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Arno Pretorius

Welcome. I'm here to help you to master the basics of Cloud computing on AWS. Please read carefully This course is primarily intended for beginners who have NO experience with Cloud computing and/or AWS. I want to help YOU master the basics of Cloud computing and AWS.

The Cloud Computing on AWS: Ultimate Beginners course has been structured in a simple and logical order. Everything that has been designed from the styling to the graphics and topics covered is crafted with the absolute duty of care towards the student.

Read more

Welcome. I'm here to help you to master the basics of Cloud computing on AWS. Please read carefully This course is primarily intended for beginners who have NO experience with Cloud computing and/or AWS. I want to help YOU master the basics of Cloud computing and AWS.

The Cloud Computing on AWS: Ultimate Beginners course has been structured in a simple and logical order. Everything that has been designed from the styling to the graphics and topics covered is crafted with the absolute duty of care towards the student.

This course is intended for complete beginners to AWS and it will cover various topics to help you to build a solid foundation:Cloud computing Introduction

We will start the course off very slowly by learning general IT concepts, and then we will slowly transition into the field of cloud computing. Here we will learn what cloud computing is and how it solves the problem of traditional IT. Moreover, we will examine the various cloud deployment models and types of cloud computing that are available.

Introducing AWS - Key theoretical concepts

Once we have a fundamental knowledge of what cloud computing is, and how it is applied to our lives. We will begin to look at the key theoretical concepts that are associated with AWS. In terms of AWS regions, VPC's, Availability Zones and Subnets. These are all important pieces of terminology that are needed to understand the basic eco-system of AWS.

Identity and Access Management - IAM

IAM is a service that enables you to manage user identities and control access to AWS resources. It allows you to create and manage users, groups, and roles, defining their permissions through policies. With IAM, we will be able to enhance the security of your AWS infrastructure and ensure that only authorized individuals and applications can access your resources.

AWS setup and configuration

In this section we will create an AWS account, explore the AWS management console, and setup a designated budget to manage and track our costs.

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud - EC2

AWS EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It allows you to quickly provision virtual servers, known as instances, with a variety of operating systems and configurations. We will learn how to launch our very first EC2 instance, how to change instance states, manage our security groups, and how to build our very own AMI (Amazon Machine Image).

Scalability and High Availability

When it comes to cloud computing. Two very important terms are scalability and high availability. Scalability focuses on the ability to handle growth and increased workload efficiently, while availability focuses on ensuring uninterrupted service and minimizing downtime by eliminating single points of failure and implementing redundancy.

Elastic Load Balancing and Auto Scaling

In this section we will learn how to create an application load balancer, and how to also setup an auto-scaling group which will allow us to automatically add and remove EC2 instances based on our preferences.

Elastic Load Balancing is a service that automatically distributes incoming application traffic across multiple targets, improving availability, scalability, and fault tolerance. Auto Scaling is a feature that automatically adjusts the number of instances in a resource group or fleet based on defined conditions, ensuring optimal performance and cost efficiency.

Cloud Storage services

Amazon S3 is one of the main building blocks of AWS, so we will learn how to work with buckets and objects, how to create a bucket policy, host a static website and so much more. Additionally, we will learn about how to work with EBS volumes and explore additional storage services, such as EFS and EC2 instance store.

Databases

Databases are crucial to storing and maintaining our data. Amazon RDS is a relational database service that we can utilize to create popular databases, such as PostgreSQL and MySQL. For those that are interested in NoSQL services, we will delve into DynamoDB.

Deployment on AWS

Deployment is always a popular topic, we will therefore explore services such as CloudFormation which will help us to create infrastructure as code. For developers who simply want to upload their code without the stress of handling infrastructure, we will look at Elastic Beanstalk. And of course, for those interested in the DevOps side of things, we will explore the typical CI/CD approach with AWS CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CodePipeline and so much more.

DNS services and content deliveryAWS Route 53 is a popular service that is used for managing our DNS records, and so we will use it for registering a domain name. Additionally, a domain name is always coupled with an SSL/TLS certification, so we will use Amazon Certificate Manager for that. In terms of content delivery we will look at how we can improve the perform of our applications by utilizing CloudFront and AWS Global Accelerator.

