AWS for Non-Engineers

by Hiroko Nishimura

Overview

This friendly, fast-paced guide is perfect for anyone puzzled by the cloud! Learn the fundamentals of Amazon Web Services, and be ready to ace your AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam.

In AWS for Non-engineers you will learn:

How cloud computing and AWS are different from “legacy” systems
Prepare for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam
When cloud computing is the right option for your organization
Core AWS services including storage services, database services, and security services
How billing and pricing work on AWS, and how to pick for your budget
Security and compliance concepts for building in AWS

AWS for Non-engineers is for anyone just starting with Amazon Web Services or cloud computing in general—whether you’re in customer service, marketing, or management. It’s written by Hiroko Nishimura, and is based on her acclaimed video courses that have been taken by over 300,000 learners. In this reader-friendly book, you’ll learn how to talk about cloud concepts with engineers, what the cloud could do for your business, and how to start using AWS’s amazing services for your own IT tasks. When you’re finished, you’ll be comfortable with the basics of cloud computing on AWS and you’ll be prepared to take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam!

Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.

About the technology
Millions of companies use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to share documents, run business applications, and store important data. Learning the basics of AWS is a required skill, and this book makes it easy! There’s no geeky jargon nor complex code—just crystal-clear explanations of the AWS features you’ll use every day. You’ll even get tips on how to pass the entry-level AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam!

About the book
AWS for Non-engineers is an absolute beginner’s guide to Amazon Web Services, the leading cloud computing platform. In this short, practical guide, you’ll find a beginner-friendly introduction to cloud computing concepts and how the cloud can be used. Learn how to log in to AWS, get to the apps and files you need, and safely share documents and data. You’ll even get the vocabulary you need to talk about AWS with developers and administrators.

What's inside

Core AWS services for files, databases, and security
How billing and pricing work on AWS
Security and compliance concepts
Pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam

About the reader
For absolute beginners to the cloud! No IT experience required.

About the author
Hiroko Nishimura created the popular “Introduction to AWS for Non-Engineers” LinkedIn Learning video course. She is an AWS Community Hero for her work in making AWS more accessible to people from diverse backgrounds.

Table of Contents
1 Introduction to cloud computing and Amazon Web Services
2 Introduction to cloud concepts
3 Deploying and operating in AWS global infrastructure
4 Core AWS services
5 Security and compliance
6 Billing and pricing
7 AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam (CLF-C01)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633439948
Publisher:	Manning
Publication date:	12/13/2022
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Hiroko Nishimura is a special education teacher, turned helpdesk engineer, turned systems administrator, turned technical instructor and writer. In 2020, Hiroko became an AWS Community Hero for her work in making AWS more accessible to people who come from diverse backgrounds. While studying for her AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam in 2018, Hiroko created awsnewbies.com with the goal of breaking down technical jargon and concepts for “lay people.” Hiroko published her ultra-popular “Introduction to AWS for Non-Engineers” courses with LinkedIn Learning to help people from non-traditional technical backgrounds learn about AWS and prepare to take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam.

Table of Contents

Preface x

Acknowledgments xii

About this book xiv

About the author xvii

About the cover illustration xviii

1 Introduction to cloud computing and Amazon Web Services 1

1.1 What is cloud computing? 2

1.2 Why cloud computing? 4

1.3 When should I use or not use cloud computing? 5

When should I use cloud computing? 5

When should I not use cloud computing? 7

1.4 Conceptualizing cloud computing and AWS 9

Cloud computing, AWS, and you 9

Breaking down AWS 10

1.5 AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam (CLF-C01) 12

The four domains 13

Studying for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam 14

2 Introduction to cloud concepts 16

2.1 Cloud concepts introduced 17

2.2 Advantages of cloud computing 17

Trade capital expenses for variable expenses 18

Benefit from massive economies of scale 20

Stop guessing capacity 22

Increase speed and agility 24

Stop spending money running and maintaining data centers 25

Go global in minutes 26

Section quiz 28

2.3 Types of cloud computing models 28

Software as a Service 30

Platform as a Service 30

Infrastructure as a Service 31

Section quiz 31

2.4 Types of cloud computing deployments 32

Cloud/cloud-native deployment 32

Hybrid deployment 32

On-premises deployment 33

Section quiz 33

2.5 Pillars of the Well-Architected Framework 34

Operational excellence 35

Security 36

Reliability 40

Performance efficiency 42

Cost optimization 44

Sustainability 46

Section quiz 48

3 Deploying and operating in AWS global infrastructure 50

3.1 Hosting IT infrastructure on AWS 50

3.2 Deploying and operating in AWS 51

Interacting with the AWS Cloud 51

Deploying in the AWS Cloud 55

Connectivity options in the AWS Cloud 55

Section quiz 58

3.3 AWS global infrastructure 58

Regions 59

Availability Zones 60

Edge Locations 61

Section quiz 63

4 Core AWS services 65

4.1 Compute services 65

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud 66

AWS Elastic Beanstalk 67

Elastic Load Balancing 68

AWS Lambda 69

Amazon Elastic Container Service 71

Section quiz 71

4.2 Storage services 71

Amazon Simple Storage Service 73

Amazon Elastic Block Store 74

AWS Snowball 74

AWS Storage Gateway 75

Amazon Elastic File System 77

Section quiz 77

4.3 Database services 77

Amazon Relational Database Service 77

Amazon DynamoDB 79

Amazon Redshift 80

Section quiz 80

4.4 Networking and content delivery services 80

Amazon Route 53 81

Section quiz 82

4.5 Management tools 82

AWS CloudFormation 82

AWS CloudTrail 83

Amazon CloudWatch 83

AWS Config 84

AWS Trusted Advisor 84

Section quiz 85

5 Security and compliance 87

5.1 Security and compliance concepts 88

Shared responsibility model 88

A Well-Architected Framework 89

Principle of least privilege 91

Section quiz 93

5.2 Security services 93

AWS Identity and Access Management 93

AWS Web Application Firewall 95

AWS Shield 96

Amazon Inspector 97

AWS Trusted Advisor 98

Amazon GuardDuty 98

Section quiz 99

6 Billing and pricing 101

6.1 AWS billing and pricing concepts 101

Types of AWS pricing models 102

AWS Free Tier 104

AWS Billing Dashboard 105

Consolidated billing 106

AWS cost calculators 107

Section quiz 111

6.2 AWS support plans 111

The Basic Support Plan 112

The Developer Support Plan 113

The Business Support Plan 114

The Enterprise On-Ramp Support Plan 115

The Enterprise Support Plan 116

Evaluating support plan options 118

Section quiz 120

7 AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam (CLF-C01) 122

7.1 Introducing the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam 123

Why should I take the certification exam? 123

Official exam prep resources 124

Finding AWS support 124

Target candidate description 124

Exam quick facts 125

7.2 The four domains 126

Domain 1 Cloud Concepts 127

Domain 2 Security and Compliance 129

Domain 3 Technology 133

Domain 4 Billing and Pricing 136

7.3 AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam study aids 139

Cloud concepts in a flash 139

Core AWS services flashcards 143

AWS support plans 145

Index 149