Technical Requirements

To fully engage with the content and exercises in this book, you will need to meet the following technical requirements:

• AWS account with root access:
  • You will need an AWS account with root access to complete the exercises in this book. Most of the services and examples fall under the AWS Free Tier, allowing you to experiment without incurring costs, provided your account is within the first 12 months of creation.
  • If you do not have an AWS account, you can create one at https://aws.amazon.com/free/.
• Command-line interface (CLI) access:
  • The AWS CLI will be used frequently throughout this book for interacting with AWS services from the command line.
  • To set up the AWS CLI, do the following:
    1. Download the AWS CLI: Get the latest version from the CLI Install page: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/install-cliv2.html.
    2. Create an IAM user: Follow the steps in the User Creation Guide, https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_users_create.html, to create an IAM user with administrative access and generate an access key.
    3. Configure the AWS CLI: Use the aws configure command to set up your CLI profile with the necessary credentials. Detailed instructions can be found in the AWS CLI Configuration Guide: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-configure-quickstart.html.
• A basic understanding of AWS services: While this book will teach you everything you need to know for the SAA-C03 exam, having a basic understanding of core AWS services such as EC2, S3, RDS, and IAM will be beneficial.

In addition to these technical requirements, it is important to have hands-on practice. Passing the SAA-C03 exam requires not just theoretical knowledge but also practical experience. Be sure to complete the exercises, experiment with AWS services, and apply your learning to real-world scenarios.

With these technical requirements met, you will be ready to begin your journey toward passing the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) exam. Let’s dive in and unlock your full potential in cloud architecture, starting with an overview of the exam.