AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification (CLF-C02)

AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification Overview

• The AWS Cloud Practitioner certification (CLF-C02) is an entry-level certification that introduces cloud fundamentals, core AWS services, security, billing, and more.
• This certification is often referred to as CCP (Certified Cloud Practitioner).
• AWS is the leading cloud service provider globally.
• The Cloud Practitioner certification is a common starting point for individuals entering the cloud computing field.
• The certification provides a broad, expansive view of cloud architecture and AWS, promoting big-picture thinking.
• The Cloud Practitioner exam doesn't validate the ability to build cloud workloads.
• The certification is recommended as an essential study guide for the AWS journey, even for those pursuing other AWS certifications like Solutions Architect.

Who Is the Certification For?

• Individuals new to the cloud who are learning fundamentals.
• Executive management or sales roles requiring strategic information about the cloud.
• Senior cloud engineers or solutions architects seeking to refresh their AWS knowledge.

Benefits of the Certification

• Gain a broad perspective on cloud architecture and AWS.
• Promotes big-picture thinking for trends and opportunities.
• Aids in understanding a strategic approach to cloud adoption.
• Can help short list resumes for interviews, but not enough for technical roles.

Certification Roadmap and Skills

• Certifications do not validate programming, technical diagramming, or code management skills.
• Certifications primarily provide knowledge specific to AWS services.
• Adjacent technical skills are important for securing technical roles.

Study Time & Exam Preparation

• Beginner: Approximately 30 hours of study.
• Experienced: As little as 6 hours of study.
• Average: Around 24 hours of study.
• Study should be split between lectures/labs (50%) and practice exams (50%).
• Consistent study schedule of 1-2 hours a day for 14 days is recommended.
• Memorizing key information and hands-on labs are important for knowledge sustainment.
• Practice exams are essential to simulate the real exam environment.
• ExamPro provides a free practice exam.

Exam Domains and Content

• Cloud Concepts: 24% of questions (15-16 questions).
• Security and Compliance: 30% of questions (19-20 questions).
• Cloud Technology and Services: 34% of questions (22 questions).
• Billing, Pricing, and Support: 12% of questions (8 questions).
• Cloud Technology and Services has the highest percentage, showing it is the most important thing in the exam.

Exam Details

• The exam can be taken at an in-person test center or online.
• AWS delivers exams through Pearson View.
• A proctor supervises the exam process to ensure legitimacy.
• Passing score: 700 out of 1000 points.
• There are 65 questions, with 50 scored and 15 unscored.
• There is no penalty for wrong answers, so always submit an answer.
• The question formats are multiple choice and multiple answer.
• Exam duration: 90 minutes (1.5 hours).
• Total seat time: 120 minutes, including check-in and instructions.
• Certification validity: 36 months (3 years) before recertification.
• Passing an AWS certification grants a 50% discount on the next exam.

Exam Guide Details

• Key Tasks: Explain, understand, describe, and identify.
• Target candidate should have six months of exposure with Cloud design, implementation or operation.
• Coding, Cloud architecture design, load performance and testing are out of scope.
• The exam guide does not exactly represent the exam, in other words not everything in the guide is necessarily on the exam, but almost everything.

Exam Guide: Content Topics

• Cloud Concepts

  • Cloud Value Proposition
  • Economics of scale
  • Global Infrastracture
  • High availability, elasticity and agility
  • AWS Cloud design principles: Well Architected Framework.
  • Cloud adoption strategies: Cloud Adoption Framework.
  • Migration Strategies, Snowball not frequently used.
  • Cloud economics - Cost savings
  • Opex vs capex
  • Right sizing
  • Benefits of automation
  • Managed AWS Services

• Security and Compliance

  • AWS Shared Responsibility Model
  • Compliance governments concepts
  • How customer secure resources
  • Different encryption options
  • Services that aid in governance and compliance
  • IAM
  • Principal of lease privelage
  • Single sign on

Exam Changes:

• Cloud concepts decreased from 26% to 24%.
• The technology section increased.
• Points shuffled for various components.

ExamPro Additional Features

• Free practice exam available.
• It includes a full practice exam.
• It simulates the real exam.
• It Includes case study questions for better comprehension, which is not on the real exam.
• Has validators, these confirm that the resources were deployed to the account.
• Has a validator that uses a CloudFormation template to give the tool access to the users account.
• Validators use the AWS CLI with commands such as S3API list buckets.

What is Cloud Computing?

• Using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or personal computer.

