AWS Tutorial for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide

Topics Covered

The following topics are a part of this AWS Tutorial:

• AWS Tutorial
• What is AWS
• Learn AWS
• AWS IAM
• AWS EC2
• AWS S3
• AWS VPC
• AWS CloudFormation
• How to Become an AWS Solution Architect
• AWS Interview Questions 

Why Learn AWS Tutorial?

• AWS has the most significant market share in the cloud computing industry, and it is growing at the fastest rate. Therefore, the demand for AWS experts is at an all-time high.
• Cloud computing skills are inevitable for IT professionals and present career advancement opportunities to them. 
• SMBs are reflecting a strong affinity for cost-effective infrastructure provided by AWS, resulting in migration to the AWS cloud. 
• Critical AWS skills, such as DynamoDB, are compensated for up to $106,000 in IT companies. 
• About 60% of cloud computing jobs expect the candidates to be fluent with AWS skills.
• From DevOps to SysOps, there are several opportunities in AWS. 

Applications of AWS

AWS finds applications in a variety of domains, and some of them are listed below:

1. Cloud Compute Resources 

Cloud infrastructure or cloud compute resources are the servers that are used to host applications on the cloud. Amazon has several options for varying requirements. Businesses use these servers to run their Web software securely and reliably. 

Amazon's cloud computing offerings are listed below: 

• Amazon EC2

  Elastic Compute 2 or EC2 is primarily used for hosting applications. It offers scalable VMs built with granular control over networking, security, migrations, and backups.

• Amazon EBS

  EBS or Elastic Beanstalk is an easy to configure alternative to EC2. You upload application files, and it creates the necessary environment automatically.

• Amazon Lightsail

  Lightsail is a simplified version of EC2 which offers VPS servers with the one-click launch, backup, and restore functionalities.

• Amazon Lambda

  AWS Lambda is a serverless service that fires snippets of code only on request. Easy to configure, Lambda is excellent for serverless applications. 

We will study more use cases and implementation in different sections of this AWS tutorial: 

2. Scalable Cloud Storage

• Amazon S3

AWS S3 is used to store data securely and cost-effectively. Businesses can store business data with easy retrieval and worldwide availability.

• Amazon Glacier

AWS Glacier is targeted at storing a backup of data for several years. It cold stores data and is used for archival purposes at a low cost.

• Amazon Elastic Block Storage

AWS EBS is like a virtual hard disk that you can attach to your server. It's available in various configurations and boots up in seconds for quick usage. 

• Amazon Elastic File System

AWS EFS replicates File Explorer on your PC in the cloud. You can quickly create virtual file systems necessary for storage or application needs. 

3. Relational and Non-Relational Databases

• Amazon RDS

AWS Relational Database Service or RDS is a cloud alternative for setting up MySQL/PSQL databases. It allows businesses to remotely connect databases using APIs, enabling security and portability of data. 

• Amazon Redshift

AWS Redshift serves as a data warehousing service that comes with advanced querying functions. It allows Business Analysis possible using BI and SQL tools in the cloud. 

5. Other Cloud Domain Applications 

• Migration 

• AWS Application Discovery Service

It's a unique service that prepares big organizations for a migration. It enables the discovery of workloads, usage, resources, etc. to plan a smooth movement on the AWS cloud.

• Networking and Content Delivery

• Amazon Route 53

Route 53 is used for setting up DNS, and connecting domain names with AWS hosted applications. 

• Elastic Load Balancing

Elastic Load Balancing is used to offer high availability of services with the dynamic distribution of incoming traffic to other regions. 

• Management Tools

• AWS Autoscaling

AWS Auto Scaling allows you to compensate for increased traffic by scaling up servers dynamically automatically.  

• Security

• AWS Identity and Access Management

AWS IAM is the control panel for all AWS services. You can add users to your account and give them relevant permissions using IAM. 

Enroll in our AWS Solutions Architect Certification course today and develop a strong foundation in Cloud Computing.

AWS Tutorial: Table of Contents

1. What is AWS?: Understanding AWS and Its Services

AWS is a public cloud service provider that offers cloud infrastructure and cloud services for businesses to host their applications. It's cost-effective, flexible, and is available in 190 countries. 

AWS came into existence in 2006 when Amazon decided to offer their vacant cloud servers to the general public. Today, services like EC2, S3, and Elastic Beanstalk have become the gold standards in the cloud computing space.

AWS has enabled small businesses to deploy cloud applications quickly. Big companies also use it for cost-efficiencies. It makes the otherwise costly cloud tools easily accessible to the public at great prices. 

Some limitations include total dependency on the internet and a complex framework that has a learning curve to it. 

