Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) Practice Test 2025 – Complete All-in-One Guide for Exam Success!

The Security Token Service (STS) in Alibaba Cloud primarily functions to authenticate RAM (Resource Access Management) users and roles. STS is designed to create temporary security credentials that are used to securely access cloud resources. When a RAM user or role authenticates through STS, they receive a temporary token that grants them permissions to perform specific actions based on the policies assigned to them. This token has a limited lifespan, which helps to enhance security by minimizing the risk associated with long-lived credentials.

In contrast, providing long-term access tokens is not within the realm of STS's functions. Instead, STS focuses on issuing temporary tokens that automatically expire after a defined duration. As for managing physical servers and issuing permanent API keys, these are tasks outside the scope of STS's functionalities; they relate more to cloud infrastructure management and overall API security, which do not align with the specific role of STS in temporary credential management.