AWS Preparation Guide for Certification Exam

Hi All,

There are three phases of the AWS Certification Exam ( Foundational, Associate, Professional ) as per hands-on experience. 

1. Foundation required 6 Months of hands-on experience
2. Associate required 1 Year of hands-on experience
3. Professional required 2 Year of hands-on experience 

Note: Candidates are no longer required to have an Associate certification before pursuing Professional certification.

There is also another type of certification present in the market called "Specialty" for those candidates who are having specialization in different domains.

Content

1. Types of Certification

2. Syllabus

3. Learning Path

4. Whitepapers

Let see the different AWS certification exam in more details with their levels of difficulty -

Foundational

1. AWS Cloud Practitioner ( Easy )

Associate

1. AWS Solution Architect Associate ( Medium )
2. AWS SysOps Administrator Associate ( Little Difficult )
3. AWS Developer Associate ( Medium )

Professional

1. AWS Solution Architect Professional ( Difficult )
2. AWS DevOps Engineer Professional ( Difficult )

Specialty

1. AWS Advanced Networking Specialty ( Very Tough )
2. AWS BigData Specialty ( Very Tough )
3. AWS Security Specialty ( Difficult )
4. AWS Machine Learning Specialty ( Difficult )
5. AWS Alexa Skill Builder Specialty ( Difficult )
6. AWS Database Specialty ( Difficult )

AWS Cloud Practitioner

Two types of questions in the examination:

     1. Multiple choice
     2. Multiple responses

The minimum score for passing is 720.

Syllabus:

   1. Cloud Concepts -

• Define the AWS Cloud
• AWS Cloud economics
• List the different cloud architecture

   2. Security and Compliance -

•  AWS shared responsibility model
•  AWS Security and compliance concepts
•  Identify AWS access management
•  Identify resources

   3. Technology

• Methods of deploying and operating
• AWS global infrastructure
• Core AWS services
• Resources for technology support

   4. Billing and Pricing

• Compare various pricing models of AWS
• Recognize various account AWS billing and pricing
• Billing support

For more detailed download official syllabus here.

AWS Solution Architect Associate

Two types of questions in the examination:

     1. Multiple choice
     2. Multiple responses

The minimum score for passing is 720.

Syllabus:

  1. Design Resilient Architectures

• Design a multi-tier architecture solution
• Design highly available and/or fault-tolerant architectures
• Design decoupling mechanisms using AWS services
• Choose appropriate resilient storage

  2. Design High-Performing Architectures

• Identify elastic and scalable compute solutions for a workload
• Select high-performing and scalable storage solutions for a workload
• Select high-performing networking solutions for a workload
• Choose high-performing database solutions for a workload

  3. Design Secure Applications and Architectures

• Design secure access to AWS resources
• Design secure application tiers
• Select appropriate data security options

  4. Design Cost-Optimized Architectures

• Identify cost-effective storage solutions
• Identify cost-effective compute and database services
• Design cost-optimized network architectures

For more detailed download official syllabus here.

AWS Developer Associate

Two types of questions in the examination:

     1. Multiple choice
     2. Multiple responses

The minimum score for passing is 720.

Syllabus:

  1. Deployment

• Deploy written code in AWS using existing CI/CD pipelines, processes, and patterns
• Deploy applications using Elastic Beanstalk
• Prepare the application deployment package to be deployed to AWS
• Deploy serverless applications

 2. Security

• Make authenticated calls to AWS services
• Implement encryption using AWS services
• Implement application authentication, and authorization

 3. Development with AWS Services

• Write code for serverless applications
• Translate functional requirements into application design
• Implement application design into application code
• Write code that interacts with AWS services by using APIs, SDKs, and AWS CLI

 4. Refactoring

• Optimize application to best use AWS services and features
• Migrate existing application code to run on AWS

 5. Monitoring and Troubleshooting

• Write code that can be monitored
• Perform root cause analysis on faults found in testing or production

For more detailed download official syllabus here.

AWS SysOps Administrator Associate

Two types of questions in the examination:

     1. Multiple choice
     2. Multiple responses

The minimum score for passing is 720.

Syllabus:

 1. Monitoring and Reporting

• Create and maintain metrics and alarms utilizing AWS monitoring services
• Recognize and differentiate performance and availability metrics
• Perform the steps necessary to remediate based on performance and availability metrics

 2. High Availability

• Implement scalability and elasticity based on use case
• Recognize and differentiate highly available and resilient environments on AWS

 3. Deployment and Provisioning

• Identify and execute steps required to provision cloud resources
• Identify and remediate deployment issues

 4. Storage and Data Management

• Create and manage data retention
• Identify and implement data protection, encryption, and capacity planning needs

 5. Security and Compliance

• Implement and manage security policies on AWS
• Implement access controls when using AWS
• Differentiate between the roles and responsibility within the shared responsibility model

 6. Networking

• Apply AWS networking features
• Implement connectivity services of AWS
• Gather and interpret relevant information for network troubleshooting

 7. Automation and Optimization

• Use AWS services and features to manage and assess resource utilization
• Employ cost-optimization strategies for efficient resource utilization
• Automate the manual or repeatable process to minimize management overhead

For more detailed download official syllabus here.

AWS Solution Architect Professional

Two types of questions in the examination:

     1. Multiple choice
     2. Multiple responses

The minimum score for passing is 750.

