AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate

Core AWS Services

The certification covers several major AWS services that are commonly used in cloud architectures.

Amazon EC2 provides virtual computing resources for running applications and workloads. Architects need to understand instance types, storage, security, scaling, and workload requirements when selecting EC2 resources.

Amazon S3 provides scalable object storage for files, backups, application data, media, logs, and other objects. Storage classes and lifecycle management can help organizations manage data efficiently.

Amazon RDS provides managed relational database capabilities, while Amazon DynamoDB provides a managed NoSQL database solution for applications requiring flexible and scalable data storage.

Amazon VPC allows organizations to create logically isolated networks and control communication between cloud resources.

Understanding these services and their use cases is essential for AWS Solutions Architect preparation.

AWS Networking

Networking is a critical part of cloud architecture. Amazon VPC provides the foundation for creating private cloud networks within AWS.

Candidates learn about public and private subnets, route tables, internet gateways, NAT gateways, security groups, and network access control lists.

For example, a web application may have public-facing components that require internet access, while database resources can be placed in private subnets for additional protection.

Understanding network traffic flow and security controls helps architects design secure and reliable cloud environments.