Cloud Hosting Evolution

• Dedicated Server (1995): Physical machine dedicated to a single business, expensive but with high security.
• Virtual Private Server (VPS): Physical machine subdivided into submachines via virtualization; better utilization and isolation of resources.
• Shared Hosting: One physical machine shared by hundreds of businesses; very cheap but limited functionality and poor isolation.
• Cloud Hosting: Multiple physical machines acting as one system (distributed computing); flexible, scalable, secure, low cost, and highly configurable.

Amazon's Role

• Amazon is an American multinational computer technology corporation.
• Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos.
• Initially an online bookstore, expanded to cloud computing (AWS), digital streaming, AI, and more.
• Andy Jassy is the current CEO of Amazon, focusing their work on Jeff Bezos space travels.

AWS Launch and Key Services

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched in 2006.
• Leading cloud service provider.
• Simple Queue Service (SQS) launched in 2004.
• Simple Storage Service (S3) launched in March 2006.
• Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) launched in 2006.
• Amazon.com's retail sites migrated to AWS in 2010.

Key AWS Executives

• Adam Selipsky: CEO of AWS (former CEO of Tableau).
• Werner Vogels: CTO of AWS.
• Jeff Barr: Chief Evangelist.

Cloud Service Provider (CSP) Definition

• Provides multiple cloud services ranging from tens to hundreds.
• Services can be chained together to create cloud architectures.
• Accessible via a single unified API.
• Utilizes metered billing based on usage.
• Has rich monitoring built-in.
• Offers Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) including networking, compute, storage, and databases.
• Offers automation via Infrastructure as Code.
• Cloud platforms offer multiple services under a single UI, but lack most/all CSP requirements Examples include: Twilio, HashiCorp, and Databricks.

Cloud Service Provider Landscape (Tiers)

• Top Tier

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
  • Alibaba Cloud

• Mid Tier

  • IBM
  • Oracle
  • Huawei Cloud
  • Tencent Cloud

• Light Tier

  • Vultr
  • Digital Ocean
  • Aemi Connected Cloud

• Private Tier

  • Open Stack
  • Apache Cloud Stack
  • VMware vSphere

Gartner Magic Quadrant

• An IT consulting firm that publishes market research reports.
• Uses qualitative data analysis to demonstrate market trends.
• Diagram includes leaders, challengers, niche players, and visionaries.
• Determined by "Completeness of Vision" and "Ability to Execute."
• Closer to the top corner, better overall position.

Core Cloud Services

• Compute: Virtual computers.
• Networking: Virtual networks.
• Storage: Virtual hard drives.
• Databases: Virtual databases.
• The industry uses "cloud computing" to refer to all categories of cloud services.

AWS Cloud Service Categories

• Four Core: Compute, Storage, Database, Networking
• Additional categories: Analytics, Application Integration, AR/VR, AI, Cost Management, Blockchain, Business Applications, Containers, Customer Engagement, Developer Tools, End User Computing, Game Tech, IoT, Machine Learning, Management/Governance, Media Services, Migration/Transfer, Mobile, Quantum, Robotics, Satellite, Security/Identity/Compliance.

AWS Service Exploration

• The AWS marketing website contains product categories in the top left corner.
• The EC2 compute service, can be explored to find overview, features, and pricing.
• Pricing pages are frequently consulted to estimate AWS service costs.
• The documentation section provides in depth knowledge about each service.
• Logged-in AWS users can explore all services available for utilization.
• Services can be explored via the marketing website for learning or the AWS console for use.

Evolution of Computing

• A cloud service provider offers various computing options to meet different use cases.
• Choosing the right option involves considering space utilization and trade-offs.
• This topic generally involves the utilization of space.

Dedicated Machines

• Physical servers are fully utilized by a single customer (single tenant).
• Google Cloud offers single node clusters and bare metal machines with hypervisor control.
• Capacity must be estimated upfront, leading to potential underutilization.
• Vertically scaling is difficult since hardware upgrades require manual migration.
• The host OS limits apps, and resource sharing can occur if multiple apps run.
• Security, privacy, and resource utilization are guaranteed, but security depends on user skills.
• Ideal for high-performance computing requiring closely located machines.

Virtual Machines

• Run a machine within a machine, using a hypervisor (software layer).
• Cost is shared across multiple customers (multi-tenant), paying for a fraction of the server.
• Virtual machines require allocation of vCPUs and memory, leading to underutilization.
• Guest OS limits, but virtualization allows easier migration.
• Resource sharing conflicts can occur if multiple apps run.
• Easier to export/import images and scale vertically/horizontally.
• Virtual machines are a common and popular compute offering.

Containers

• Run within virtual machines via a container software layer (e.g., Docker daemon).
• Docker is the most popular containerization approach to maximize capacity.
• New containers can be easily added and resized for greater flexibility.
• Containers share the underlying OS but are more efficient than virtual machines.
• Multiple apps can run side by side without OS or resource sharing conflicts.
• Requires more maintenance than virtual machines.

