Exam Prep: AWS Certified Solutions Architect

This new intermediate-level course from Amazon Web Services (AWS) is designed to help you to assess your preparedness for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam. You will learn how to prepare for the exam by exploring the exam’s topic areas and how they map to architecting on AWS. You will review sample certification questions in each domain, practice skills with hands-on exercises, test your knowledge with practice question sets, and learn strategies for identifying incorrect responses by interpreting the concepts that are being tested in the exam. At the end of this course you will have all the knowledge and tools to help you identity your strengths and weaknesses in each certification domain areas that are being tested on the certification exam.

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam is intended for individuals who perform in a solutions architect role. The exam validates a candidate’s ability to design secure and robust solutions by using AWS technologies. The exam also validates a candidate’s ability to complete the following tasks: Design a solution by using appropriate AWS services and by following architectural principles based on requirements. Provide implementation guidance based on best practices to the organization throughout the workload lifecycle.

This course covers material specific to the SAA-C03 version of the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam.

In the new version of the exam, many of the domains and task statements were reordered or renumbered; however, most of the content is the same.

Only one task statement for the new version of the exam is NOT included in this course:

Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures, Task Statement 5: Determine high-performing data ingestion and transformation solutions.

At the end of the course materials, you will find a new section (“SAA-C03 Updates”) that contains additional information about differences between the exam versions:

SAA-C02 versus SAA-C03

SAA-C03 New Material

What's inside

Syllabus

Welcome to the Course

Welcome to Exam Prep: AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate! In this course, we present content on all four knowledge domains that are covered in the exam. It's important to understand that on the exam, questions from all domains are presented in random order.

Domain 1

This week, you will get an overview of relevant concepts and services for Designing Resilient Architectures (Domain 1). For this domain, question walkthroughs cover designing a multi-tier architecture solution, designing highly available or fault-tolerant architectures, and decoupling mechanisms by using AWS services.

Domain 2

Welcome to Week 2! This week, you will review relevant concepts and services for Designing High-performing Architectures (Domain 2) so you can get a benchmark of your knowledge in this area. Question walkthroughs for this domain address the topics of identifying and selecting storage, network, and database solutions that are elastic, scalable, and high performing.

Domain 3

Welcome to Week 3! This week, you will get an overview of relevant concepts and services for Designing Secure Applications and Architectures (Domain 3) so you can get a benchmark of your knowledge in this area. For this domain, the question walkthroughs focus on designing secure access to AWS resources, designing secure application tiers, and selecting the appropriate data security options.

Domain 4

Welcome to Week 4! This week, you will review relevant concepts and services on Designing Cost-optimized Architectures (Domain 4) so you can get a benchmark of your knowledge in this area. The question walkthroughs for this domain cover identifying cost-effective storage solutions, selecting compute and database services, and designing cost-optimized network architectures.

Determine exam readiness

This week includes a practice assessment that includes questions from all exam domains.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Examines concepts and services for architecting on AWS, which is standard in the cloud industry

Explores how to design solutions using appropriate AWS services and architectural principles based on requirements

Provides implementation guidance based on best practices for organizations

Taught by Julie Elkins, who has years of experience teaching AWS

Examines secure application and architecture design

Covers all four knowledge domains that are covered in the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam

Reviews relevant concepts and services for designing resilient architectures

Reviews relevant concepts and services for designing high-performing architectures

Provides question walkthroughs for identifying and selecting storage, network, and database solutions that are elastic, scalable, and high performing

Develops knowledge of designing secure access to AWS resources

Includes a practice assessment that includes questions from all exam domains

Explores designing cost-optimized architectures, which is a core skill for cloud architects

Reviews relevant concepts for designing cost-effective storage solutions

Provides question walkthroughs for selecting compute and database services

Covers designing cost-optimized network architectures

May require learners to have some prior knowledge of AWS services

Does not cover task statement 5 for domain 3 in the new version of the exam: Determine high-performing data ingestion and transformation solutions

Intended for individuals who perform in a solutions architect role

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Exam Prep: AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate with these activities:

Review AWS Lambda Functions

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Revising your knowledge of AWS Lambda functions will aid in understanding serverless computing architectures.

Browse courses on AWS Lambda

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Revisit the documentation for AWS Lambda
Complete a few hands-on exercises or tutorials on AWS Lambda

Review Previous AWS Certifications

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Reviewing previous AWS certifications can refresh your knowledge of the core concepts covered in the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam.

Browse courses on AWS Certifications

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Identify the AWS certifications you have already earned.
Review the exam objectives for each certification.
Take practice tests and review your results.

Organize and Review Course Notes and Assignments

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Improve your understanding of key concepts by organizing and reviewing course materials.

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Gather all notes, assignments, and materials.
Create a system for organizing the materials.
Regularly review the materials to reinforce your learning.

12 other activities

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Review 'AWS Certified Solutions Architect Study Guide'

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Review the 'AWS Certified Solutions Architect Study Guide' for a comprehensive understanding of the exam topics.

View AWS Certified Solutions Architect Study Guide... on Amazon

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Obtain the book from the publisher or a library.
Read and summarize key architectural principles.
Review practice questions for knowledge retention.

Follow AWS Architecting Best Practices

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Following AWS architecting best practices can help you design and deploy reliable, scalable, and cost-efficient AWS solutions.

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Review the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
Explore AWS whitepapers and case studies.
Attend AWS webinars and workshops.

Explore AWS Solutions Architect Best Practices

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Reviewing best practices and design patterns can refine your approach for designing AWS architectures.

