AWS Fundamentals: A Beginner's Guide to Cloud Computing
Tags: aws, cloud, cloudcomputing
Published: 2023-06-26 05:24:29

This blog post aims to provide you with a comprehensive overview of AWS fundamentals, including key concepts and services. Let's dive in and demystify the world of cloud computing!

#### AWS Public vs. Private Services
AWS offers a range of services categorized as either public or private. Public services are accessible over the internet and include offerings like Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) and Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud). Private services, on the other hand, are accessed within a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and are designed for internal use, such as Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) or Amazon Redshift for data warehousing.

#### AWS Global Infrastructure
AWS boasts a vast global infrastructure comprising regions, availability zones (AZs), and edge locations. Regions are geographic areas with multiple AZs that house AWS data centers. Each region operates independently, allowing you to choose the most suitable location for your resources. AZs are isolated data centers within a region that are interconnected via high-speed networking. Edge locations, meanwhile, serve as caching endpoints for Amazon CloudFront (AWS's content delivery network) and provide low-latency access to content globally.

#### AWS Default Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
Upon creating an AWS account, a default VPC is automatically provisioned, one per region. The default VPC is a logically isolated section of the AWS cloud where you can launch your resources. It includes default subnets, route tables, and network access control lists (ACLs), simplifying the setup process for beginners. There can only be one default VPC per region, and they can be deleted and recreated from the console UI. They always have the same IP range and same '1 subnet per AZ' architecture. However, as your needs grow, you might want to create custom VPCs with specific configurations.

#### Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
Amazon EC2 is a popular AWS service that provides scalable compute capacity in the cloud. EC2 instances are virtual servers that you can launch and manage. You have the flexibility to choose the instance type, storage, operating system, and networking options to meet your specific requirements. EC2 forms the foundation for many applications, allowing you to deploy and scale your web services effortlessly.

#### Simple Storage Service (S3)
Amazon S3 is an object storage service that enables you to store and retrieve any amount of data from anywhere on the web. It offers high durability, availability, and security for your data. S3 organizes data into buckets, which are globally unique containers for objects. You can control access to your data using access control lists (ACLs) or AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies.

#### CloudFormation
AWS CloudFormation simplifies the process of provisioning and managing AWS resources by defining them as code. With CloudFormation templates written in YAML or JSON, you can describe your desired infrastructure configuration, including EC2 instances, S3 buckets, security groups, and more. CloudFormation takes care of creating and managing these resources, enabling infrastructure-as-code practices and improving deployment consistency.

#### CloudWatch
Amazon CloudWatch provides monitoring and observability for your AWS resources and applications. It collects and tracks metrics, monitors log files, sets alarms, and triggers automated actions. With CloudWatch, you can gain insights into the performance and health of your infrastructure, set up notifications for critical events, and monitor resource utilization.

#### Shared Responsibility Model
Understanding the shared responsibility model is vital when working with AWS. AWS takes responsibility for the security "of" the cloud, such as the physical infrastructure, while you are responsible for security "in" the cloud, such as configuring your resources securely, managing access controls, and protecting your data.

#### High Availability vs. Fault Tolerance vs. Disaster Recovery
These terms are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings in the context of AWS. High availability refers to the ability of a system to remain operational even during component failures. Fault tolerance takes it a step further and ensures uninterrupted service even when an entire component fails. Disaster recovery involves having a plan in place to recover from a catastrophic event, such as data center failures or natural disasters.

#### Route 53
Amazon Route 53 is a highly scalable and reliable domain name system (DNS) web service. It allows you to register domain names, route internet traffic to the appropriate resources, and configure DNS health checks and failover routing. Route 53 integrates seamlessly with other AWS services, providing a robust DNS solution for your applications.

In this blog post, we've covered essential AWS fundamentals that will help you get started on your cloud computing journey. By understanding the distinction between public and private services, exploring the global infrastructure, and familiarizing yourself with key services like EC2, S3, CloudFormation, and CloudWatch, you'll be well on your way to leveraging the power of AWS. Remember the shared responsibility model, grasp the concepts of high availability, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery, and utilize Route 53 for efficient DNS management. Embrace the cloud and unlock new possibilities for your web development career with AWS!