Functions (Serverless Compute)

• Cloud service provider manages containers, removing the need for user maintenance.
• Users only manage code and data, specifying runtime and resource limits.
• Serverless compute eliminates concerns about the OS.
• Cost-effective, as you only pay for the code execution time.
• VMs only run when there is code to be executed.
• "Cold starts" can cause slow initial requests due to machine spin-up time.

Types of Cloud Computing

• Cloud computing is best represented as a stacked pyramid, with SaaS at the top, then PaaS, then IaaS.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

• The product is run and managed by the cloud service provider.
• Users don't have to maintain or manage the service itself.
• Examples: Salesforce, Gmail, Microsoft 365.
• Designed for end-users.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

• Focuses on the deployment and management of applications.
• Users do not need to configure the hardware or OS.
• Examples: Elastic Beanstalk, Heroku, Google App Engine.
• Intended for developers.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

• Basic building blocks for the cloud.
• Provides access to networking, computers, and data storage space.
• Users don't worry about IT staff, data centers, and hardware.
• Examples: Microsoft Azure, AWS, Oracle Cloud.
• Designed for administrators.

Cloud Computing Deployment Models

• Types of cloud computer deployment models include public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud and cross cloud.

Public Cloud

• All workloads, projects, and code are built on the cloud service provider.
• Everything is contained within the cloud provider's infrastructure.
• Known as being "Cloud Native" or "Cloud First."
• Cloud native can also refer to containers or open-source models being deployed in various places.

Private Cloud

• Everything is built on a company's data center.
• Being built on a data center is also known as "on-premise."
• Cloud services can be used, such as OpenStack.

Hybrid Cloud

• Uses both on-premise and a cloud service provider together.
• Established connection between the private and public infrastructure.
• Utilizes both private and public resources to create a cloud workload.

Cross Cloud

• Also known as "multicloud", but not typically "hybrid cloud".
• Uses multiple cloud providers.
• Example: Azure Arc allows container deployments in Azure, Amazon EKS, and GCP Kubernetes Engine.
• Can also simply mean using multiple providers at the same time.

Deployment Model Companies

• Organizations that may use cloud, hybrid or on-prem deployment.

Cloud Deployment Model companies

• Startups, SaaS offerings, new projects, and companies are most likely to utilize cloud.
• Basecamp, Dropbox, and Squarespace are examples of cloud deployment model companies.

Hybrid Deployment Model companies

• Organizations that started with their own data center.
• Those that cant fully move to the cloud due to effort, migrations or compliance needs.
• Banks, Fintech, Investment Management, and Large Pro services.
• CIBC, Deoe, and CPP Investment board are examples of hybrid deployment model companies.

On-Premise Deployment Model companies

• Organizations can't run on cloud due to compliance, size, or outdated perceptions.
• Public sector, government, and hospitals are examples of on-premise deployment model companies.
• AIG and the government of Canada are also examples of on-premise deployment model companies.

Creating an AWS Account

• To create an AWS account, go to aws.amazon.com.
• The "Sign into the AWS Console" button is in the top right corner.
• Can also search "AWS" in Google and click the aws.amazon.com link.
• Creating an AWS Account and Initial Configuration.

Account Creation

• To create an AWS account, look for a "Create an Account" button, which may vary in appearance.
• If a "Create an Account" button is not immediately visible, try signing in, then select "Create a new account".
• The account creation process requires an email, password, and an AWS account name.
• A credit card is mandatory for creating an AWS account.
• Prepaid credit cards like "koho" (a Visa debit card available in Canada) can be used if a traditional credit card is not available.

AWS Management Console

• After creating an account, you'll access the AWS Management Console, displaying the most recent services used.
• The account name is visible in the top right corner and can be changed in the "My Account" settings.
• To edit the account name, navigate to "My Account," then "Account Settings," and select "Edit".

Logging In and Out

• Log out and back into your account to familiarize yourself with the AWS login process, which differs from other providers.
• When logging in, there are two options: Root User and IAM User.
• The root user logs in with the email used during sign-up.
• The IAM user logs in using the account ID or account alias.

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

• Access IAM by typing "IAM" in the search bar at the top of the AWS Management Console.
• The IAM dashboard provides recommendations, such as adding Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and setting an account alias.
• Setting an account alias simplifies the login process, replacing the need to use the account ID.

