AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) Exam Guide
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Exam Overview
Level | Foundational |
---|---|
Length | 130 minutes |
Cost | 150 USD (Visit Exam Pricing Page for more information) |
Format | 65 multiple choice or multiple response questions |
Delivery Method | Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored exam. |
Passing Score | 700/1000 |
Passing Percentage | 70% |
For more details about the exam, how to schedule the exam and what to expect before, during and after the exam, follows the link below to the exam details page.
Exam | Link |
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AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam | Exam Details |
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam Guide | Exam Guide |
Exam Content Outline
Domain 1: Design Secure Architectures
Task Statement 1: Design secure access to AWS resources.
Knowledge of:
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Access controls and management across multiple accounts
- AWS Organizations: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/organizations/index.html
- Consolidated Billing and Cost Allocation: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/consolidated-billing.html
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AWS federated access and identity services
- AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/iam/index.html
- AWS Single Sign-On (AWS SSO): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/singlesignon/latest/userguide/what-is.html
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AWS global infrastructure
- AWS Global Infrastructure: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/
- AWS Regional Services List: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/regional-product-services/
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AWS security best practices
- AWS Security Best Practices: https://aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/aws-security-best-practices/
- AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) Best Practices: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/best-practices.html
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The AWS shared responsibility model:
- [AWS Shared Responsibility Model: https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/shared-responsibility-model/
Task Statement 2: Design secure workloads and applications.
Knowledge of
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Application configuration and credentials security:
- AWS Secrets Manager: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/index.html
- AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/systems-manager-parameter-store.html
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AWS service endpoints:
- AWS Service Endpoints: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/rande.html
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Control ports, protocols, and network traffic on AWS:
- Security Group Rules: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/VPC_SecurityGroups.html
- Network Access Control Lists (ACLs): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/vpc-network-acls.html
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Secure application access:
- AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/iam/index.html
- AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/waf/index.html
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Security services with appropriate use cases:
- Amazon Cognito: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cognito/index.html
- Amazon GuardDuty: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/guardduty/index.html
- Amazon Macie: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/macie/index.html
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Threat vectors external to AWS:
Task Statement 3: Determine appropriate data security controls
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Data access and governance:
- AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/iam/index.html
- AWS Organizations: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/organizations/index.html
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Data recovery:
- AWS Backup: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/backup/index.html
- Amazon S3 Object Lifecycle Management: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/object-lifecycle-mgmt.html
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Data retention and classification:
- Amazon S3 Object Lock: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/object-lock.html
- Amazon S3 Glacier: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonglacier/latest/dev/introduction.html
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Encryption and appropriate key management:
- AWS Key Management Service (KMS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/index.html
- Amazon S3 Server-Side Encryption: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/serv-side-encryption.html
Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures
Task Statement 1: Design scalable and loosely coupled architectures.
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API creation and management:
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AWS managed services with appropriate use cases:
- AWS Transfer Family: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/transfer/index.html
- Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSSimpleQueueService/latest/SQSDeveloperGuide/welcome.html
- AWS Secrets Manager: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/index.html
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Caching strategies:
- Amazon ElastiCache: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonElastiCache/latest/red-ug/WhatIs.html
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Design principles for microservices:
- Building Microservices on AWS: https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/hands-on/build-modern-app-fargate-lambda-dynamodb-python/
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Event-driven architectures:
- AWS Event-Driven Architecture: https://aws.amazon.com/event-driven-architecture/
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Horizontal scaling and vertical scaling:
- Autoscaling in AWS: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/autoscaling/index.html
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Edge accelerators (CDN):
- Amazon CloudFront: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/index.html
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Migration of applications into containers:
- AWS Containers: https://aws.amazon.com/containers/
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Load balancing concepts:
- Application Load Balancer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/application/introduction.html
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Multi-tier architectures:
- Building Multi-Tier Applications in AWS: https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/hands-on/build-multitier-application/
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Queuing and messaging concepts:
- Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sns/index.html
- Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSSimpleQueueService/latest/SQSDeveloperGuide/welcome.html
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Serverless technologies and patterns:
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Storage types with associated characteristics:
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Orchestration of containers:
- Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/Welcome.html
- Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/index.html
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Read replicas:
- Amazon RDS Read Replicas: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_ReadRepl.html
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Workflow orchestration:
- AWS Step Functions: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/step-functions/latest/dg/welcome.html
Task Statement 2: Design highly available and/or fault-tolerant architectures
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AWS global infrastructure:
- AWS Global Infrastructure: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/
