Welcome to part three in the AWS Certification Exam Prep Mini-Series! Whether you're an aspiring cloud enthusiast or a seasoned developer looking to deepen your architectural acumen, you've landed in the perfect spot. In this six-part saga, we're demystifying the pivotal role of a Solutions Architect in the AWS cloud computing cosmos.

In this third episode, join Caroline and Dave as they host a riveting discussion with two cloud virtuosos - Anya Derbakova, a Senior Startup Solutions Architect at AWS, known for weaving social media magic, and Ted Trentler, a Senior AWS Technical Instructor with a knack for simplifying the complex. Together, they embark on a narrative journey through the clouds, sharing their personal paths to mastering AWS, elucidating the essence of the Solutions Architect role, and breaking down the AWS Certification labyrinth.

Expect to uncover:

Overview of Exam Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures (26% of scored test content):
• Emphasis on designing scalable and loosely coupled architectures.
• Introduction to API creation and management.
• Utilization of AWS managed services for efficiency.
• Principles of microservices design for robust applications.
• Strategies for horizontal and vertical scaling.
• Understanding of load balancing techniques.
• Comparison of storage types: Object, Block, File.

Designing Highly Available and/or Fault-Tolerant Architectures:
• Exploration of AWS global infrastructure: Availability Zones, AWS Regions, Amazon Route 53.
• Basics of networking concepts, including route tables.
• Disaster recovery (DR) strategies: backup and restore, pilot light, warm standby, active-active failover, RPO, RTO.
• Immutable infrastructure for consistent deployment.
• Storage options and their characteristics: durability, replication.
• Enhancing workload visibility with tools like AWS X-Ray.

Sample Exam Question:
• Scenario involving a two-tier application architecture with resilience considerations, focusing on EC2 instances across public and private subnets within a single Availability Zone.

This series is your beacon through the fog of cloud computing, illuminating the path to AWS mastery. Whether you're aiming to elevate your career, transition roles, or simply quench your curiosity about the cloud, tune in to transform your understanding of AWS and gear up for success in the Solutions Architect realm.

Anya on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annadderbakova/

Ted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ttrentler
Ted on LinkedIn: https://linkedin/in/tedtrentler

Caroline on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolinegluck
Caroline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cgluck/

Dave on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedavedev
Dave on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidisbitski

AWS SAA Exam Guide - https://d1.awsstatic.com/training-and-certification/docs-sa-assoc/AWS-Certified-Solutions-Architect-Associate_Exam-Guide.pdf

Party Rock for Exam Study - https://partyrock.aws/u/tedtrent/KQtYIhbJb/Solutions-Architect-Study-Buddy

All Things AWS Training - Links to Self-paced and Instructor Led https://aws.amazon.com/training/

AWS Skill Builder – Free CPE Course - https://explore.skillbuilder.aws/learn/course/134/aws-cloud-practitioner-essentials

AWS Skill Builder – Learning Badges - https://explore.skillbuilder.aws/learn/public/learning_plan/view/1044/solutions-architect-knowledge-badge-readiness-path

AWS Well-Architected Framework - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/framework/welcome.html

Subscribe:

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7rQjgnBvuyr18K03tnEHBI

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aws-developers-podcast/id1574162669