Containers on AWS and Serverless computing - [Theory]

Docker is an important tool for all developers. So we will learn a bit more about how we can manage docker containers on AWS, and utilize serverless computing in the form of AWS Lambda.

Monitoring the cloud

Once our application is running on AWS, it's important that we know how to monitor it in terms of analyzing metrics, evaluating the health of our services, and setting up a CloudTrail of events.

Cloud application Integration

If a certain event occurs on AWS, it would be great to receive a notification of what is going on. Therefore we will learn about the Amazon Simple Notification service. In addition to this we will learn how to create a queue with SQS and reflect on how it can be used with our applications. 

Security and encryption

Security is a hot topic right now so we will explore key theoretical concepts and also evaluate the AWS services which we can use to encrypt our EBS volumes, and utilize to better protect our applications.

Analytics

Since this is a beginners course, we wont go into heavy detail with the analytics services that are part of AWS. So, a basic theoretical approach will be more than sufficient.

Other services

A few bonus services will be included in this course. Such as how to store secrets with AWS Secret Manager, and how to utilize machine learning with Amazon Rekognition.

Extra course information:

  • It covers all the basic topics that a new beginner to AWS and cloud computing is expected to know and be aware of.

  • It is mixed with theory and practical hands-on demonstrations.

  • The course is structured in a logical and cohesive way - not just random slides plastered everywhere.

  • It starts off very simple and then builds on gradually throughout the course.

  • You will also learn 30 + AWS services

  • This course is jam-packed with lecture slides, PDF walkthroughs, code snippets/references and comes along with the full project source code - as a zip file.

  • All 400 + slides are available as a downloadable PDF.

The Cloud Computing on AWS: Ultimate Beginners Course is a highly practical course and allows you to apply your knowledge.

Your instructor:

My name is Arno Pretorius. I'm a qualified IT teacher who has taught programming both in-person and online. My main passions are teaching and technology, so I thought why not just combine the best of both worlds to create something truly amazing and valuable. Over the years, I have created and deployed many real-world Django-based applications, including a job portal for university graduates and an exclusive social network.

I'm a Software developer, an AWS Solutions Architect and Developer associate. I have a keen interest in cloud computing, web development and everything that relates to programming and technology.

So, let's go and become fluent in AWS.

Trust me you are in good hands.

This course also comes with:

- 13 + hours of on-demand video

- Full lifetime access

- A Udemy certificate of completion

- 11 downloadable resources

- Access on mobile and TV

Join me in this course if you want to master the basics of Cloud computing on AWS and kick-start your career in cloud computing.

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Learn the basics of aws (amazon web services)
  • Understand the basic cloud computing concepts
  • Learn the fundamentals of aws (ec2, elb, and asg)
  • Develop practical skills whilst utilising several aws services
  • Learn how to construct aws infrastructure
  • How to integrate various services together
  • Free downloadable pdf