- AWS Regions and Availability Zones: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/regions_az/
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AWS managed services with appropriate use cases:
- Amazon Comprehend: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/comprehend/index.html
- Amazon Polly: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/polly/index.html
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Basic networking concepts:
- Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/index.html
- Amazon Route 53: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/route53/index.html
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Disaster recovery (DR) strategies:
- AWS Disaster Recovery: https://aws.amazon.com/disaster-recovery/
- AWS Backup: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/backup/index.html
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Distributed design patterns:
- Architecting for the Cloud: AWS Best Practices: https://d1.awsstatic.com/whitepapers/AWS_Cloud_Best_Practices.pdf
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Failover strategies:
- Architecting for the Cloud: AWS Best Practices: https://d1.awsstatic.com/whitepapers/AWS_Cloud_Best_Practices.pdf
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Immutable infrastructure:
- Infrastructure as Code: https://aws.amazon.com/devops/infrastructure-as-code/
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Load balancing concepts:
- Application Load Balancer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/application/introduction.html
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Proxy concepts:
- Amazon RDS Proxy: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/rds-proxy.html
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Service quotas and throttling:
- AWS Service Quotas: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/servicequotas/index.html
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Storage options and characteristics:
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Workload visibility:
- AWS X-Ray: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/xray/index.html
Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures
Task Statement 1: Determine high-performing and/or scalable storage solutions
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Hybrid storage solutions to meet business requirements:
- AWS Storage Gateway: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/index.html
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Storage services with appropriate use cases:
- Amazon S3: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/Welcome.html
- Amazon Elastic File System (EFS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/efs/index.html
- Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ebs/index.html
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Storage types with associated characteristics:
Task Statement 2: Design high-performing and elastic compute solutions
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AWS compute services with appropriate use cases:
- AWS Batch: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/batch/index.html
- Amazon EMR (Elastic MapReduce): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/emr/index.html
- AWS Fargate: https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/
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Distributed computing concepts supported by AWS global infrastructure and edge services:
- AWS Global Infrastructure: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/
- Amazon CloudFront (Content Delivery Network): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/index.html
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Queuing and messaging concepts:
- Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sns/index.html
- Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSSimpleQueueService/latest/SQSDeveloperGuide/welcome.html
-
Scalability capabilities with appropriate use cases:
- Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/autoscaling/ec2/index.html
- AWS Auto Scaling: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/autoscaling/index.html
-
Serverless technologies and patterns:
- AWS Lambda: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/index.html
- AWS Fargate: https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/
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The orchestration of containers:
- Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/Welcome.html
- Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/index.html
Task Statement 3: Determine high-performing database solutions.
-
AWS global infrastructure (Availability Zones, AWS Regions):
- AWS Global Infrastructure: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/
- AWS Regional Services List: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/regional-product-services/
-
Caching strategies and services (Amazon ElastiCache):
- Amazon ElastiCache: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonElastiCache/index.html
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Data access patterns (read-intensive compared with write-intensive):
-
Database capacity planning (capacity units, instance types, Provisioned IOPS):
- Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Welcome.html
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Database connections and proxies:
- Managing Connections with Amazon RDS Proxy: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/rds-proxy.html
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Database engines with appropriate use cases (heterogeneous migrations, homogeneous migrations):
- AWS Database Migration Service: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dms/index.html
-
Database replication (read replicas):
- Amazon RDS Read Replicas: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_ReadRepl.html
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Database types and services (serverless, relational compared with non-relational, in-memory):
- Amazon Aurora: https://aws.amazon.com/rds/aurora/
- Amazon DynamoDB: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Introduction.html
Task Statement 4: Determine high-performing and/or scalable network architectures
-
Edge networking services with appropriate use cases:
- Amazon CloudFront: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/index.html
- AWS Global Accelerator: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/index.html
-
How to design network architecture (subnet tiers, routing, IP addressing):
- Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/index.html
- VPC Networking: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/VPC_Networking.html
-
Load balancing concepts:
- Application Load Balancer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/application/introduction.html
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Network connection options:
- AWS VPN (Virtual Private Network): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpn/index.html
- AWS Direct Connect: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/directconnect/index.html
- AWS PrivateLink: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/endpoint-services-overview.html
Task Statement 5: Determine high-performing data ingestion and transformation solutions
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Data analytics and visualization services with appropriate use cases:
- Amazon Athena: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/athena/index.html
- AWS Lake Formation: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lake-formation/index.html
- Amazon QuickSight: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/quicksight/index.html
-
Data ingestion patterns (frequency):
- AWS DataSync: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/datasync/index.html
- AWS Storage Gateway: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/index.html
-
Data transfer services with appropriate use cases:
- AWS DataSync: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/datasync/index.html
- AWS Storage Gateway: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/index.html
-
Data transformation services with appropriate use cases:
-
Secure access to ingestion access points:
- AWS Security: https://aws.amazon.com/security/
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Sizes and speeds needed to meet business requirements:
