When studying for the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam, it is useful to have a framework for studying to help prepare for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. The exam requires a minimum passing score of 700, and you will be asked 65 questions. It is written for cloud beginners with a non-technical background.
An overview of the exam can be found on the AWS website here.
AWS Educate has great resources for study. https://aws.amazon.com/education/awseducate This is where cloud beginners can utilize free, self-paced online training resources and labs designed to help you learn, practice, and evaluate your cloud skills without having to create an Amazon account.
Other resources to bookmark are:
re:Post: https://repost.aws
AWS Collective: https://stackoverflow.com/collectives/aws
AWS User Groups: https://aws.amazon.com/developer
Glossary of AWS and Cloud Terms
* Note that you can also access the official AWS terms glossary here.
- Cloud Computing: The delivery of computing services (servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, etc.) over the internet.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services): A comprehensive cloud computing platform offered by Amazon.
- Regions and Availability Zones: AWS has multiple geographic regions, and each region has multiple isolated locations called Availability Zones.
- EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud): A web service that provides scalable compute capacity in the AWS cloud.
- S3 (Simple Storage Service): An object storage service that offers industry-leading scalability, data availability, security, and performance.
- VPC (Virtual Private Cloud): A logically isolated section of the AWS cloud where you can launch AWS resources in a virtual network.
- IAM (Identity and Access Management): A web service that helps you securely control access to AWS resources.
- CloudWatch: A monitoring and observability service that provides data and actionable insights for AWS resources.
- Auto Scaling: A service that automatically adjusts compute resources based on defined policies and conditions.
- Elastic Load Balancing: Distributes incoming application traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances.
- CloudFormation: A service that helps you model and set up your AWS resources using templates.
- CloudTrail: A service that enables governance, compliance, and operational auditing of your AWS account.
- AWS Organizations: A service that helps you centrally manage and govern your AWS accounts.
- AWS Pricing Models: Understanding pricing models like On-Demand, Reserved Instances, and Spot Instances.
- AWS Shared Responsibility Model: The division of responsibilities between AWS and the customer for security and compliance.
Study Framework
Understand AWS Global Infrastructure:
- Regions, Availability Zones, Edge Locations, and the purpose of each.
- Understand the concept of Regional Services and Global Services.
Core Services:
- Compute Services (EC2, Lambda, Elastic Beanstalk, etc.)
- Storage Services (S3, EBS, EFS, etc.)
- Networking Services (VPC, Route 53, Direct Connect, etc.)
- Database Services (RDS, DynamoDB, Redshift, etc.)
Security and Compliance:
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- AWS Shared Responsibility Model
- Compliance Programs (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, FedRAMP, etc.)
Pricing and Cost Management:
- AWS Pricing Models (On-Demand, Reserved Instances, Spot Instances)
- AWS Free Tier
- AWS Billing and Cost Management Tools
AWS Management Services:
- AWS CloudFormation
- AWS CloudWatch
- AWS CloudTrail
- AWS Organizations
AWS Support Services:
- AWS Support Plans (Basic, Developer, Business, and Enterprise)
- AWS Trusted Advisor
- AWS Personal Health Dashboard
Practice Exams and Sample Questions:
- Take practice exams and review the explanations for each question.
- Identify areas where you need further study and focus.
AWS Whitepapers and Documentation:
- Review relevant AWS whitepapers and documentation for key services and concepts.
- Understand AWS best practices and well-architected frameworks.
Remember, the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam tests your overall understanding of the AWS Cloud, so it’s essential to have a well-rounded knowledge of the various services, security, pricing, and best practices. Regularly practice with sample questions and review the official AWS documentation to solidify your understanding.
The Four Main Domains of the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam
The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam is divided into four main domains that cover the core aspects of the AWS Cloud. Here are the four domains you need to study:
Cloud Concepts
- Understanding the value proposition of cloud computing
- Differentiating between cloud computing and deployment models
- Recognizing the benefits of cloud services like high availability, scalability, elasticity, and agility
Security and Compliance
- Defining the AWS Shared Responsibility Model
- Understanding compliance concepts like HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and FedRAMP
- Recognizing access management capabilities using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Identifying security services like AWS Shield and AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Technology
- Understanding the core AWS services like EC2, EBS, S3, VPC, Route 53, and RDS
- Identifying use cases for various compute, storage, networking, and database services
- Recognizing methods for deploying and provisioning AWS services
- Identifying the purpose of AWS Global Infrastructure like Regions, Availability Zones, and Edge Locations
Billing and Pricing
- Comparing and contrasting pricing models like On-Demand, Reserved Instances, and Spot Instances
- Understanding billing, cost management, and optimization tools like AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Budgets
- Identifying resources available through the AWS Free Tier
- Recognizing pricing calculations based on AWS services and usage
To prepare for the exam, you should have a good understanding of the concepts, services, and use cases covered within each of these four domains. Familiarize yourself with the AWS services, best practices, and pricing models, and practice with sample questions and mock exams to solidify your knowledge.
Additionally, AWS provides a detailed exam guide and sample questions to help you focus your studies on the relevant topics and objectives within each domain.
Cloud Concepts Domain
For the Cloud Concepts domain of the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam, you need to understand the following key areas:
Value Proposition of the AWS Cloud:
- Understand the benefits of cloud computing, such as cost savings, scalability, high availability, and agility.
- Identify the different types of cloud computing models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS).
- Recognize the advantages of using AWS over on-premises or hybrid deployments.
Cloud Economics:
- Understand the pricing models offered by AWS (On-Demand, Reserved Instances, Spot Instances, and Dedicated Hosts).
- Identify ways to optimize costs and leverage pricing models based on different use cases.
- Recognize the benefits of the AWS Free Tier and AWS Pricing Calculator.
Cloud Deployment Models:
- Understand the different cloud deployment models: public, private, and hybrid clouds.
- Identify the differences between these models and their use cases.
- Recognize the benefits and challenges of each deployment model.
Cloud Architecture Design:
- Understand the principles of building highly available, fault-tolerant, and scalable applications on AWS.
- Identify the components of the AWS Global Infrastructure (Regions, Availability Zones, Edge Locations).
- Recognize the importance of high availability and disaster recovery strategies in the cloud.
Cloud Migration and Hybrid Deployment:
- Understand the migration strategies for moving to the AWS Cloud (rehosting, replatforming, refactoring, and repurchasing).
- Identify the benefits and challenges of cloud migration and hybrid deployments.
- Recognize the various AWS services and tools that support cloud migration and hybrid architectures.
Cloud Security:
- Understand the AWS Shared Responsibility Model for security.
- Identify the security services and features provided by AWS (IAM, VPC, CloudTrail, etc.).
- Recognize the importance of data protection, access control, and compliance in the cloud.
Cloud Monitoring and Management:
- Understand the AWS management services (CloudWatch, AWS Auto Scaling, AWS Trusted Advisor, etc.).
- Identify the importance of monitoring and optimizing cloud resources.
- Recognize the tools and services available for resource provisioning, automation, and governance.
By thoroughly understanding these key areas within the Cloud Concepts domain, you’ll be better prepared to answer questions related to the value proposition, deployment models, architecture design, security, migration strategies, and management of AWS Cloud services.