tech
Defaultdeesfrzh

AWS

World's largest cloud platform - compute, storage, databases, AI/ML, and 200+ services powering Netflix and Airbnb

TL;DR

One-liner: AWS is Amazon’s cloud platform with 200+ services - the industry leader powering Netflix, Airbnb, and millions of businesses.

Core Capabilities:

  • Compute - EC2 instances, Lambda serverless, containers
  • Storage - S3 object storage, EBS block storage
  • Database - RDS, DynamoDB, ElastiCache
  • Global infrastructure - 30+ regions, 100+ edge locations

Architecture

Service Categories

  • Compute: EC2 (virtual servers), Lambda (serverless), ECS/EKS (containers)
  • Storage: S3 (objects), EBS (block), EFS (file system), Glacier (archive)
  • Database: RDS (relational), DynamoDB (NoSQL), ElastiCache (in-memory)
  • Networking: VPC (virtual network), Route 53 (DNS), CloudFront (CDN)
  • Security: IAM (identity), KMS (encryption), Secrets Manager

Core Concepts

  • Region: Geographic area with multiple data centers (e.g., us-east-1)
  • Availability Zone: Isolated data center within a region
  • ARN: Amazon Resource Name - unique identifier for any resource
  • IAM: Identity and Access Management - controls who can do what

Quick Start

Create Account

  1. Go to aws.amazon.com
  2. Click “Create an AWS Account”
  3. Provide email, payment info (free tier available)
  4. Enable MFA for root account (Security → MFA)

Install CLI

# macOS
brew install awscli

# Linux
curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o "awscliv2.zip"
unzip awscliv2.zip && sudo ./aws/install

# Verify
aws --version

Configure Credentials

# Create access key: IAM → Users → Security credentials → Create access key
aws configure
# Enter: Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, Region (e.g., us-east-1), Output format (json)

First Commands

# Check identity
aws sts get-caller-identity

# List S3 buckets
aws s3 ls

Core Services

Compute

ServiceUse CasePricing Model
EC2Virtual serversPer hour/second
LambdaServerless functionsPer request + duration
ECS/EKSContainer orchestrationUnderlying resources
LightsailSimple VPSFixed monthly

Storage

ServiceUse CasePricing Model
S3Object storage, static hostingPer GB + requests
EBSBlock storage for EC2Per GB provisioned
EFSShared file systemPer GB used
GlacierArchive storagePer GB (cheap)

Database

ServiceUse CasePricing Model
RDSManaged MySQL, PostgreSQLInstance + storage
DynamoDBNoSQL, serverlessPer request or provisioned
ElastiCacheRedis/MemcachedInstance hours

Gotchas

Cost Traps

  • Forgot to stop EC2: Instances run 24/7 → Set billing alerts and use auto-stop
  • NAT Gateway: $0.045/hour + data → Use NAT instances for dev environments
  • Data transfer out: Charges add up → Use CloudFront for heavy traffic
  • EBS snapshots: Accumulate silently → Automate cleanup with lifecycle policies

Permission Issues

  • AccessDenied: Check IAM policies → Use aws iam simulate-principal-policy to debug
  • Assume role failed: Trust policy must allow the caller entity

Common Errors

# "Unable to locate credentials"
aws configure  # Set up credentials

# "An error occurred (UnauthorizedOperation)"
# → Missing IAM permission, check policy

# "The security token included in the request is expired"
# → Refresh credentials or session token

Next Steps