Making the Most of This Book – Your Certification and Beyond

This book and its accompanying online resources are designed to be a complete preparation tool for your AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) exam.

The book is written in a way that means you can apply everything you’ve learned here even after your certification. The online practice resources that come with this book (Figure 1.1) are designed to improve your test-taking skills. They are loaded with timed mock exams, chapter review questions, interactive flashcards, case studies, and exam tips to help you work on your exam readiness from now till your test day.

Before You Proceed

To learn how to access these resources, head over to Chapter 16, Accessing the Online Practice Resources, at the end of the book.

Figure 1.1: Dashboard interface of the online practice resources

Here are some tips on how to make the most of this book so that you can clear your certification and retain your knowledge beyond your exam:

1. Read each section thoroughly.
2. Make ample notes: You can use your favorite online note-taking tool or use a physical notebook. The free online resources also give you access to an online version of this book. Click the BACK TO THE BOOK link from the dashboard to access the book in Packt Reader. You can highlight specific sections of the book there.
3. Chapter review questions: At the end of this chapter, you’ll find a link to review questions for this chapter. These are designed to test your knowledge of the chapter. Aim to score at least 75% before moving on to the next chapter. You’ll find detailed instructions on how to make the most of these questions at the end of this chapter in the Exam Readiness Drill – Chapter Review Questions section. That way, you’re improving your exam-taking skills after each chapter, rather than at the end of the book.
4. Flashcards: After you’ve gone through the book and scored 75% or more in each of the chapter review questions, start reviewing the online flashcards. They will help you memorize key concepts.
5. Mock exams: Revise by solving the mock exams that come with the book till your exam day. If you get some answers wrong, go back to the book and revisit the concepts you’re weak in.
6. Exam tips: Review these from time to time to improve your exam readiness even further.

In this chapter, we are going to cover the following main topics:

• Cloud computing
• The AWS cloud
• AWS architecture and key infrastructure
• Cloud economics
• Let’s get started