AWS Signer vs SignServer

AWS Signer is a managed code-signing service for verifying code integrity and publisher trust. It supports signing AWS Lambda deployment packages, code for supported IoT devices, and OCI container images using Notation. Lambda verifies signatures and package integrity when signed code is deployed. For containers, Signer works with Notation in registries such as Amazon ECR, with signatures stored alongside images for verification.

Administrators control access to Signer resources and actions through AWS Identity and Access Management policies. Signing profiles can be managed in the Signer console, AWS CLI, or API. Signer manages certificates and keys for Lambda and container workflows; IoT workflows can use a code-signing certificate imported into AWS Certificate Manager. Documentation also lists integrations with AWS Certificate Manager and CloudTrail, plus Amazon EKS image verification. Notation CLI and Signer plugin installers are listed for Linux, macOS, and Windows. API actions have per-second quotas by account and Region, with no minimum request rate. Use with specified AWS services has no additional charge, though related charges may apply.

SignServer is a server-side platform that centrally manages signing keys and digitally signs code, documents, and timestamps. One installation can serve several signing workflows, including containers, firmware, IoT, and DevOps use cases. It can connect to CI/CD pipelines, firmware build processes, document workflow engines, identity platforms, and other applications through standard interfaces. Community is available as a Docker container, Helm chart, source code, or GitHub release, and is also listed on SourceForge. Its interfaces include SOAP, HTTP, REST, and the SignClient command-line interface, though Community REST lacks some endpoints. Community is released under LGPL V2.1 or later and is intended for learning, testing, and prototyping rather than production. The maker says it lacks production capabilities such as audit, compliance, SLA, high availability, and security features. Enterprise adds professional support with an SLA, security updates, and maintenance. The Community plan is free; the Enterprise Cloud trial is free for 30 days through AWS or Azure marketplaces. The maker recommends Hardware Security Modules for signing-key storage.