Amazon Web Services (AWS)
The world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering 200+ fully featured services from data centers globally.
Documentation
| Guide | Description |
|---|---|
| AWS Fundamentals | Global infrastructure, core services, Well-Architected Framework, pricing |
| Compute & Networking | EC2, Lambda, ECS/EKS, VPC, ELB, Route 53, CloudFront |
| Security & IAM | IAM policies, KMS, WAF, GuardDuty, encryption, security best practices |
| DevOps & CI/CD | CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CloudFormation, Terraform, containers |
| Databases & Storage | S3, EBS, RDS, DynamoDB, Aurora, Redshift, ElastiCache |
| Exam Prep | Cloud Practitioner, Solutions Architect, SysOps, DevOps Engineer certs |
| CloudFormation Examples | Real CloudFormation templates, CodeDeploy configs, and automation examples |
| CLI & Services Cheat Sheet | Complete AWS CLI reference and 50+ services quick-reference |
| Interview Questions | 60+ questions from beginner to advanced with detailed answers |
Core Services to Master
| Category | Key Services |
|---|---|
| Compute | EC2, Lambda, ECS, EKS, Fargate, Elastic Beanstalk |
| Storage | S3, EBS, EFS, Glacier |
| Databases | RDS, DynamoDB, Aurora, ElastiCache, Redshift |
| Networking | VPC, ELB, Route 53, CloudFront, API Gateway |
| Security | IAM, KMS, WAF, Shield, GuardDuty |
| DevOps | CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CloudFormation |
| Monitoring | CloudWatch, X-Ray, CloudTrail, AWS Config |
AWS Certification Path
| Level | Certification | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational | Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | Cloud concepts, billing, security basics |
| Associate | Solutions Architect (SAA-C03) | Architecture design, high availability |
| Associate | Developer (DVA-C02) | Application development, CI/CD |
| Associate | SysOps Administrator (SOA-C02) | Operations, monitoring, automation |
| Professional | Solutions Architect Pro (SAP-C02) | Complex multi-tier architectures |
| Professional | DevOps Engineer Pro (DOP-C02) | CI/CD, automation, monitoring at scale |
Architecture Best Practices
Follow the AWS Well-Architected Framework:
- Operational Excellence — Automate operations and respond to events
- Security — Protect data, systems, and assets
- Reliability — Recover from failures and meet demand
- Performance Efficiency — Use resources efficiently
- Cost Optimization — Eliminate waste and optimize spending
- Sustainability — Minimize environmental impact
Learning Path
- Start with fundamentals — understand cloud concepts, global infrastructure, pricing
- Master compute and networking — EC2, Lambda, VPC, load balancing
- Learn security — IAM, encryption, security services
- Understand databases and storage — S3, RDS, DynamoDB, caching
- Implement DevOps — CI/CD pipelines, IaC, containers
- Prepare for certification — targeted exam prep with practice questions
External Resources
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| AWS Documentation | Official documentation |
| AWS Skill Builder | Free and paid training courses |
| AWS Architecture Center | Reference architectures and best practices |
| AWS Well-Architected Labs | Hands-on labs for the framework |
| EC2 Instance Comparison | Easy EC2 instance comparison tool |
Tools & Utilities
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Cloud Mapper | Analyze and visualize your AWS environments |
| Cloudcraft | Automated AWS diagram mapping |
| Terraformer | Generate Terraform from existing infrastructure |
| Prowler | AWS security assessment tool |
| AWS Nuke | Remove all resources in an AWS account |