AWS

UFIT manages UF's enterprise agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Under the IT rationalization policy, UF business with AWS goes through UFIT. We give your project its own AWS account in UF's AWS organization, set up with UF's security, logging and network settings, and your team builds and runs what it needs inside it.

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What you get

• An AWS account for your project, inside UF's AWS organization.
• Sign-in with your GatorLink at aws.it.ufl.edu, for the AWS console and the AWS CLI.
• AWS security services that UFIT runs in every UF account, such as threat detection, security checks and vulnerability scanning.
• Patching of your EC2 instances in a weekly Sunday morning window.
• A connection to UF's private network, if your project needs one.
• Email about your account: budget alerts, security findings and notices from AWS.
• For teaching, AWS Academy through UF's membership. See Guides and FAQ.

What UFIT does

• Creates your account and sets it up with UF's standard security, logging and network settings.
• Runs the security services and sends their findings to your team.
• Patches your EC2 instances on the weekly schedule.
• Runs UF's connection between AWS and the campus data centers.
• Sets up sign-in access for the people on your team.
• Pays AWS and bills you each month.

What you do

• Build, run and secure your own resources in the account, including the software and data on them.
• Act on security findings and patching problems for your resources.
• Let UFIT know when people join or leave your team, so the right people have access.
• Keep an eye on your costs.

How to request

1. Get a UF Hosting account and billing ID. Your local IT unit sets these up. See Request an Account.
2. Log in to the UF Hosting portal and request the "Public Cloud" catalog item.
3. Start a risk assessment. Every new public cloud project needs one, and nothing can be deployed until it has been started.

UFIT then meets with you to understand what you need. If your project would fit better on UF's own hosting, we'll suggest that. Otherwise we create your account and set up access for your team.

If your project is part of NIH STRIDES, say so in your request. UF has a STRIDES agreement with AWS.

Costs

UFIT pays AWS and bills your UFIT billing ID each month for the previous month's use in your account. Your bill has two parts: the resources you run, and UF's required security services.

UF's required security services

Every UF AWS account runs a standard set of AWS security services: threat detection, security checks, configuration history, vulnerability scanning, sensitive data discovery and encryption keys. They follow AWS's best practices and are required for every account.

These services currently cost under $40 a month per account, even for an account with nothing running in it. They also add a small charge for each resource you deploy. Common examples:

These charges appear on your account's AWS bill alongside the cost of your own resources. Figures are estimates as of October 2026 and can change as AWS prices change.

Keeping track of costs

We can help you estimate costs while you plan your project. Budget alerts email your team when actual or forecast costs pass set limits, and you can check your costs at any time with Cost Explorer in the AWS console. See "How can I view my costs?" in Guides and FAQ.

Networking

UFIT connects AWS to the campus data centers with a pair of highly available Direct Connect links. If your project needs a network, we create subnets for you in one of two shared networks and share them with your account:

• Data Center Extension reaches UF's private network over the Direct Connect links. Resources in it can't reach the internet directly from AWS. If they need the internet, that traffic goes through campus.
• Internet reaches the internet directly and can't reach UF's private network.