The popular cloud platform for e-commerce, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has become an important component of its entire business plan. It has evolved in recent years as the leading cloud platform and has demonstrated to have a considerable competitive advantage. However, becoming an AWS Cloud Practitioner is on the to-do list for the majority of people and professionals who want to succeed in the cloud industry. And these days, obtaining a certification is comparable to receiving a key that opens the door to more advanced career opportunities, whether in the workplace or in business.
According to the research, the average base income for an AWS cloud practitioner is $1,48,623, making the salary one of the top ten best-paid IT qualifications in the country. Additionally, salaries for AWS cloud practitioners in India range from ₹1,297K to ₹1,416K.
With all of this in mind, we will focus on different study techniques and ideas in this blog post to assist you in becoming a cloud practitioner.
What is the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam?
One of the most basic exams to get started in the field of cloud computing is the AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) Exam.
The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is an entry-level exam designed to validate a candidate’s overall understanding of the AWS Cloud. The exam covers a range of topics, including:
- Cloud concepts: covers the fundamental concepts of cloud computing, including the benefits and drawbacks of cloud computing.
- Security: covers security measures, security services, and encryption in the AWS Cloud.
- Technology: covers the services offered by AWS and how they can be used to build and deploy applications.
- Billing and pricing: covers the AWS pricing models, cost optimization strategies, and how to manage costs.
- AWS Architecture: covers the design principles, best practices, and architecture patterns used in the AWS Cloud.
The exam is intended for those who can effectively demonstrate a general understanding of the AWS Cloud, independent of a specific job function. The test examines your ability in the following areas:
- Describing the benefits of the AWS Cloud.
- Recognizing and describing the shared responsibility model used by AWS.
- Recognizing optimal practices for security.
- Understanding the pricing, economics, and billing procedures of the AWS Cloud.
- Describing and positioning the key AWS services, including computing, network, databases, and storage.
- Describing the AWS services for common use scenarios.
Knowledge Required For The Exam:
Anyone with a foundational understanding of the AWS platform is eligible to become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner. But to be sure, we recommend that you have the following before taking this test:
- Experience in the design, development, and/or operations of the AWS Cloud over the period of six months.B
- Basic knowledge of IT services, including how to use them in well-designed AWS Cloud solutions.
- Understanding the fundamental AWS services, use cases, billing, pricing, security, and how the cloud affects your business
- Knowledge of basic AWS services, security and compliance inside the AWS Cloud, and the AWS Cloud’s economics.
Basic Exam Details:
AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) is a fundamental level exam. There will be a 90-minute time limit to complete 65 questions of type multiple-choice or multiple-response. And, the minimum score to pass the exam is 700. The exam will cost $100 USD and can be taken either in person at a testing center or online under a proctor.
The following language versions of this test are available: English, French (France), German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, and Spanish (Latin America). Spanish (Spain) and Traditional Chinese are additional languages that are exclusively available through Pearson Vue.
We’ve covered the essential information for the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam, but if you want to pass it on your first try, you’ll need to study properly. Without it, you won’t be able to pass any AWS exams. Let’s check the preparation steps!
Steps to pass AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam
Taking the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam would be a great place to start if you are just starting started in the cloud world. The associate-level certification examinations for AWS are thought of as an originating point of this exam. But we are all aware of how difficult it is to be ready for any certification course. We must stick to the suggested test preparation strategy if we want to pass an exam. Here are some strategies and study resources for passing the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam.
