AWS Cloud Foundations

Class Duration

35 hours of live training delivered over 5 days.

Student Prerequisites

General networking knowledge (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/HTTPS)
Basic understanding of systems administration
Familiarity with command-line interfaces
Software development experience (any language)
No prior AWS or cloud computing experience required

Target Audience

This course is designed for software engineers who are new to Amazon Web Services and cloud computing. Participants should have general networking and systems knowledge but no prior AWS experience. The course provides a solid foundation for engineers transitioning to cloud-native development or expanding their skill set to include cloud services.

Description

AWS Cloud Foundations provides software engineers with comprehensive knowledge of Amazon Web Services fundamentals and core services. The course begins with cloud computing concepts and AWS global infrastructure, progressing through hands-on experience with essential AWS services including compute, storage, networking, and security. Participants will learn to navigate the AWS ecosystem using multiple interfaces, implement security best practices with IAM, design resilient architectures, and manage costs effectively.

The curriculum covers serverless computing, containerization, database services, and monitoring solutions essential for modern cloud applications. Students will gain practical experience with infrastructure as code tools and explore emerging AI/ML services. By course completion, participants will be equipped to design, deploy, and manage basic AWS solutions while following security and cost optimization best practices.

Learning Outcomes

Explain cloud computing concepts and articulate the AWS value proposition to stakeholders
Navigate and utilize the AWS Management Console, CLI, and CloudShell effectively
Configure AWS Organizations and implement billing alerts for cost management
Design and implement comprehensive IAM strategies including users, groups, roles, and policies
Apply the AWS shared responsibility model and security best practices across services
Deploy and manage EC2 instances with Auto Scaling Groups and Elastic Load Balancing
Implement serverless solutions using AWS Lambda and container services (ECS, Fargate)
Design storage solutions using S3, EBS, and EFS with appropriate lifecycle policies
Architect VPC networks with proper subnet design, security groups, and routing
Configure monitoring and alerting solutions using CloudWatch and CloudTrail
Create infrastructure as code templates using CloudFormation and AWS CDK
Evaluate and implement AWS AI/ML services for application enhancement

Training Materials

Comprehensive courseware is distributed online at the start of class. All students receive a downloadable MP4 recording of the training.

Software Requirements

AWS account with appropriate permissions
Modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
AWS CLI v2 installed locally
Text editor or IDE (VS Code recommended)
SSH client for EC2 connectivity
Git for version control (optional but recommended)

Training Topics

Cloud Computing and AWS Fundamentals

Cloud computing models and service types
AWS value proposition and business benefits
AWS Global Infrastructure architecture
Regions, Availability Zones, and edge locations
AWS service categories and pricing models

Creating and configuring AWS accounts
AWS Organizations for multi-account management
Billing alerts and cost monitoring setup
AWS Management Console navigation
AWS CLI installation and configuration
CloudShell overview and usage

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

IAM users, groups, and roles architecture
Policy creation and management
Least privilege access principles
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) setup
IAM best practices and common pitfalls
Service-linked roles and cross-account access

Security and Compliance

AWS shared responsibility model
Security best practices across services
AWS CloudTrail for API auditing
AWS Config for compliance monitoring
Encryption at rest and in transit
Security groups and network ACLs

Compute Services

EC2 instance types and selection criteria
Graviton-based instances and performance benefits
Auto Scaling Groups configuration
Elastic Load Balancing (ALB and NLB)
AWS Lambda serverless computing
Container services: ECS, Fargate, and EKS overview

Storage Services

Amazon S3 buckets and object management
S3 storage classes and cost optimization
Versioning and lifecycle policies
Elastic Block Store (EBS) volume types
Elastic File System (EFS) for shared storage
Storage security and access patterns

Database Services

Amazon RDS for relational databases
DynamoDB for NoSQL applications
Amazon Aurora performance features
Database backup and recovery strategies
Read replicas and multi-AZ deployments
Database security and monitoring

Networking Fundamentals

VPC design principles and architecture
Subnet planning and CIDR blocks
Route tables and internet gateways
Security groups vs. Network ACLs
NAT gateways and instances
VPC peering and transit gateways

Content Delivery and DNS

Amazon CloudFront CDN configuration
Origin types and caching strategies
Amazon Route 53 DNS management
Health checks and failover routing
SSL/TLS certificate management
Global content distribution strategies

Monitoring and Observability

CloudWatch metrics and alarms
Custom metrics and dashboards
Log aggregation with CloudWatch Logs
CloudTrail event monitoring
X-Ray distributed tracing
Performance monitoring best practices

Cost Management and Optimization

AWS Cost Explorer usage analysis
Budget creation and alerting
Resource tagging strategies
Reserved Instances and Savings Plans
Spot Instances for cost reduction
Cost allocation and chargeback

Infrastructure as Code

AWS CloudFormation templates
Stack management and updates
AWS CDK introduction and benefits
Template best practices
Version control for infrastructure
Automated deployment strategies

AI and Machine Learning Services

Amazon Bedrock for generative AI
Amazon Q Developer for code assistance
Amazon SageMaker AI overview
Amazon Rekognition for image analysis
Amazon Comprehend for text analysis
ML service selection criteria

Architectural Best Practices

Well-Architected Framework pillars
High availability design patterns
Disaster recovery strategies
Scalability and elasticity principles
Microservices on AWS
Event-driven architectures

DevOps and Automation

Source control integration (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and AWS CodeCommit), CodeBuild, CodeDeploy
CI/CD pipeline creation
AWS Systems Manager automation
Configuration management
Blue-green deployments
Infrastructure testing strategies

Migration and Emerging Services

Migration strategies (7 Rs) overview
AWS Migration Hub overview
Application modernization approaches
Internet of Things (IoT) services overview
Edge computing with AWS Wavelength