to provide secure access to cloud infrastructure, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud Platform (GCP), allowing administrators to manage virtual machines, storage, and network resources.

3. Remote support: A bastion host can be used to provide remote support to customers or end-users, allowing technicians to securely access and diagnose issues with remote systems.

4. Secure access to internal systems: A bastion host can be used to provide secure access to internal systems from remote locations, such as from home or while traveling.