2. AWS IAM: Working, Components, and Features Explained

AWS Identity and Access Management is a system by which you can configure AWS resource access permissions for various users in your organization. It adds a strong layer of security to your AWS data and applications. AWS IAM comprises user Authentication (identity), Authorization (permissions), Users, Groups, Policies, Roles. All of these come together to lay the framework by which administrators control who access what resources. 

The ability to securely share core access to the AWS account, detailed permissions, and user federation are some of the key features of IAM. It's free to use and PCI DSS compliant.

3. What is AWS EC2 and How to Deploy an Environment on It

AWS Elastic Compute 2 or EC2 is the name of the virtual server family that can be created on-demand and is easy to scale. EC2 is AWS's most popular product as it allows businesses to quickly create a server for their applications, with a horde of configuration options. 

EC2 follows the pay-as-you-go model, charging customers for only the time they use the servers. It's highly secure, available throughout the world, and can be customized as per need. You can create a virtual server in less than 5 minutes and upload your application securely with VPC groups. 

EC2 makes the uphill task of deploying and managing servers a breeze for administrators. It's available with a variety of OS options and security features for large organizations. 

4. What are AWS S3: Overview, Features, and Storage Classes Explained

AWS Simple Storage Service or S3 is a cloud storage solution for safely containing variable volumes of business data. It's easily accessible, robust, and comes at a great pricing model. 

S3 eliminates the need for buying expensive equipment, enables scalability, and is readily available. Businesses can upload and retrieve their data anytime they want without having to worry about their security. 

S3 uses Objects to identify data and Buckets to organize it. It's built with version control and logging, S3 has classes for cold data storage, reduced redundancy storage.

You also get data encryption, lifecycle management, and policy control over your assets.

5. Dissecting AWS's Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

AWS Virtual Private Cloud is a networking framework by which on-premise components can be linked to AWS resources in a secure and scalable manner. VPC contains provisions for configuring IP addresses, closed networks and subnets, for improved security.

You'll learn about how to create Public, Private, and Elastic IP addresses that control the flow of information on the internet. It also includes Subnets and Route Tables for proper VPC setup. 

AWS Security Groups are part of the security firewall system that protects resources from uninvited access. VPC contains concepts on how to set up, use, and deploy security groups. 

The course offers in-depth coverage of VPC implementation in a live production environment.  

6. AWS CloudFormation Tutorial: Resource Attributes and Stacks Explained

AWS CloudFormation is used to manage multiple AWS resources and their attributes centrally. Organizations often use many AWS services at once, and CloudFormation makes their management as easy as updating a text file. 

In this AWS tutorial, you'll learn about how to create a CloudFormation policy using templates and from scratch with JSON structures. You'll also learn how to create a complete stack containing application, database, OS, and platform. 

CloudFormation supports the management of the entire stack using its predefined controls. You can link it with AWS IAM to administer all the resources with full access control. CloudFormation is one of the server administration components provided by AWS.  

7. How to Become an AWS Solutions Architect: Certifications Available and Job Opportunities

Ready to kickstart your cloud computing career? AWS Solutions Architect is the answer. The architect's primary role is to understand the AWS services and help businesses set up their applications in a reliable yet cost-effective way.

Salaries for AWS Solutions Architect go up to $127,000 per year, and the demand has been ever rising. You'll need the AWS Associate Certification, which can be obtained by appearing for the AWS exam. 

This section for the AWS tutorial will describe how to prepare and apply for the exam. There are mock exams also available, and a lot of study resources to practice. Once you gain the certification, you'll be a renowned name in the most prominent cloud services provider community.  

8. Top AWS Interview Questions and Answers to Know Before Your Next Interview

The journey to obtaining the prestigious AWS Solutions Expert Certification requires you to be able to crack company interviews with flying colors. Our collection of top 93 AWS interview questions is meant for just that. 

In this AWS tutorial section, You'll learn about the most commonly asked questions with useful answers. The exhaustive list contains rare and technical questions on services like CloudFormation, Autoscaling, etc. 

There are more than 160 services that AWS provides. It can be hard to learn all of them by heart and be ready for just any question. Hence, go through this interview question list and nail the interview as per your liking.

Get Started With AWS Tutorial

Your curiosity around AWS is about to be relinquished. The first lesson of the AWS tutorial answers all the basic questions on what AWS is and what all services it offers. 

For cloud engineers and developers, AWS is not only a brand but a complete opportunity in itself that puts them on the map of recruiters. Learning AWS skills and concepts empowers you to supercharge your cloud computing career. Leap now, and begin our first video lesson on What is AWS?  

As you read along, you'll find more on AWS and its services. AWS tutorial playlist broadly covers all critical AWS components such as IAM, CloudFormation, and more. It's always good to familiarize yourself with technicalities first. This practical yet straightforward AWS tutorial is easy to wrap around your head. See if you can reach the last lesson!