Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

Course Version

This course outline applies to version 1.0 of AWS Academy Cloud Formations in English.

Description

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations is intended for students who seek an overall understanding of cloud

computing concepts, independent of specific technical roles. It provides a detailed overview of cloud

concepts, AWS core services, security, architecture, pricing, and support.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

 Describe the six advantages of cloud computing

 Describe three cloud deployment models

 Use the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework to help organizations transform the way they work

 Understand the AWS pricing philosophy

 Review fundamental pricing characteristics

 Understand the elements of Total Cost of Ownership

 Understand the difference between AWS Regions, Availability Zones, and Edge Locations

 Understand the different AWS compute services

 Describe Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud

 Explain AWS Lambda, which is serverless computing

 Describe AWS Elastic Beanstalk

 Discuss storage services including Amazon EBS, Amazon S3, Amazon EFS, and Amazon Glacier

 Describe use cases for storage options, along with a demonstration of Amazon Glacier

 Understand storage pricing

 Understand virtual networking in the cloud with Amazon VPC

 Create virtual firewalls with security groups

 Secure delivery of data, videos, applications, and APIs with Amazon CloudFront

 Provide an overview of different database services in the cloud

 Highlight the differences between unmanaged and managed database solutions

 Differentiate between Structured Query Language and NoSQL databases

 Review the availability differences of alternative database solutions

 Learn how to distribute traffic across Amazon EC2 instances using Elastic Load Balancing

 Discover the ability of Auto Scaling to launch servers in response to workload changes

 Use CloudWatch to monitor AWS resources and applications in real time

 Describe the AWS Shared Responsibility Model

 Examine IAM users, groups, and roles

 Describe different types of security credentials

 Review the AWS Trusted Advisor checks

 Discuss security compliance

 Understand best practices on day 1 with a new AWS account

 Explore the well-architected pillars and design principles

 Understand high availability and reliability

Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

 Describe the business impact of design decisions

 Describe how to set up an organizational structure to simplify billing and account visibility

 Identify alternative support options and features

Duration

Approximately 20-30 hours. When delivered synchronously by an educator, total duration is 28.5

hours. Digital training modules total seven hours in duration. Actual delivery times will vary from class

to class and depending on the delivery format. AWS Academy Cloud Foundations must be delivered

over a period of at least two weeks.

Intended Audience

This introductory (level 100) course is intended for AWS Academy member institutions.

Student Prerequisites

This is an entry-level course, but students should possess:

 General IT technical knowledge

 General IT business knowledge

Delivery Methods

This course can be delivered in person with synchronous lectures or with digital training models that

students can complete independently.

Educator Prerequisites

Educators must hold a current AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification to teach this course.

Educator Accreditation

Educators meeting the prerequisites have no further accreditation requirements.

Learning Resources

 Lecture materials

 Online multiple-choice knowledge checks

 Lab exercises

 Digital training (optional)

 Video introductions

 Video demos

 Example solutions

Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

Course Contents

Digital training materials cover the same content as the lectures. It is not necessary to use both.

Slides

Digital

Training

Lab

Knowledge

Check

Course Introduction

18 min.

Video

Introduction to AWS Academy Cloud

Foundations

Digital Training

Welcome to AWS Academy Cloud

Foundations

Lecture

Course Overview and Objectives

Lecture

Creating your AWS Training Portal Account

Lecture

Access Your Course Materials

Module 1 – Cloud Concepts

Section 1: Cloud Concepts Overview

32 min.

10 min.

Video

Introduction to Cloud Computing

Lecture

What is Cloud Computing?

Digital Training

What is Cloud Computing?

Lecture

Six Advantages of Cloud Computing

Lecture

What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Lecture

The AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF)

Knowledge Check

Cloud Concepts

Section 2: Cloud Economics

32 min.

10 min.

Lecture

Fundamentals of Pricing

Lecture

Total Cost of Ownership

Digital Training

Introduction to Cloud Economics

Knowledge Check

Cloud Economics

Section 3: AWS Global Infrastructure Overview

13 min.

10 min.

Video

Introduction to the AWS Infrastructure

Lecture

AWS Global Infrastructure

Digital Training

Introduction to the AWS Infrastructure

Lecture

AWS Service and Service Category Overview

Knowledge Check

AWS Global Infrastructure

Module 2 – AWS Core Services

Video

Introduction to Core Services

Section 1: Compute

45 min.

10 min.

Video

Introduction to Compute

Lecture

Compute Services Overview

Lecture

Introduction to Amazon Elastic Compute

Cloud (EC2)

Digital Training

Introduction to Compute

Video

Amazon EC2 Console Demo

Lab

Introduction to Amazon EC2

Lecture

Amazon EC2 Cost Optimization

Lecture

Introduction to AWS Lambda

Lecture

Introduction to AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Knowledge Check

Compute Services

Section 2: Storage

40 min.