- AWS Data Transfer: https://aws.amazon.com/data-transfer/
-
Streaming data services with appropriate use cases:
- Amazon Kinesis: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kinesis/index.html
Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
Task Statement 1: Design cost-optimized storage solutions
-
Access options (S3 bucket with Requester Pays object storage):
- Requester Pays Buckets: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/RequesterPaysBuckets.html
-
AWS cost management service features:
- AWS Cost Management Features: https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/features/
-
AWS cost management tools with appropriate use cases:
- AWS Cost Explorer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/cost-explorer.html
- AWS Budgets: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/budgets-managing-costs.html
- AWS Cost and Usage Report: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/ce-what-is.html
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AWS storage services with appropriate use cases:
- Amazon FSx: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/fsx/index.html
- Amazon EFS: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/efs/index.html
- Amazon S3: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/Welcome.html
- Amazon EBS: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ebs/index.html
-
Backup strategies:
- AWS Backup: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/backup/index.html
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Block storage options (HDD volume types, SSD volume types):
- Amazon EBS Volume Types: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-volume-types.html
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Data lifecycles:
- Amazon S3 Object Lifecycle Management: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/object-lifecycle-mgmt.html
-
Hybrid storage options (DataSync, Transfer Family, Storage Gateway):
- AWS DataSync: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/datasync/index.html
- AWS Transfer Family: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/transfer/index.html
- AWS Storage Gateway: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/index.html
-
Storage access patterns:
- Amazon S3 Data Consistency Model: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/Introduction.html#ConsistencyModel
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Storage tiering (cold tiering for object storage):
- Amazon S3 Storage Classes: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/storage-class-intro.html
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Storage types with associated characteristics:
Task Statement 2: Design cost-optimized compute solutions
-
AWS cost management service features:
- AWS Cost Management Features: https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/features/
-
AWS cost management tools with appropriate use cases:
- AWS Cost Explorer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/cost-explorer.html
- AWS Budgets: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/budgets-managing-costs.html
- AWS Cost and Usage Report: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/ce-what-is.html
-
AWS global infrastructure (Availability Zones, AWS Regions):
- AWS Global Infrastructure: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/
- AWS Regional Services List: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/regional-product-services/
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AWS purchasing options (Spot Instances, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans):
- AWS Spot Instances: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-spot-instances.html
- AWS Reserved Instances: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-reserved-instances.html
- AWS Savings Plans: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/savingsplans/index.html
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Distributed compute strategies (edge processing):
- AWS IoT Greengrass: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/greengrass/index.html
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Hybrid compute options (AWS Outposts, AWS Snowball Edge):
- AWS Outposts: https://aws.amazon.com/outposts/
- AWS Snowball Edge: https://aws.amazon.com/snowball-edge/
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Instance types, families, and sizes:
- Amazon EC2 Instance Types: https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/
- Amazon EC2 Instance Families: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html
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Optimization of compute utilization (containers, serverless computing, microservices):
- AWS Containers: https://aws.amazon.com/containers/
- AWS Lambda: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/index.html
- AWS Microservices: https://aws.amazon.com/microservices/
-
Scaling strategies (auto scaling, hibernation):
- Auto Scaling: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/autoscaling/index.html
- Hibernation for Amazon EC2 Instances: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/Hibernate.html
Task Statement 3: Design cost-optimized database solutions.
-
AWS cost management service features:
- AWS Cost Management Features: https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/features/
-
AWS cost management tools with appropriate use cases:
- AWS Cost Explorer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/cost-explorer.html
- AWS Budgets: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/budgets-managing-costs.html
- AWS Cost and Usage Report: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/ce-what-is.html
-
Caching strategies:
- Amazon ElastiCache: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonElastiCache/index.html
-
Data retention policies:
- Amazon S3 Object Lifecycle Management: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/object-lifecycle-mgmt.html
-
Database capacity planning (capacity units):
- Amazon RDS Capacity Planning: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_BestPractices.html#CHAP_BestPractices.CapacityPlanning
-
Database connections and proxies:
- Managing Connections with Amazon RDS Proxy: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/rds-proxy.html
-
Database engines with appropriate use cases (heterogeneous migrations, homogeneous migrations):
- AWS Database Migration Service: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dms/index.html
-
Database replication (read replicas):
- Amazon RDS Read Replicas: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_ReadRepl.html
-
Database types and services (relational compared with non-relational, Aurora, DynamoDB):
- Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service): https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Welcome.html
- Amazon Aurora: https://aws.amazon.com/rds/aurora/
- Amazon DynamoDB: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Introduction.html
Task Statement 4: Design cost-optimized network architectures
-
AWS cost management service features:
- AWS Cost Management Features: https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/features/
-
AWS cost management tools with appropriate use cases:
- AWS Cost Explorer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/cost-explorer.html
- AWS Budgets: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/budgets-managing-costs.html
- AWS Cost and Usage Report: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/ce-what-is.html
-
Load balancing concepts (Application Load Balancer):
- Application Load Balancer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/application/introduction.html
-
NAT gateways (NAT instance costs compared with NAT gateway costs):
-
Network connectivity (private lines, dedicated lines, VPNs):
- AWS Direct Connect: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/directconnect/index.html
- AWS Site-to-Site VPN: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpn/latest/s2svpn/Welcome.html
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Network routing, topology, and peering (AWS Transit Gateway, VPC peering):
-
Network services with appropriate use cases (DNS):
Additional resources
Below follows the list of additional resources that you can use in your study.
Best of Luck and share your results with the community once you get certified! 😊💪