AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Foundations

Gain a solid understanding of Amazon Web Services (AWS) with this beginner-friendly course tailored for aspiring cloud professionals. The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Foundations course covers essential cloud concepts, AWS core services, security, architecture, pricing, and support. Learn how cloud computing transforms business and why AWS is the leading provider. Through real-world examples and hands-on labs, you’ll develop the confidence to navigate the AWS environment. Ideal for non-technical stakeholders, managers, and those new to the cloud. This course also prepares you for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam.

Lab 1: AWS Account Setup & Console Navigation

(Week 1 Activity – Refer to previous documentation for details)

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Lab 2: Launch an EC2 Instance & Create an S3 Bucket

(Week 2 – Compute & Storage)

Objective

• Deploy a virtual server (EC2) and configure cloud storage (S3) with versioning.

Prerequisites

• AWS account with Free Tier access.
• Basic understanding of EC2 (instance types, AMIs) and S3 (storage classes).

Steps

1. Launch an EC2 Instance:
   • Navigate to EC2 Dashboard > Launch Instance.
   • Choose Amazon Linux 2 AMI, t2.micro (Free Tier eligible).
   • Configure security group: Allow SSH (port 22) from your IP.
   • Launch with a new key pair (download .pem file).
2. Create an S3 Bucket:
   • Go to S3 Dashboard > Create Bucket.
   • Name the bucket uniquely (e.g., student-bucket-2023).
   • Enable Versioning in the bucket properties.
3. Upload and Manage Objects:
   • Upload a sample file (e.g., test.txt).
   • Simulate versioning by uploading modified versions of the file.

Expected Outcomes

• Running EC2 instance with SSH access.
• S3 bucket with versioning enabled and multiple object versions.

Safety & Cost Control

• Terminate the EC2 instance after the lab.
• Delete the S3 bucket to avoid storage charges.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
“Key Pair Permission Denied”	Run chmod 400 key.pem before SSH.
Bucket name not unique	Add numbers/random characters to the bucket name.

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Lab 3: Build a VPC & Deploy an RDS Database

(Week 3 – Networking & Databases)

Objective

• Create a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) with public/private subnets.
• Deploy a MySQL database using Amazon RDS.

Steps

1. Create a VPC:
   • Go to VPC Dashboard > Create VPC.
   • Use the VPC Wizard to create a public/private subnet configuration.
2. Deploy RDS Instance:
   • Navigate to RDS Dashboard > Create Database.
   • Choose MySQL, db.t3.micro (Free Tier).
   • Configure VPC security group to allow traffic on port 3306.

Expected Outcomes

• Functional VPC with subnets and route tables.
• MySQL database accessible within the VPC.

Cleanup

• Delete RDS instance to avoid charges (~$0.017/hr for db.t3.micro).

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Lab 4: IAM User/Group Creation & Policy Simulation

(Week 4 – Security & Identity)

Objective

• Implement least-privilege access using IAM users/groups and policies.

Steps

1. Create IAM Group:
   • Go to IAM Dashboard > Create Group (e.g., Developers).
   • Attach the AmazonS3ReadOnlyAccess policy.
2. Create IAM User:
   • Add a user (e.g., dev-user1) and assign to the Developers group.
   • Generate access keys (CLI usage).
3. Policy Simulator:
   • Use the IAM Policy Simulator to test if dev-user1 can access S3.

Expected Outcomes

• IAM user restricted to S3 read-only access.

Security Best Practices

• Enable MFA for the root account (covered in Week 4 lecture).

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Lab 5: Cost Optimization & Billing Alarms

(Week 6 – Billing & Pricing)

Objective

• Configure billing alerts and analyze cost-saving strategies.

Steps

1. Create a Billing Alarm:
   • Navigate to CloudWatch > Alarms > Create Alarm.
   • Select Total Estimated Charge metric.
   • Set threshold (e.g., $10) and email notification.
2. Analyze Cost Explorer:
   • Generate a report for monthly EC2/S3 usage.

Expected Outcomes

• Active billing alarm triggered by estimated charges.

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Lab 6: CloudWatch Alarms & Trusted Advisor

(Week 7 – Monitoring & Management)

Objective

• Monitor resources and optimize performance using AWS tools.

Steps

1. Create a CloudWatch Alarm:
   • Monitor CPU utilization of an EC2 instance (threshold: 80%).
2. Trusted Advisor Check:
   • Review Cost Optimization and Security recommendations.

Expected Outcomes

• Alarm notifications for EC2 performance.
• List of Trusted Advisor recommendations.

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Lab 7: Deploy Infrastructure with CloudFormation

(Week 8 – Deployment & Automation)

Objective

• Automate resource provisioning using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC).

Steps

1. Create a Template:
   • Use a sample template to deploy an S3 bucket and EC2 instance.
2. Deploy Stack:
   • Navigate to CloudFormation > Create Stack.
   • Upload the template and execute.

Expected Outcomes

• Stack creation complete with EC2 and S3 resources.

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Lab 8: QuickSight Dashboard Demo

(Week 9 – Analytics & Machine Learning)

Objective

• Visualize data using AWS QuickSight.

Steps

1. Import S3 Data:
   • Connect QuickSight to the S3 bucket created in Lab 2.
2. Create a Dashboard:
   • Build a pie chart showing object storage distribution.

Expected Outcomes

• Published QuickSight dashboard with S3 data visualization.