10 min.

Video

Introduction to Storage

Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

Digital Training

Introduction to Storage

Lecture

Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)

Video

Amazon EBS Demo

Lab

Working with EBS

Lecture

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

Video

Amazon S3 Demo

Lecture

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)

Video

Amazon EFS Demo

Lecture

Amazon Glacier

Video

Amazon Glacier Demo

Knowledge Check

Storage Services

Section 3: VPC

25 min.

45 min.

10 min.

Video

Introduction to the Amazon Virtual Private

Cloud (VPC)

Lecture

Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

Lecture

Amazon VPC Security Groups

Video

Amazon VPC Demo

Lab

Build your VPC and Launch a Web Server

Lecture

Amazon CloudFront

Knowledge Check

Amazon Virtual Private Cloud

Section 4: Database

36 min.

45 min.

10 min.

Lecture

Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

Video

Amazon RDS Demo

Lecture

Amazon DynamoDB

Video

Amazon DynamoDB Demo

Lecture

Amazon Redshift

Lecture

Amazon Aurora

Lab

Build Your DB Server and Interact with Your

DB Using an App

Knowledge Check

Databases Services

Section 5: Balancing, Scaling, Monitoring

25 min.

45 min.

10 min.

Lecture

Elastic Load Balancing (ELB)

Lecture

Amazon CloudWatch

Lecture

Auto Scaling

Digital Training

Balancing, Scaling, and Monitoring

Lab

Scale and Load Balance Your Architecture

Knowledge Check

Balancing, Scaling, and Monitoring

Module 3 – Cloud Security

70 min.

30 min.

10 min.

Video

Introduction to Cloud Security

Lecture

AWS Shared Responsibility Model

Lecture

AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Video

IAM Demo

Lecture

AWS Trusted Advisor

Lecture

AWS CloudTrail

Lecture

AWS Config

Lecture

AWS Day One Best Practice Review

Lecture

AWS Security and Compliance Programs

Lecture

AWS Security Resources

Digital Training

AWS Cloud Security

Lab

Introduction to AWS IAM

Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

Demonstration

IAM Demonstration (optional)

Knowledge Check

Cloud Security

Module 4 – Cloud Architecting

37 min.

10 min.

Video

Introduction to Cloud Architecting

Lecture

Introduction to the Well-Architected

Framework

Lecture

Well-Architected Design Principles

Lecture

Understanding Reliability and High

Availability

Example

Transitioning a Data Center to the Cloud

Digital Training

Introduction to Cloud Architecting

Knowledge Check

Cloud Architecting

Module 5 – Cloud Support

22 min.

10 min.

Lecture

Introduction to AWS Organizations

Lecture

AWS Cost Explorer

Lecture

Overview of AWS Technical Support Plans

and Costs

Digital Training

Cloud Billing and Support

Knowledge Check

Cloud Billing and Support

Recommended and Optional

Lab

Sandbox

Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

Appendix - Module Objectives

Module 0 - Welcome to AWS Academy (48 slides, 18 min.)

In this module, we are going to provide a course overview and review the course objectives. We will

walk through the creation of your AWS training portal account and show you how to access the course

materials. Two optional sections have been included that illustrate how to create your AWS Free Tier

and AWS Educate accounts.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Review course objectives and a course overview of what is contained in the Academy Cloud

Foundations curriculum.

• Create AWS accounts that will enhance your cloud-learning journey.

Module 1.1 - Cloud Concepts Overview

In this module, we will discuss the basics of cloud computing. You will learn what cloud computing is

and discover the six advantages of cloud computing. We will reveal what Amazon Web Services is, as

well as the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework. This course assumes you have a non-IT background, as it

will not teach you how to build applications in the cloud. This course will give you a general conceptual

understanding about the cloud and AWS.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Define different types of cloud computing to understand internet-based computing and three

categories of cloud computing.

• Describe the six advantages of cloud computing, helping organizations make the decision to

get out of the low-value parts of IT and focus on what drives business success.

• Describe three cloud deployment models for alternative models of cloud usage.

• Review the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework which helps organizations understand how cloud

adoption transforms the way they work.

Module 1.2 - Cloud Economics

This module reviews the economics of cloud computing. You will be introduced to the fundamentals of

pricing, and we will review the total cost of ownership.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Understand the AWS pricing philosophy.

• Review fundamental pricing characteristics.

• Understand the elements of Total Cost of Ownership.

Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

Module 1.3 - AWS Infrastructure Overview

The goal of this module is to understand the AWS global infrastructure and the types of services that

are available. We will examine the AWS Global Infrastructure to gain a clear understanding of what the

infrastructure includes, and understand the differences between AWS Regions, Availability Zones, and

Edge Locations.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Examine the AWS global infrastructure

• Understand the difference between AWS Regions, Availability Zones, and Edge Locations

Module 2.1 - AWS Core Services: Compute

Amazon Web Services provides multiple services to build out a solution. Some of these services provide

the foundation to all solutions. We refer to these as the core services. In this module, we provide

insight into the offerings of each service category and look at our first group of services, compute.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Understand the different AWS compute services available in the cloud to power your solution

• Discover an in-depth review of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud

• Explain AWS Lambda, which is serverless computing

• Review AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Module 2.2 - AWS Core Services: Storage

Cloud storage is typically more reliable, scalable, and secure than traditional on-premises storage

systems. Cloud storage is a critical component of cloud computing, holding the information used by

applications. Big data analytics, data warehouses, Internet of Things databases, and backup and archive

applications all rely on some form of data storage architecture. In this module, we will explore Amazon

Elastic Block Store, Amazon Simple Storage Service, Amazon Elastic File System, and Amazon Glacier

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Discuss storage services including Amazon EBS, Amazon S3, Amazon EFS, and Amazon Glacier

• Review use cases for storage options, along with a demonstration of Amazon Glacier

• Understand storage pricing

Module 2.3 - AWS Core Services – Amazon Virtual Private Cloud

The Amazon Virtual Private Cloud is a custom-defined network within the AWS Cloud. It enables you to

design and implement an independent network that operates in the cloud. We will understand the

features and benefits of Amazon VPC, review Amazon VPC Security Groups and learn about Amazon

CloudFront, a global Content Delivery Network service that securely delivers data, videos, applications,

and APIs to your viewers with low latency and high transfer speeds.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Understand virtual networking in the cloud with Amazon VPC

• Create virtual firewalls with security groups

• Secure delivery of data, videos, applications, and APIs with Amazon CloudFront

Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

Module 2.4 - AWS Core Services: Databases

The business world is constantly changing and evolving. By accurately and efficiently recording,

updating, and tracking data on regular basis, companies can leverage the immense potential of the

insights obtained from their data. Database management systems are crucial for managing this data.

Like other cloud services, cloud databases offer significant cost advantages over traditional database

strategies. We will review the Amazon Relational Database Service, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon

Redshift, and Amazon Aurora. You will complete a lab to build your DB server and interact with your

database using the app.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Provide an overview of different database services in the cloud

• Highlight the difference between unmanaged and managed database solutions

• Understand the differences between Structured Query Language and NoSQL databases

• Review the availability differences of alternative database solutions

Module 2.5 - AWS Core Services: Elastic Load Balancing, Amazon CloudWatch, and Auto Scaling

AWS Core Services includes Elastic Load Balancing, Amazon CloudWatch, and Auto Scaling. In this

module, you will learn how each of these services work both independently and together to help you

deploy highly available and optimized workloads on AWS. You will complete a lab to scale and load

balance your architecture.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Learn how to distribute traffic across Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud instances using Elastic

Load Balancing

• Discover the ability of Auto Scaling to launch and release servers in response to workload

changes

• Realize how CloudWatch enables you to monitor AWS resources and applications in real time

Module 3 - AWS Cloud Security

This module will familiarize you with all of the security considerations for your cloud solution. We will

review security tools and best practices to help you understand key security concepts related to the

Shared Responsibility Model and IAM.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Describe the AWS Shared Responsibility Model

• Examine IAM users, groups, and roles

• Describe different types of security credentials

• Review the AWS Trusted Advisor checks

• Discuss security compliance

• Understand best practices on day 1 with a new AWS account

Course Outline

AWS Academy Cloud Foundations (ACF)

aws.amazon.com/training/awsacademy 2019-05-28

Module 4 - Cloud Architecting

The goal of this module is to introduce you to some foundational cloud architecting concepts.

Architecture is the art and science of designing and building large structures. We will review and

understand the well-architected framework and associated design. This knowledge will help you begin

to understand how to create a well-architected cloud solution.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Explore the well-architected pillars and design principles

• Understand high availability and reliability

• Understand the business impact of design decisions

Module 5 - Cloud Billing and Support

This module was designed to provide an overview of AWS billing and support services. We will review

AWS Organizations, which helps you manage multiple AWS accounts and consolidated billing. We will

also look at tools that enable you to view and estimate costs. Finally, we will close with a look at how

to find AWS whitepapers and documentation on all AWS services, features, and resources.

Upon completing this module, students will be able to:

• Understand how to set up an organizational structure that simplifies billing and account

visibility to review cost data

• Identify alternative support options and features