1. Understanding the Topics using the Exam Study Guide
If you want to be completely familiar with the exam’s topic, you must begin your exam preparation by utilizing the AWS study guide. You can better comprehend the exam’s core concepts and objectives with the help of this guide. You will receive a thorough overview of the topics you should concentrate on when preparing for the exam from this guide. Moreover, you will be able to comprehend all exam subjects and learn about preparation tips. To succeed on the certification exam, all you have to do is adhere to them attentively. The topics are:
Domain 1: Cloud Concepts
1.1 Define the AWS Cloud and its value proposition
- Define the benefits of the AWS cloud including:
- Security (AWS Documentation: Advantages of Cloud Security)
- Reliability (AWS Documentation: Reliability)
- High Availability
- Elasticity (AWS Documentation: Elasticity)
- Agility
- Pay-as-you go pricing (AWS Documentation: AWS Pricing)
- Scalability
- Global Reach
- Economy of scale
- Explain how the AWS cloud allows users to focus on business value
- Shifting technical resources to revenue-generating activities as opposed to managing infrastructure (AWS Documentation: Business Value on AWS)
1.2 Identify aspects of AWS Cloud economics
- Define items that would be part of a Total Cost of Ownership proposal
- Understand the role of operational expenses (OpEx)
- Understand the role of capital expenses (CapEx)
- Understand labor costs associated with on-premises operations (AWS Documentation: AWS Pricing/TCO Tools)
- Understand the impact of software licensing costs when moving to the cloud (AWS Documentation: Cost and licensing)
- Identify which operations will reduce costs by moving to the cloud
- Right-sized infrastructure (AWS Documentation: Right Sizing)
- Benefits of automation (AWS Documentation: Automation, Investing in Cloud Automation)
- Reduce compliance scope (for example, reporting) (AWS Documentation: Minimizing the PCI Compliance Burden Using Containerization, Microservices, and AWS)
- Managed services (for example, RDS, ECS, EKS, DynamoDB) (AWS Documentation: AWS Managed Services)
1.3 Explain the different cloud architecture design principles
- Explain the design principles
- Design for failure (AWS Documentation: Design for Failure)
- Decouple components versus monolithic architecture (AWS Documentation: Decomposing monoliths into microservices)
- Implement elasticity in the cloud versus on-premises (AWS Documentation: Elasticity)
- Think parallel
Domain 2: Security and Compliance
2.1 Define the AWS shared responsibility model
- Recognize the elements of the Shared Responsibility Model (AWS Documentation: Shared Responsibility Model)
- Describe the customer’s responsibility on AWS
- Describe how the customer’s responsibilities may shift depending on the service used (for example with RDS, Lambda, or EC2) (AWS Documentation: Shared Responsibility, Shared Responsibility Model)
- Describe AWS responsibilities Shared Responsibility Model)
2.2 Define AWS Cloud security and compliance concepts
- Identify where to find AWS compliance information (AWS Documentation:AWS Compliance Programs, Compliance Resources)
- Locations of lists of recognized available compliance controls (for example, HIPPA, SOCs) (AWS Documentation: HIPAA, SOC)
- Recognize that compliance requirements vary among AWS services (AWS Documentation: Security and compliance)
- At a high level, describe how customers achieve compliance on AWS (AWS Documentation:AWS Compliance)
- Identify different encryption options on AWS (for example, In transit, At rest) (AWS Documentation: Encryption of Data in Transit, Encryption of Data at Rest)
- Describe who enables encryption on AWS for a given service (AWS Documentation: importance of encryption and how AWS can help)
- Recognize there are services that will aid in auditing and reporting (AWS Documentation:AWS Audit Manager)
- Recognize that logs exist for auditing and monitoring (do not have to understand the logs) (AWS Documentation: Viewing HSM audit logs in CloudWatch Logs)
- Define Amazon CloudWatch, AWS Config, and AWS CloudTrail (AWS Documentation: Amazon CloudWatch, AWS Config, AWS CloudTrail)
- Explain the concept of least privileged access (AWS Documentation: Security best practices in IAM)
2.3 Identify AWS access management capabilities
- Understand the purpose of User and Identity Management
- Access keys and password policies (rotation, complexity) (AWS Documentation: Managing access keys for IAM users, Setting an account password policy for IAM users)
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (AWS Documentation: Using multi-factor authentication (MFA) in AWS)
- AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) (AWS Documentation:AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM))