Syllabus

Course Introduction
Course welcome and overview
Course support
Thought process - [Important]
Read more
Course resources
Course resources - [Important]
Cloud computing Introduction
General IT concepts
Cloud computing - An introduction
Cloud deployment models
The types of cloud computing
Introducing AWS - Key theoretical concepts
AWS - An introduction
AWS - Regions
AWS - Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
AWS - Availability Zones
AWS - Subnets
AWS - Edge Locations
AWS setup and configuration
AWS - Create an AWS account - [Lab]
AWS - Exploring the AWS Management Console - [Lab]
Budgets - Overview
Budgets - Create and set a designated budget on AWS - [Lab]
Identity and Access Management - IAM
IAM - Overview
IAM - Create a user and a group - [Lab]
IAM - Alternate sign-in option
IAM - Utilise our unique url - [Lab]
IAM - Introducing Multi-Factor Authentication - (MFA)
IAM - Secure your AWS accounts with MFA - [Lab]
IAM - How can we access AWS?
IAM - Generate access keys - [Lab]
IAM - Setup the AWS CLI - [Lab]
CloudShell - Overview
CloudShell - Utilising an Interactive shell environment - [Lab]
IAM - What are password policies?
IAM - Create a password policy - [Lab]
IAM - What are security tools?
IAM - Utilising security tools - [Lab]
IAM - What are roles?
IAM - Create a role - [Lab]
IAM - Best practices summary
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud - EC2
EC2 - Overview
EC2 - Launching our first EC2 Instance - [Lab]
EC2 - Changing Instance states - [Lab]
EC2 - Introduction to Security groups
EC2 - Managing our Security groups - [Lab]
EC2 - What are the different Instance types?
EC2 - Exploring various Instance types - [Lab]
EC2 - SSH with Windows - [Optional]
EC2 - Remotely connect to our EC2 Instance - [Optional]
EC2 - Introduction to Instance connect
EC2 - Utilise Instance connect - [Lab]
EC2 - Resource cleanup - [Lab]
EC2 - Instance pricing options
EC2 - Instance pricing options - Deep dive - [Lab]
EC2 - Quick start AMI - [Reminder]
EC2 - What is an AMI?
EC2 - Building our own AMI - [Lab]
Scalability and High Availability
Scalability
High Availability
Elastic Load Balancing and Auto Scaling
Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) - Overview
ELB - Create an application load balancer - [Lab]
ELB - Testing our application load balancer - [Lab]
Auto Scaling Groups (ASG) - Overview
ASG - Specify a launch template - [Lab]
ASG - Create an auto scaling group - [Lab]
ASG - Auto scaling groups - Deep dive - [Lab]
ASG - Testing our auto scaling group - [Lab]
ELB/ASG - Resource cleanup - [Lab]
Cloud storage services
S3 - Overview
S3 - Working with buckets and objects - [Lab]
S3 - What is a bucket policy?
S3 - Create a bucket policy - [Lab]
S3 - Host a static website - [Lab]
S3 - What is bucket versioning?
S3 - Enable bucket versioning - [Lab]
S3 - Introduction to access logging
S3 - Setup access logging on a bucket - [Lab]
S3 - What is Replication?
S3 - Perform Cross-Region-Replication - [Lab]
S3 - The different types of storage classes
S3 - Defining object lock
S3 - Lock an object - (Optional) - [Lab]
S3 - Resource cleanup - [Lab]
Storage space with EC2?
EBS - Overview
EBS - Create an EBS volume - [Lab]
EBS - Analysing the snapshot architecture
EBS - Constructing snapshots - [Lab]
EFS - Overview
EC2 Instance store - Overview
Databases
Database Introduction
Relational Database Service (RDS) - Overview
RDS - Launching our first database - [Lab]

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Provides a solid foundation in cloud computing concepts and AWS services, making it ideal for individuals starting their journey in this field
Covers a wide range of AWS services (30+), offering a comprehensive overview of the AWS ecosystem and its capabilities for new learners
Includes hands-on labs and practical demonstrations, allowing learners to apply their knowledge and develop practical skills in AWS
Explores key theoretical concepts such as AWS regions, VPCs, Availability Zones, and Subnets, which are essential for understanding the AWS infrastructure
Teaches Identity and Access Management (IAM), which is crucial for securing AWS resources and controlling user access, a fundamental aspect of cloud security
Focuses on AWS services such as EC2, ELB, and ASG, which are foundational for building scalable and highly available applications in the cloud

