# Step 1. Creating an IAM user for programmatic access

To create the IAM user account, you can use the AWS Management Console, the AWS CLI,?Tools for Windows PowerShell, or AWS API operation. In this example, we will be using the AWS Management Console:

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the **IAM** page at [console.aws.amazon.com/iam](https://download.parallels.com/ras/v19/docs/en_US/Parallels-RAS-19-Administrators-Guide/console.aws.amazon.com/iam).
2. In the navigation pane, choose **Users** and then click the **Add users** button.
3. Under **Set user details** section, provide a user name such as "ParallelsConnector".
4. Under **AWS access type**, select **Access key - Programmatic access**, as the Parallels RAS Console will be using APIs to communicate with your AWS account. This will create an access key for the IAM user. You can view or download the access keys when you get to the **Final** page. Click **Next** to proceed to the permissions page.
5. On the permissions page, you can create a user group for the new IAM user to be a part of. This is recommended as its beneficial for management purposes, although not mandatory.
6. If you are not using groups, choose **Attach existing policies directly**. A list of the AWS managed and customer managed policies in your account will appear.
7. Filter policies and choose **AmazonEC2FullAccess**, which is an AWS managed preconfigured policy, and click **Next** to proceed to the next page.
8. Optionally, on this page, you can use the tags to organize, track, or control access for this user.
9. Once the tags are ready, click **Next** to see all of the choices you made up to this point. When you are ready to proceed, click **Create user**.
10. To view the user's access key ID and secret access keys, click **Show** next to each password and access key that you want to see. To save the access keys, choose **Download CSV** and then save the file to a safe location.

    Please note that this is your only opportunity to view or download the secret access keys.
11. Save the user's new access key ID and secret access key in a safe and secure place to be used next in Parallels RAS Console.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** For security reasons, it is recommended to regularly change keys of the IAM user as described in <https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/how-to-rotate-access-keys-for-iam-users/>.
{% endhint %}

Proceed to [Step 2. Adding AWS as a Provider.](https://docs.parallels.com/parallels-ras-administrators-guide-21/parallels-ras-21-administrators-guide/virtual-desktop-infrastructure-vdi/add-a-provider/add-a-cloud-provider/amazon-web-services/step-2.-adding-aws-as-a-provider)