- Groups/users (AWS Documentation: IAM Identities (users, user groups, and roles))
- Roles (AWS Documentation: IAM roles)
- Policies, managed policies compared to custom policies (AWS Documentation: Policies and permissions in IAM, AWS managed policies)
- Tasks that require use of root accounts (AWS Documentation: AWS account root user credentials and IAM user credentials)
- Protection of root accounts (AWS Documentation: best practices for securing my AWS account)
2.4 Identify resources for security support
- Recognize there are different network security capabilities
- Native AWS services (for example, security groups, Network ACLs, AWS WAF) (AWS Documentation: Control traffic to subnets using Network ACLs, Control traffic to resources using security groups, AWS WAF)
- 3rd party security products from the AWS Marketplace
- Recognize there is documentation and where to find it (for example, best practices, whitepapers, official documents)
- AWS Knowledge Center, Security Center, security forum, and security blogs (AWS Documentation: AWS Knowledge Center)
- Partner Systems Integrators (AWS Documentation: Next-Gen MSP Meets Global Systems Integrator on AWS)
- Know that security checks are a component of AWS Trusted Advisor (AWS Documentation: AWS Trusted Advisor check reference)
Domain 3: Technology
3.1 Define methods of deploying and operating in the AWS Cloud
- Identify at a high level different ways of provisioning and operating in the AWS cloud
- Programmatic access, APIs, SDKs, AWS Management Console, CLI, Infrastructure as Code (AWS Documentation: AWS APIs, AWS SDK for JavaScript, AWS Management Console, AWS Command Line Interface, Infrastructure as Code)
- Identify different types of cloud deployment models
- All in with cloud/cloud native (AWS Documentation: Cloud-Native)
- Hybrid (AWS Documentation: Hybrid Cloud with AWS)
- On-premises (AWS Documentation: Deployments on an EC2/On-Premises Compute Platform)
- Identify connectivity options
- VPN (AWS Documentation: AWS VPN)
- AWS Direct Connect (AWS Documentation: AWS Direct Connect)
- Public internet (AWS Documentation: Connect to the internet using an internet gateway)
3.2 Define the AWS global infrastructure
- Describe the relationships among Regions, Availability Zones, and Edge Locations (AWS Documentation: Regions and Zones, Regions and Availability Zones)
- Describe how to achieve high availability through the use of multiple Availability Zones
- Recall that high availability is achieved by using multiple Availability Zones (AWS Documentation: Multi-AZ deployments for high availability, Amazon RDS Multi-AZ)
- Recognize that Availability Zones do not share single points of failure
- Describe when to consider the use of multiple AWS Regions (AWS Documentation:Multi-Region Application Architecture)
- Disaster recovery/business continuity (AWS Documentation: Disaster recovery options in the cloud, Business Continuity Plan (BCP))
- Low latency for end-users (AWS Documentation: Low-latency computing with AWS Local Zones)
- Data sovereignty (AWS Documentation: Embrace Data Sovereignty)
- Describe at a high level the benefits of Edge Locations (AWS Documentation:AWS for the Edge)
- Amazon CloudFront (AWS Documentation: Amazon CloudFront)
- AWS Global Accelerator (AWS Documentation: AWS Global Accelerator)
3.3 Identify the core AWS services
- Describe the categories of services on AWS (compute, storage, network, database) (AWS Documentation: AWS Cloud Products)
- Identify AWS compute services
- Recognize there are different compute families (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 Instance Types)
- Recognize the different services that provide compute (for example, AWS Lambda compared to Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), or Amazon EC2, etc.) (AWS Documentation: Compute Services)
- Recognize that elasticity is achieved through Auto Scaling
- Identify the purpose of load balancers (AWS Documentation: Application Load Balancer)
- Identify different AWS storage services
- Describe Amazon S3 (AWS Documentation: Amazon S3)
- Describe Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) (AWS Documentation: Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS))
- Describe Amazon S3 Glacier (AWS Documentation: Amazon S3 Glacier)
- Describe AWS Snowball (AWS Documentation: AWS Snowball)
- Describe Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) (AWS Documentation: Use Amazon EFS with Amazon EC2)
- Describe AWS Storage Gateway (AWS Documentation: Amazon S3 File Gateway)
- Identify AWS networking services
- Identify VPC (AWS Documentation: Finding information to connect to a VPC)
- Identify security groups (AWS Documentation: Finding information to connect to a VPC)
- Identify the purpose of Amazon Route 53 (AWS Documentation: Amazon Route 53)
