Introduction to Cloud Computing 101: What I Learned...

?? Just Completed 'Introduction to Cloud Computing 101' from AWS Educate! Here’s What I Learned…

Ever wondered how businesses scale seamlessly without massive upfront costs? The answer lies in Cloud Computing—the availability of IT resources over the internet with a pay-as-you-go pricing model. ??

Whether you're a tech enthusiast or a young professional looking to upskill, understanding cloud computing is crucial. Here’s a quick breakdown of what I discovered:

What Makes Cloud Computing So Powerful?

1) Service Models:

• SaaS (Software as a Service): Ready-to-use apps like Gmail, Slack, or Microsoft 365.
• PaaS (Platform as a Service): Build and deploy applications without managing the underlying infrastructure. Examples include AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Google App Engine.
• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): Rent computing resources like servers, storage, and networking on-demand. Examples include Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines.

2) Deployment Models:

• Public Cloud: Resources are owned and managed by the cloud provider and shared with other customers (e.g., AWS, Microsoft Azure).
• Private Cloud: Resources are used exclusively by one organization, often for more sensitive workloads.
• Hybrid Cloud: A mix of public and private clouds, often used for balancing flexibility and control.
• On-Premise: Traditional physical infrastructure hosted within a company’s data center (not in the cloud).

3) AWS Global Infrastructure:

Regions → Availability Zones → Edge Locations = A global network ensuring low latency and high availability. AWS has over 25 regions and 80+ Availability Zones across the world, providing the infrastructure to run applications with minimal downtime.

4) Shared Responsibility Model:

• Your Responsibility: You are responsible for securing your data, managing access control (IAM), and ensuring your application is safe through encryption and other measures.
• AWS Responsibility: AWS is responsible for the physical security of the infrastructure, including hardware, data centers, and the network.

5) Well-Architected Framework:

AWS offers a Well-Architected Framework built on 5 pillars: Reliability, Security, Operational Excellence, Performance Efficiency, and Cost Optimization. These pillars help you build a secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient cloud architecture.

6) Core AWS Services:

• EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud): Scalable virtual servers that allow you to run applications and workloads.
• S3 (Simple Storage Service): Durable object storage with virtually unlimited scalability for data storage.
• RDS (Relational Database Service): Managed relational databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB.
• VPC (Virtual Private Cloud): Networking service that enables you to create isolated environments for your applications and resources.
• CloudWatch: Monitoring service that tracks performance and usage of AWS resources.
• SNS (Simple Notification Service): Managed messaging and notification service for sending messages between distributed systems.
• IAM (Identity and Access Management): Manages user access and permissions to AWS resources.
• Lambda: Serverless computing service where you run code in response to events without managing servers.
• DynamoDB: NoSQL database service for building high-performance applications that require low-latency data access.

7) Types of Services:

• Fully Managed: AWS handles everything, but you still have control over certain settings and configurations (e.g., Amazon RDS).
• Managed: AWS manages most of the infrastructure, but you still have control over certain aspects (e.g., Amazon EC2).
• Serverless: No infrastructure management required—just focus on writing code. AWS takes care of scaling, availability, and server management (e.g., AWS Lambda).

Hands-On Labs

The course included hands-on labs for services like S3, EC2, RDS, SNS, IAM, CloudWatch, Lambda, and VPC. These labs provided a practical overview of how to interact with these services in real-world scenarios.

Call-to-Action

If you’re curious about cloud computing or want to dive deeper, I highly recommend starting with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Educate. AWS has curated a comprehensive learning path to help you build essential cloud skills.

?? What’s your experience with cloud computing? Have you explored AWS or other cloud platforms? Let’s discuss in the comments!

?? Share this article with someone who’s looking to start their cloud journey!

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