Creating an IAM User

• Navigate to "Users" in the IAM console to create a new user.
• Enable both programmatic access (for API use) and AWS Management Console access.
• You can either autogenerate a password or set a custom password for the user. The user is forced to create a new password at first sign in.
• Create a new group (e.g., "Admin") and assign policies to it.
• AdministratorAccess provides full access to AWS services and resources, similar to the root user account.
• Other predefined AWS policies like PowerUserAccess can be assigned for users who need extensive permissions without user/group management access.
• After creating the user, the access key ID and secret access key are displayed, enabling programmatic access to AWS.
• The password shown should be copied and stored securely for initial login.

Logging in as IAM User

• Log out and log in as the IAM user for daily use, avoiding the root user account.
• When logging in as an IAM user, you'll be prompted for the account ID (12 digits) or the account alias.
• Enter the IAM username (e.g., Andrew Brown) and the autogenerated password.
• Reset the password upon the first login, using a strong, generated password.
• After logging in successfully, the console displays the IAM username along with the account alias, indicating you're logged in as an IAM user.

Regions

• Select the correct region from the top right corner of the console.
• The default region is based on your location, but you can change it.
• Recommendation is to use US East (N. Virginia) (us-east-1) for consistent access to all AWS services.
• Some services are global and do not require region selection (e.g., CloudFront).

Region Dependency

• Services like EC2 have region dependencies.
• Resources created in one region may not be visible in another.

Metered Billing

• AWS bills on an hourly or per-second basis, creating cost efficiency.
• Overspending can occur due to expensive services being left running or misconfigurations.

Addressing Overspending

• One historical example included launching a Redis instance via Elasticache with a high default instance type.
• Incorrectly configured Elasticache instances could lead to significant unexpected charges.
• AWS is generally lenient with first-time overspending incidents if you request a refund through support.

Support Cases

• Open a support case by going to the support center and look for billing.
• Explain the issue and ask for a refund, especially if it's a misconfiguration.

Setting Up a Budget

• Protect from overspending by setting up a budget in the billing dashboard.
• Navigate to "Budgets" by searching in the console or through the Billing Dashboard.
• Two free budgets are available.
• Budgets can be monthly, daily, quarterly, or annually.
• Monthly budgets with a fixed cost are recommended.

Budget Configuration

• Add filters to the budget to monitor specific regions or services.
• Set up alerts that trigger when spending reaches a certain threshold (e.g., 80%).
• Enter email addresses for receiving alerts.
• AWS budgets can also perform actions based on permissions (IAM).

Review and Start Budget

• Creating the budget provides a view of the amount used, forecasted amount, and current budget.
• Budget-related alarms and alerts are typically delivered via SNS.

Free Tier

• The AWS Free Tier allows new accounts to use certain services for free during the first 12 months.

Finding What's Included in Free Tier

• Search "AWS Free Tier" on Google to find a page detailing the offerings.

Fine Print with Free Tier

• Stipulations and limitations vary, with some services offering limited or temporary free usage (e.g., 750 hours on EC2).

Free Tier Services

• Some services are only available for the first few months.

Maintaining the Free Tier

• In a different account, in the upper right corner, it says Brown.### Monitoring AWS Spending
• Two primary methods exist for monitoring AWS spending: Budgets and Billing Alerts (alarms).
• Billing alerts are an older method but offer more flexibility compared to budgets.

Enabling Free Tier Usage Alerts

• Navigate to the Billing Preferences in the AWS dashboard.
• Enable the "Receive Free Tier Usage Alerts" option.
• Input your email address to receive alerts.
• Also, enable "Receive Billing Alerts" to set up billing alarms.
• Alerts display usage against free tier limits in a panel; however, this does not appear outside of the free tier.

Accessing CloudWatch

• To access billing alerts, search for "CloudWatch" in the AWS services.
• CloudWatch encompasses several services, including alarms, logs, and metrics.
• The AWS interface is subject to frequent updates.

Creating Billing Alarms in CloudWatch

• Navigate to "Alarms" within CloudWatch.
• A dedicated section for billing is available.
• AWS CloudWatch helps monitor charges on your AWS bill.
• The free tier includes 10 free alarms with 1,000 free email notifications each month, but billing alarms can incur costs if limits are exceeded.
• Choose "Create Alarm" and then "Select Metric."
• Select "Billing" and then either "By Service" or "Total Estimated Charge."
• Only USD currency can be selected.
• Set a threshold value (e.g., $50) on the graph to trigger the alarm.
• CloudWatch offers anomaly detection, which monitors spend within a specified range.
• Standard alarms trigger based on a fixed value.
• Choose a period (e.g. 6 hours).
• Configure the alarm to trigger an SNS topic when it enters an "in alarm" state; where you can set the email to recieve a notifcation