The AWS Cloud Practitioner certification is the entry-level certification for amazon web services. this cert provides a birds-eye view of AWS services & what they are about. It covers topics such as Compute(EC2), storage,(S3) database(RDS), networking(route 53) and security(amazon inspector). This compressed guide will help those who are new to the AWS cloud practitioner environment and want to learn more about what it has to offer.
my personal cloud practitioner experience
The cloud practitioner was my first cloud certification and it introduced me to a lot of new and exciting topics on the cloud. the certification by itself can take just 2 weeks to prepare and ace the exam on the first attempt if one is a first learner or has prior knowledge of the cloud. as I said earlier this certification covers almost all of the services on an introduction level so reading widely is advised.
luckily AWS has provided sufficient resources through its trainers that cover all the coursework needed.i took the Coursera course which has awesome instructors. kudos did a few practice exams and registered for the exam. and was able to ace it in 2 weeks.
in my case, I had no prior experience on the cloud as could some of you but that did not deter me. some terms were confusing at first like ECS and EC2, which sound the same but are different services I used to use them interchangeably severally but after continuous reading, I finally got a grasp of them.
what the AWS cloud certification won’t do for you.
I don’t want to bust your bubble but it’s highly unlikely you will get employed with this certification only with no experience. I know there are articles on the internet that allude that cloud practitioners can earn over $100000 per year which is a very attractive salary package.
now that I am on my way to becoming a professional cloud architect I have come to realize that companies will pay you such amounts of money if you demonstrate the ability to solve real-world problems on the cloud either for them or for their clients.
be ready to get your hand dirty make mistakes and learn from them if you desire to become a guru or build a solid career on the cloud.
the good thing with most common AWS products come with a free tier for you to practice on
free tier AWS services for the cloud practioner
| AMAZON SERVICE | 12 MONTHS FREE(FROM SIGNUP) |
| AMAZON COMPUTE (EC2) | 75O HRS PER MONTH |
| AMAZON S3 | 5 GB |
| AWS LAMBDA | 1 MILLION REQUESTS PER MONTH |
| AWS RDS | 750 HRS |
| AWS LIGHT SAIL | 750 HRS (3-MONTH FREE TRIAL) |
| AWS ELB | 750 HRS PER MONTH |
| AWS CloudFront | 1TB |
| AWS EFS | 5 GB |
The above table is just a sample of the AWS free tier services available ideal for the cloud practitioner to start with.
useful topics to understand before the cloud practitioner exam.
- introduction to cloud computing-in this understand the difference between Iaas, Paas, and Saas, the advantages of cloud computing, cloud deployment models (hybrid, private, public)
- introduction to AWS global infrastructure– this topic tests on AWS global footprint of regions, edge locations, availability zones(AZs) and how they work, also AWS support plans basic, developer business & enterprise and their features.
- exploring AWS accounts– in this section, a little practice is recommended on how to create an AWS organization, and check roles and policies. set up billing, the difference between root user & IAM user, and sign-in procedures ie SSO.
- IAM-this is one topic that must be understood because you won’t miss more than one question in exam-implementing MFA(multi-factor authentication), creating IAM groups, defining permissions with IAM policies, and key differences between IAM users and groups.
- AWS storage services-you should be able to differentiate between the various storage options available like EBS, S3, and EFS, and which application suits what service.S3 is ideal for object storage while EFS is ideal for file storage EBS is block storage for EC2.
- AWS compute-be able to explain what is a VM, various compute options like EC2, and how to start stop or terminate an instance. instance types, & applications.
- AWS database services – understand the difference between relational and non-relational databases or SQL vs NoSQL databases.in AWS RDS is one such, relational database engine for RDS include (aurora, Postgres SQL, MySQL, MariaDB, oracle database, and Microsoft SQL server. exam questions on database test your understanding of database use cases and cost.
- AWS networking services-understand the basics of VPC, subnets, VPN, AWS direct connect, and how they work. at this level, the understanding, of the ins and outs of VPC design is not necessary as its application is on the associate-level exam. understand how to transfer data from on-premises to AWS with the AWS snow family set of devices and their capacities.
- AWS security-understand AWS shared responsibility model. this model highlights the responsibility of both the customer and AWS as the cloud provider.AWS is responsible for the security of the cloud while the customer is responsible for security on the cloud.
- AWS billing & pricing-understand AWS cost management tools, and understand how to use pricing and TCO calculators. how to set up billing & alerts. understand the basic services used in billing i.e cost explorer, cost & usage report and AWS budget types.
AWS well-architected framework
The AWS Well-Architected Framework is a set of best practices for designing and building systems in the cloud. It covers six key areas: Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, Cost Optimization, Operational Excellence, and Cloud Governance.
The AWS Well-Architected Framework has been designed to help organizations answer key questions about their architecture and design choices, so they can make informed decisions that will improve their overall performance and security.
The framework is based on five pillars: Operational Excellence, Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, and Cost Optimization. Each pillar contains a set of best practices that organizations should follow in order to achieve optimal results.
Operational Excellence: The operational excellence pillar focuses on the ability to run and manage systems in a reliable and efficient manner. Organizations should consider factors such as automation, monitoring, and incident response when designing their architectures.
Security: The security pillar focuses on the ability to protect data and resources from unauthorized access. Organizations should consider factors such as identity and access management, data protection, and network security when designing their architectures.
Reliability: The reliability pillar focuses on the ability of a system to recover from failures and maintain availability during unexpected events. Organizations should consider factors such as data backup and recovery, self-healing systems, and fault tolerance when designing their architectures.
Performance Efficiency: The performance efficiency pillar focuses on the ability to use resources efficiently in order
cost optimization: The cost optimization pillar focuses on avoiding unnecessary costs. this pillar focuses on understanding the usage of resources and the effective allocation of resources without overspending.
popular AWS services to remember while studying for your exam.
- Amazon EC2: This is the most popular AWS service and allows you to launch virtual machines in the cloud. you just select the machine type you need based on the workload the region and the zone the VM will be hosted and proceed to launch
- Amazon S3: This is a simple storage service that allows you to store files in the cloud. You can use S3 to store anything from photos and videos to website backups and application data. it comes with free 5GB storage for the first 12 months.
- Amazon Glacier: This is a low-cost storage S3 class designed for long-term data storage. Glacier is perfect for backing up data that you don’t need immediate access to, such as archival data or backups.
- Amazon DynamoDB: This is a fast and scalable NoSQL database service. DynamoDB is perfect for applications that need high performance and scalability, such as mobile apps or web apps with large amounts of traffic.
- Amazon ECS – this is a highly scalable high-performance container management system that enables you to run and scale containerized apps on AWS.
- Amazon EBS- high-performance block storage service designed for use with Amazon EC2 instances
- AWS Lambda-serverless computing just upload code and a trigger and the code runs automatically