Syllabus:

 1. Design for Organizational Complexity

• Determine cross-account authentication and access strategy for complex organizations (for example, an organization with varying compliance requirements, multiple business units, and varying scalability requirements)
• Determine how to design networks for complex organizations (for example, an organization with varying compliance requirements, multiple business units, and varying scalability requirements)
• Determine how to design a multi-account AWS environment for complex organizations (for example, an organization with varying compliance requirements, multiple business units, and varying scalability requirements)

 2. Design for New Solutions

• Determine security requirements and controls when designing and implementing a solution
• Determine a solution design and implementation strategy to meet reliability requirements
• Determine a solution design to ensure business continuity
• Determine a solution design to meet performance objectives
• Determine a deployment strategy to meet business requirements when designing and implementing a solution

 3. Migration Planning

• Select existing workloads and processes for a potential migration to the cloud
• Select migration tools and/or services for new and migrated solutions based on detailed AWS knowledge
• Determine a new cloud architecture for an existing solution
• Determine a strategy for migrating existing on-premises workloads to the cloud

 4. Cost Control

• Select a cost-effective pricing model for a solution
• Determine which controls to design and implement that will ensure cost optimization
• Identify opportunities to reduce cost in an existing solution

 5. Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions

• Troubleshoot solution architectures
• Determine a strategy to improve an existing solution for operational excellence
• Determine a strategy to improve the reliability of an existing solution
• Determine a strategy to improve the performance of an existing solution
• Determine a strategy to improve the security of an existing solution
• Determine how to improve the deployment of an existing solution

For more detailed download official syllabus here.

AWS DevOps Engineer Professional

Two types of questions in the examination:

     1. Multiple choice
     2. Multiple responses

The minimum score for passing is 750.

Syllabus:


 1. SDLC Automation

• Apply concepts required to automate a CI/CD pipeline
• Determine source control strategies and how to implement them
• Apply concepts required to automate and integrate testing
• Apply the concepts required to build and manage artifacts securely
• Determine deployment/delivery strategies (e.g., A/B, Blue/green, Canary, Red/black) and how to implement them using AWS Services

 2. Configuration Management and Infrastructure as Code

• Determine deployment services based on deployment needs
• Determine application and infrastructure deployment models based on business needs
• Apply security concepts in the automation of resource provisioning
• Determine how to implement lifecycle hooks on a deployment
• Apply concepts required to manage systems using AWS configuration management tools and services

 3. Monitoring and Logging

• Determine how to set up the aggregation, storage, and analysis of logs and metrics
• Apply concepts required to automate monitoring and event management of an environment
• Apply concepts required to audit, log, and monitor operating systems, infrastructures, and applications
• Determine how to implement tagging and other metadata strategies

 4. Policies and Standards Automation

• Apply concepts required to enforce standards for logging, metrics, monitoring, testing, and security
• Determine how to optimize cost through automation
• Apply concepts required to implement governance strategies

 5. Incident and Event Response

• Troubleshoot issues and determine how to restore operations
• Determine how to automate event management and alerting
• Apply concepts required to implement automated healing
• Apply concepts required to set up event-driven automated actions

 6. High Availability, Fault Tolerance, and Disaster Recovery

• Determine appropriate use of multi-AZ versus multi-region architectures
• Determine how to implement high availability, scalability, and fault tolerance
• Determine the right services based on business needs (e.g., RTO/RPO, cost)
• Determine how to design and automate disaster recovery strategies
• Evaluate a deployment for points of failure

For more detailed download official syllabus here.

AWS Advanced Networking Specialty - Download Syllabus

AWS BigData Specialty - Download Syllabus

AWS Security Specialty - Download Syllabus

AWS Machine Learning Specialty - Download Syllabus

AWS Alexa Skill Builder Specialty - Download Syllabus

AWS Database Specialty - Download Syllabus

Learning path 

Foundational

1. AWS Cloud Practitioner ( Easy )

Associate

1. AWS Solution Architect Associate ( Medium )

2. AWS SysOps Administrator Associate ( Little Difficult )

3. AWS Developer Associate ( Medium )

Professional

1. AWS Solution Architect Professional ( Difficult )

2. AWS DevOps Engineer Professional ( Difficult )

Specialty

1. AWS Advanced Networking Specialty ( Very Tough )

2. AWS BigData Specialty ( Very Tough )

3. AWS Security Specialty ( Difficult )

4. AWS Machine Learning Specialty ( Difficult )

5. AWS Alexa Skill Builder Specialty ( Difficult )

6. AWS Database Specialty ( Difficult )

 Must Read Whitepaper For AWS Certification Exam

• Overview of Amazon Web Services 
• Architecting for the Cloud 
• How AWS Pricing works 
• AWS Well-Architected 
• AWS Security Best Practices 
• Practicing Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery on AWS  
• Implementing Microservices on AWS 
• Serverless Architecture with AWS Lambda 
• Optimizing Enterprise Economics with Serverless Architecture 
• Running Containerized Microservices on AWS 
• Blue/Green Deployments on AWS 
• Architecting for the Cloud 
• Amazon Web Services: Overview of Security Processes 
• Development and Test on Amazon Web Services 
• Backup, Archive and Restore approaches on AWS 
• Amazon Virtual Private Cloud Connectivity Options 
• Encrypting Data at Rest 
• Web Application Hosting in the AWS Cloud 
• Migrating AWS resources to a new AWS Region 
• Microservices on AWS 
• Running Containerized Microservices on AWS 
• Infrastructure as Code 
• Streaming Data Solutions on AWS with Amazon Kinesis 
• Big Data Analytics Options on AWS 
• AWS Database Migration Service Best practices 
• Migrating Applications to AWS 
• AWS Best Practices for DDoS Resiliency 
• Integrating AWS with Multiprotocol Label Switching 
• AWS Key Management Service Best Practices 
• Security at Scale: Governance in AWS 
• Security at Scale: Logging in AWS 
• Security at Scale: Governance in AWS 
• Security at Scale: Logging in AWS 
• Machine Learning Foundations 
• Managing Machine Learning Projects 
• Power Machine Learning at Scale
• An Introduction to High-Performance Computing on AWS

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