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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 Cloud Computing on AWS: Ultimate Beginners Course - 2025 with these activities:
Review Basic Networking Concepts
Reviewing basic networking concepts will provide a solid foundation for understanding VPCs, subnets, and security groups within AWS.
Browse courses on Networking Fundamentals
Show steps
  • Read articles or watch videos explaining basic networking concepts.
  • Practice subnetting exercises.
  • Review common network protocols like TCP/IP and HTTP.
Brush up on Linux Fundamentals
Familiarizing yourself with Linux fundamentals will be helpful when working with EC2 instances and configuring AWS services.
Browse courses on Linux Command Line
Show steps
  • Practice basic Linux commands in a virtual machine or online terminal.
  • Learn how to manage users and file permissions.
  • Explore package management tools like apt or yum.
Follow AWS IAM Tutorials
Following tutorials on AWS IAM will help you understand how to manage user identities and control access to AWS resources.
Show steps
  • Find and follow tutorials on creating IAM users, groups, and roles.
  • Practice defining permissions using IAM policies.
  • Experiment with multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Practice Launching and Configuring EC2 Instances
Repeated practice with launching and configuring EC2 instances will solidify your understanding of this core AWS service.
Show steps
  • Launch multiple EC2 instances with different operating systems and instance types.
  • Configure security groups to control network traffic.
  • Practice connecting to EC2 instances using SSH or Instance Connect.
  • Create and manage Amazon Machine Images (AMIs).
Review: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide
Reviewing this study guide will help you prepare for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam and reinforce your understanding of the course material.
Show steps
  • Read each chapter carefully, taking notes on key concepts.
  • Complete the practice questions at the end of each chapter.
  • Take a practice exam to assess your overall knowledge.
Deploy a Simple Web Application on AWS
Starting a project to deploy a simple web application will allow you to apply your knowledge of various AWS services in a practical scenario.
Show steps
  • Create an EC2 instance to host the web application.
  • Configure a load balancer to distribute traffic to the instance.
  • Set up an auto-scaling group to automatically adjust the number of instances.
  • Use S3 to store static assets for the application.
Write a Blog Post on AWS Cost Management
Creating a blog post on AWS cost management will help you consolidate your understanding of budgeting and cost optimization strategies.
Show steps
  • Research AWS cost management tools and best practices.
  • Outline the key topics to cover in the blog post.
  • Write the blog post, providing clear explanations and examples.
  • Publish the blog post on a personal blog or online platform.

