What is AWS?
- Amazon Web Services
- A worldwide distributed system
- A secure public cloud services platform, offering compute power, database/ storage, content delivery, networking, application deployment and other services to help businesses scale and grow
Why AWS?
- AWS is the market leader
- ~58% of total market share
- AWS is the most in-demand certification
- AWS Partner companies require certified employees
- Clients include businesses from over 190 countries
- Including Netflix, Reddit, AOL and Pinterest etc.
- AWS offers more than 20 + service categories and over 240 services
- There are 76 availability zones in 24 geographical regions around the world
- Learning materials; excellent documentation, online learning
AWS SAA Certificate Overview
![AWS Certified Solutions Architect Course (SAA-C02)](https://i0.wp.com/mk0digitalcloud3kwjy.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/AWS-Certified-Solutions-Architect-Associate-4.png?resize=111%2C111&ssl=1)
- How to apply AWS solutions in real-world scenarios
- Which services to use when, and what each service can and cannot do
- There are three main categories validating one’s abilities
- Architecting and deploying solutions on AWS
- Defining solutions based on customer requirements
- Providing implementations guidance during the project/ projects
- Architecting, Deploying, Defining, Giving Guidance
Exam Knowledge Areas
1. Designing Resilient Architecture ~30% - Storage (S3, Glacier etc.) - Decoupling mechanism - Multi-tier architectures - when building from scratch - High-availability and fault tolerance 2. Define High-Performing Architecture ~28% - Storage and databases - Caching options - Elasticity (in/ out) and Scalability 3. Specify Secure Applications and Architecture ~24% - Securing application tiers - Securing data (at rest and transit) - Securing network infrastructure - VPCs, subnets etc. 4. Design Cost-Optimized Architecture ~18% - Storage and compute options - AWS best practices
Exam Focus Areas
1. Compute - Ensure how to do compute tasks in AWS, e.g. via EC2 instances 2. Networking - Subnets and Virtual Private Clouds (VPSc) - Multiple implementations - public/ private etc. 3. Storage - There are two primary types of storage, Live and Archive - Archives - AWS Glacier, Live storage - AWS S3 - EBS; 4. Databases - Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS)
Exam Format
- 130min, 65 m/c questions
- 70% passing mark
- 720/1000 on the 100-1000 scale
- The credential is valid for 3 years
- Scenario-based questions, all about identifying what to use and when
- The majority of the items will present a scenario
- in the form of 1 to 2 lines associated with a specific question
- Which service types to use for particular problems
- Which types of technology are best suited for a particular problem
Exam Focus Services by Service Category
![]() Compute | ![]() Storage | ![]() Database | ![]() Migrations |
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![]() Network & Content Delivery | ![]() Mgmt & Governance | ![]() Analytics | ![]() Security, Identity& Compliance |
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![]() App Integration | ![]() Cost Mgmt | ![]() Media Services | ![]() End-User Computing | |
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Links
AWS-Certified Solutions Architect Associate Exam Info
AWS SAA-C01 vs. AWS SAA-C02