- Identify VPN, AWS Direct Connect (AWS Documentation: Identifying a Site-to-Site VPN connection, AWS Direct Connect)
- Identify different AWS database services
- Install databases on Amazon EC2 compared to AWS managed databases (AWS Documentation: Choosing between Amazon RDS, Amazon EC2, or VMware Cloud)
- Identify Amazon RDS (AWS Documentation: Amazon RDS DB instances)
- Identify Amazon DynamoDB (AWS Documentation: Amazon DynamoDB)
- Identify Amazon Redshift (AWS Documentation: Getting started with Amazon Redshift)
3.4 Identify resources for technology support
- Recognize there is documentation (best practices, whitepapers, AWS Knowledge Center, forums, blogs) (AWS Documentation: Follow Security Best Practices, AWS Knowledge Center, AWS Whitepapers & Guides)
- Identify the various levels and scope of AWS support
- AWS Abuse (AWS Documentation: report abuse of AWS resources)
- AWS support cases (AWS Documentation: Creating support cases and case management)
- Premium support
- Technical Account Managers (AWS Documentation: AWS Enterprise Support)
- Recognize there is a partner network (marketplace, third-party) including Independent Software Vendors and System Integrators (AWS Documentation: AWS Partner Network, AWS Partner Paths)
- Identify sources of AWS technical assistance and knowledge including professional services, solution architects, training and certification, and the Amazon Partner Network (AWS Documentation: technical support from AWS, AWS Professional Services, Successful solutions architects do these five things)
- Identify the benefits of using AWS Trusted Advisor (AWS Documentation: AWS Trusted Advisor)
Domain 4: Billing and Pricing
4.1 Compare and contrast the various pricing models for AWS (for example, On-Demand Instances, Reserved Instances, and Spot Instance pricing) (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 pricing)
- Identify scenarios/best fit for On-Demand Instance pricing (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 On-Demand Pricing, On-Demand Instances)
- Identify scenarios/best fit for Reserved-Instance pricing (AWS Documentation:Reserved Instances, Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances)
- Describe Reserved-Instances flexibility (AWS Documentation: Instance Size Flexibility for EC2 Reserved Instances)
- Describe Reserved-Instances behavior in AWS Organizations (AWS Documentation: Reserved Instances)
- Identify scenarios/best fit for Spot Instance pricing (AWS Documentation: Spot Instances)
4.2 Recognize the various account structures in relation to AWS billing and pricing
- Recognize that consolidated billing is a feature of AWS Organizations (AWS Documentation: Consolidated billing for AWS Organizations)
- Identify how multiple accounts aid in allocating costs across departments (AWS Documentation: AWS Cost Allocation For Customer Bills, Cost Allocation Basics)
4.3 Identify resources available for billing support
- Identify ways to get billing support and information (AWS Documentation:AWS Billing and Cost Management)
- Cost Explorer, AWS Cost and Usage Report, Amazon QuickSight, third-party partners, and AWS Marketplace tools (AWS Documentation: Analyzing your costs with AWS Cost Explorer, AWS Cost and Usage Reports, Amazon QuickSight, AWS Managed Service Provider Partners)
- Open a billing support case (AWS Documentation: Creating support cases and case management)
- The role of the Concierge for AWS Enterprise Support Plan customers (AWS Documentation: AWS Enterprise Support)
- Identify where to find pricing information on AWS services
- AWS Simple Monthly Calculator (AWS Documentation: AWS Pricing Calculator console)
- AWS Services product pages (AWS Documentation: Using the Products page)
- AWS Pricing API (AWS Documentation: AWS Price List API)
- Recognize that alarms/alerts exist (AWS Documentation: Creating a billing alarm to monitor your estimated AWS charges)
- Identify how tags are used in cost allocation (AWS Documentation: Using Cost Allocation Tags)
2. Begin with AWS Training
You will be able to grasp the exam topics and have better knowledge using the AWS training. This includes:
– Exam Prep: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner:
You will learn how to evaluate your readiness for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam in this foundational-level course from Amazon Web Services (AWS). You need to show a general understanding of the AWS Cloud, regardless of your intended employment role. This course will help you examine many topic categories of the test and see how they relate to both the jobs of AWS Cloud practitioners and to certain fields of study. By analyzing the ideas that are being examined on the exam, you will also study example certification questions for each area.
– AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials:
Reference: https://aws.amazon.com/training/digital/aws-cloud-practitioner-essentials/?cp=sec&sec=prep
This updated digital course is intended for anybody, regardless of technical role, who wants to get a fundamental grasp of the AWS Cloud. To expand your understanding of AWS Cloud, you’ll study fundamental AWS services, security, architecture, pricing, and support.
– AWS Power Hour: Cloud Practitioner:
Develop your foundational understanding of AWS Cloud or get ready to take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. Learn the crucial facts you need to construct your future in the AWS Cloud by watching the interactive series. The hosts will lead you through the content with demonstrations and actual-world examples over the course of six episodes. Explore helpful materials, such as hints, documentation, and practice questions, conveniently organized by each episode. The episodes are:
- Intro to Cloud
- Global Infrastructure and Networking
- Storage and Databases
- Security
- Well-Architected Framework
– AWS Cloud Essentials for Business Leaders:
Reference: https://aws.amazon.com/training/classroom/aws-cloud-essentials-for-business-leaders/
Business executives who want a comprehensive knowledge of cloud computing’s core ideas should take this course. Find out how a cloud strategy may help you achieve your company goals. Through client examples, an examination of market trends, and the Cloud Value Framework, which helps in your comprehension of the business value of developing on AWS, the course dives deep into the business value of the cloud.
– AWS Technical Essentials:
Reference: https://aws.amazon.com/training/classroom/aws-technical-essentials/
You will gain knowledge of AWS products, services, and typical solutions in this introductory course. So that you can choose IT solutions depending on your company’s needs, you will learn the foundations of recognizing AWS services. You will learn the:
- Concepts related to the AWS platform
- Process of navigating the AWS Management Console
- Concepts of AWS security measures and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
3. Use the AWS Whitepapers
The AWS whitepapers are published and produced by the officials to inform the audience about certain topics and to quicken the development of particular approaches. This may be an excellent resource for knowledge and information on fundamental subjects like security, architecture, and economics. Below are a few of the well-known AWS Whitepapers that might most likely assist you in getting ready for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam:
4. Start Taking Practice Tests
This is yet another essential component of the study guide that will not only assist you in identifying your weak areas but also in building a solid level of revision. To put it another way, you can improve your answer skills and save a tonne of time by using the practice examinations. To start with AWS Cloud Practitioner practice exams, there are a number of free sample examinations available. After you’ve reviewed a section or a few subjects, you can take practice examinations as part of your study.
5. Join Online Study Groups/Communities
Online study groups are a good resource for getting ready for the certification exam. They enable you to be surrounded by people taking the same exam as you. You can learn concepts and ideas that can assist in understanding the content more quickly. You may discover more study guides and other resources that can help in your understanding of the exam’s concepts properly. As part of the debate, you can share your questions and doubts related to the exam.
Some tips for the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam:
Here are some tips to help you prepare for and pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam:
- Review the official AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam Guide and AWS Whitepapers to understand the scope of the exam.
- Familiarize yourself with the AWS Management Console and get hands-on experience with the various AWS services.
- Study the AWS Glossary and make sure you understand the terminology used in the exam.
- Take advantage of the free AWS training courses and videos available online.
- Use practice exams and study materials to test your knowledge and identify areas that need improvement.
- Make sure you understand the pricing and cost optimization strategies for the various AWS services.
- Join online communities and forums to stay current on the latest developments in AWS.
- Get hands-on experience with real-world scenarios to reinforce your understanding of the concepts covered in the exam.
- Make sure you understand the AWS Well-Architected Framework and the five pillars of the AWS Cloud.
- Give yourself enough time to study and prepare, and make sure to take the exam when you feel confident and ready.
Final Words
To pass the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam on your first try, you must start preparing for it. Your entry into the world of cloud computing will come through this certification, which also qualifies you for a number of various professions. To further your preparation, create a study schedule and routine using the information above. After that, spend some time reviewing by appearing for practice tests. Successfully complete the exam, pass it, and become an AWS Cloud Practitioner.