Browse courses on AWS Solutions Architect

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Follow a guided tutorial on AWS Solutions Architect best practices
Implement some of the best practices in a personal project or sandbox environment

Join an AWS Study Group

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Joining an AWS study group can provide you with the opportunity to collaborate with other learners and reinforce your understanding of the course material.

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Find an AWS study group online or in your local community.
Participate in regular study sessions.
Share your knowledge and insights with other members of the group.

Create a Knowledge Base

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Organizing your notes and course materials will facilitate efficient revision and retention of knowledge.

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Review your notes, assignments, and practice questions
Organize and categorize the materials into a central location
Consider using tools like Evernote, OneNote, or Notion

Practice Exam Questions

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Practicing exam questions can help you identify areas where you need additional study and improve your overall exam readiness.

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Find practice exam questions online or in study guides.
Take practice exams under timed conditions.
Review your results and identify areas for improvement.

Follow AWS Tutorial: Designing a Multi-Tier Web Application

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Gain practical experience in designing multi-tier architectures by following AWS tutorials.

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Visit the AWS documentation for the tutorial.
Follow the step-by-step instructions to implement the architecture.
Review the code and apply the design principles to your own projects.

Join a Study Group for AWS Certified Solutions Architect

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Enhance your learning by joining a study group and collaborating with peers.

Browse courses on AWS Certification

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Find a study group or create one.
Set regular meeting times.
Review course materials and practice questions together.

Take Practice Certification Exams

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Taking practice exams will help you assess your readiness for the certification exam and identify areas for improvement.

Browse courses on AWS Certification

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Find and purchase practice exams that cover the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam
Take the practice exams and carefully review your results
Focus on improving your understanding of areas where you struggled

Design an AWS Solution Architecture

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Designing an AWS solution architecture can help you apply the concepts covered in the course to a real-world scenario.

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Identify the business requirements for the solution.
Choose the appropriate AWS services for the solution.
Create a diagram of the solution architecture.
Write a whitepaper describing the solution architecture.

Practice AWS Certification Questions on Cloud Academy

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Enhance your exam preparation by practicing with AWS Certification questions on Cloud Academy.

Browse courses on AWS Certification

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Create an account on Cloud Academy.
Access the AWS Certification exam practice questions.
Review explanations and optimize your understanding of concepts.

Design and Implement a Secure Data Storage Solution on AWS

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Test your understanding by designing and implementing a secure data storage solution on AWS.

Browse courses on Data Security

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Define the security requirements for the data storage solution.
Select appropriate AWS services for storage and encryption.
Implement the solution using best practices for data security.
Test the solution for security vulnerabilities.

Career center

Learners who complete Exam Prep: AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Solutions Architect

Solutions Architects design and implement technology solutions for businesses. The course can help you to prepare for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam, which can validate your skills and knowledge in cloud computing.

See salaries and explore the career path for Solutions Architect

Cloud Engineer

Cloud Engineers design, build, manage, and maintain cloud computing systems. This course can help you prepare for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam, which can validate your skills and knowledge in cloud computing.

See salaries and explore the career path for Cloud Engineer

Cloud Security Engineer

Cloud Security Engineers design and implement security solutions for cloud computing environments. The course can help you to prepare for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam, which can validate your skills and knowledge in cloud security.

See salaries and explore the career path for Cloud Security Engineer

Security Architect

Security Architects design and implement security solutions. The course covers designing secure access to AWS resources and designing secure application tiers, which can help you to build a solid foundation in cloud security.

See salaries and explore the career path for Security Architect

Infrastructure Architect

Infrastructure Architects design and implement infrastructure solutions. The course covers various AWS services that can be used to build and manage cloud-based infrastructure.

See salaries and explore the career path for Infrastructure Architect

Site Reliability Engineer

Site Reliability Engineers ensure the reliability and performance of online services. The course covers designing highly available or fault-tolerant architectures, which can help you to design and implement resilient systems.

See salaries and explore the career path for Site Reliability Engineer

DevOps Engineer

DevOps Engineers work to bridge the gap between development and operations teams. The course covers various AWS services that can be used to automate and streamline the software development and deployment process.

See salaries and explore the career path for DevOps Engineer

DevOps Architect

DevOps Architects design and implement DevOps solutions. The course covers DevOps best practices and principles that can help you to build a solid foundation in DevOps.

See salaries and explore the career path for DevOps Architect

Software Architect

A Software Architect designs and implements software solutions. A solid understanding of cloud computing, such as the one you will learn in this course, is essential to developing cost effective and scalable solutions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Software Architect

Storage Architect

Storage Architects design and manage storage systems. The course covers identifying and selecting storage solutions that can help you to design and implement cost-effective and scalable storage systems.

See salaries and explore the career path for Storage Architect

Database Administrator

Database Administrators manage and maintain databases. The course covers identifying and selecting storage, network, and database solutions that can help you to design and implement scalable and performant database systems.

See salaries and explore the career path for Database Administrator

Systems Administrator

Systems Administrators manage and maintain computer systems. The course can help you to develop the skills and knowledge needed to design and implement cloud-based IT solutions.

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Network Engineer

Network Engineers design, implement, and manage computer networks. The course covers designing cost-optimized network architectures, which can help you to design and implement efficient and scalable networks.

See salaries and explore the career path for Network Engineer

Data Architect

Data Architects design and manage data systems. The course covers selecting the appropriate data security options, which can help you to design and implement secure data architectures.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Architect

IT Manager

IT Managers plan, direct, and coordinate IT activities within an organization. This course can help you to develop the skills and knowledge needed to design and implement cost-effective and scalable IT solutions.

See salaries and explore the career path for IT Manager