Career center

Learners who complete Cloud Computing on AWS: Ultimate Beginners Course - 2025 will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Cloud Solutions Architect
A Cloud Solutions Architect designs and implements cloud computing strategies for organizations. This role requires a deep understanding of cloud platforms, such as AWS, and the ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions. This course helps build a foundation in the core concepts of AWS, including compute, storage, databases, and networking. It also explores how to structure infrastructure, implement scalability, and ensure high availability. These practical skills will be relevant to a cloud solutions architect, who is responsible for creating robust and efficient cloud architectures.
Cloud Engineer
A Cloud Engineer is responsible for implementing, managing, and supporting cloud infrastructure. This often involves working directly with AWS services such as EC2, S3, and IAM. This course offers a broad overview of these services, how to configure them, and how they work together. The course's hands-on labs will help a Cloud Engineer gain practical experience in setting up and managing cloud resources. This understanding is essential for an engineer who needs to deploy and maintain cloud-based solutions, and the course ensures this knowledge is comprehensive.
DevOps Engineer
DevOps Engineers focus on automating and streamlining the software development lifecycle. This often involves using tools and services to facilitate continuous integration and continuous deployment. This course introduces key AWS services such as CloudFormation and Elastic Beanstalk that help with infrastructure as code and deployment. The course also touches on CI/CD pipelines via AWS CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, and CodePipeline. A DevOps Engineer should be proficient in these tools to automate software delivery. The practical examples in the course can help someone in this career field apply their knowledge in a hands-on manner.
System Administrator
System Administrators manage and maintain computer systems and networks, and this role is evolving to include cloud infrastructure management. This course is designed to give an administrator the basic cloud computing skills they need to work with AWS. This includes managing virtual servers via EC2, configuring security groups, and overseeing storage via S3 and EBS. The course emphasizes the practical aspects of these topics, with labs that illustrate how to implement and manage cloud resources. A System Administrator can use this course to help them effectively transition to a cloud-based environment.
Database Administrator
A Database Administrator is crucial for maintaining and securing an organization's databases. For those in this career field beginning to adopt cloud-based solutions, this course will be quite helpful. This course offers an introduction to Amazon RDS, a crucial service for relational databases, and DynamoDB, a NoSQL alternative. The course explores the creation of these services and this will help a database administrator understand how to deploy and use these cloud databases. This will help you understand how to implement and maintain data infrastructure in the cloud.
Cloud Consultant
A Cloud Consultant helps organizations adopt cloud technologies by providing expert advice and guidance. This role requires a solid understanding of cloud services, and how those services can be used to meet business needs. This course covers many key AWS concepts, including computing, storage, networking, and security. The course material will be useful for a cloud consultant who needs to demonstrate an understanding of AWS services when advising clients. The breadth of AWS services covered in this course gives a consultant a solid foundation.
Network Engineer
A Network Engineer is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining an organization's network infrastructure. As more and more infrastructure is moved to the cloud, a Network Engineer must understand cloud-based networking. This course introduces key AWS networking concepts via VPCs, subnets and security groups. It also touches on DNS management using Route 53. These topics are all highly relevant to a network engineer who is interested in cloud-based network infrastructure. The course provides a systematic introduction to the concepts, making it easy to grasp.
Security Engineer
Security Engineers are the cornerstone of an organization's efforts to protect its information systems, and they must understand cloud security principles and tools. This course introduces critical AWS security concepts, such as IAM (Identity and Access Management) and encryption. It also covers how to configure security groups and how to use security tools. A Security Engineer can benefit from having a solid understanding of AWS security features, and this course helps in building that understanding. The practical focus of the course is also quite beneficial.
Technical Support Specialist
A Technical Support Specialist is responsible for providing technical assistance and support to users. This includes troubleshooting problems, answering questions, and resolving technical issues. This course can be helpful for a technical support specialist as they begin to support cloud-based systems. This course covers a range of AWS services and provides a solid foundation of working with those services. The course emphasizes practical skills, which will serve a support specialist well when working with cloud-based systems. The specialist might need to respond to user issues related to the AWS services covered in this course, making it all the more valuable.
Software Developer
Software Developers design, develop, and maintain software applications. As cloud computing becomes more prevalent, it is important for a software developer to understand how to deploy their code in the cloud. This course introduces deployment services such as Elastic Beanstalk and touches on containerization via Docker. A developer may find themselves deploying an application on AWS via these services, and this course will help them get started. This course also provides exposure to various AWS services, which will help a software developer in their work.
Data Analyst
A Data Analyst is focused on gathering, processing, and analyzing data to identify trends. As more data is stored in the cloud, it becomes useful for a data analyst to understand cloud-based data storage. This course introduces basic concepts of Amazon S3 storage. Although it does not delve deeply into analytics tools, this introduction may be useful for a data analyst who is just beginning to learn about AWS based storage; and may help them as they explore storage in the cloud. The course provides an introduction to cloud storage and data management.
Project Manager
A Project Manager is responsible for planning, executing, and closing projects, these projects often involve technology initiatives. This course introduces the fundamentals of cloud computing and AWS. While a Project Manager does not need to be hands-on with the technology, a basic familiarity with the concepts helps to better manage projects. The course provides an overview of AWS services and concepts, and that can be useful when managing projects that use AWS infrastructure. The project manager will be better prepared to manage cloud projects with the knowledge provided by the course.
IT Manager
An IT Manager oversees the technology infrastructure of an organization. Knowing the basics of cloud computing is very useful for those in this role, as cloud adoption is increasingly common in modern IT. This course introduces key AWS concepts and services in a practical, hands-on way. IT Managers will benefit from this basic knowledge of AWS, and have a better grasp of the systems they oversee. This course may be helpful for IT managers looking to better understand cloud-based technologies.
Technical Sales Representative
A Technical Sales Representative sells technology products and services to clients. This often requires some technical understanding of the products they are selling. This course introduces various AWS services and how they work. This overview of AWS services is useful for a technical sales representative that is selling cloud services. With an understanding of the services covered in the course, a sales representative may be better equipped to explain those services to clients. This course may be useful to build familiarity with cloud services.
Technical Writer
A Technical Writer creates documentation for technical products and services. They need a basic understanding of the technologies they are writing about. This course introduces the fundamentals of AWS and its services. While a Technical Writer may not be hands-on with the technology, understanding the basic concepts helps them to write clear and accurate documentation. This course provides that foundation, and the writer may find it helpful to understand the AWS technology they're describing. The course provides technical insights.

Reading list

We've selected one books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Cloud Computing on AWS: Ultimate Beginners Course - 2025.
This study guide is specifically designed for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam, making it highly relevant to the course. It covers all the fundamental concepts and services needed to pass the exam. It provides a structured approach to learning AWS, with clear explanations and practice questions. is useful as a reference tool and for exam preparation.

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