AWS CCP - Breaking Down Complex Concepts - (1)
Tags: aws, devops, beginners, tutorial
Published: 2022-12-06 09:09:52


As an **Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Practitioner**, you need to understand the basics of the cloud and how it works. This blog post will help you break down some of the most complex concepts associated with the cloud.

## In this article, We'll talk about: ##

1. What is the cloud and how it works.
2. Breaking down complex concepts such as:
   1. CAPEX vs OPEX
   2. CloudWatch vs CloudTrial 
   3. CloudFront vs Global Accelerator
   4. SSO vs Cognito 
   5. TCO Calculator
   6. Config vs System Manager
   7. GaurdDuty vs Macie


## What is the Cloud and How it works ##
The cloud is a network of computers that work together to provide services to people and businesses. These services can include anything from storing files to providing web hosting. The cloud can be used by anyone, anywhere in the world.

So, what does that mean for you as a Cloud Practitioner? Well, it means that you need to understand how the cloud works in order to provide the best possible services to your customers. It's also important to understand the different types of cloud services and how they work together.

## Breaking down Complex Concepts ##
### 1. CAPEX vs OPEX ###
Whenever I saw these two terms at any practice exam, I start to panic. Then, I decided to stop the practice exams and go in depth with these two. It turned out that they are really simple!
**Capex**, or capital expenditure, is the up-front cost of acquiring hardware and software. 
**Opex**, or operational expenditure, is the ongoing cost of running the cloud environment.

If you were asked about the cloud computing advantages over the on premises systems, you will often find the option Opex over Capex, or Capex or Opex. 
Which one is the correct?
Of course, Opex over Capex. In cloud, you save the cost of all hardware expenses and will have the payments adapt the pay-as-you-go model, which is, in practical, operational expenses. 
Sounds good no?
Let's move forward!

### 2. CloudWatch vs CloudTrial ###
If you're looking for a way to keep an eye on your Amazon Web Services (AWS) resources, CloudWatch is a great option. 

You can use CloudWatch to monitor your Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, for example. With CloudWatch, you can set up alarms to alert you when your Amazon EC2 instances are nearing their capacity limits. This can help you avoid costly outages.

CloudTrial, on the other hand, tells you **Who** did **What**, and **When**?
Unlike CloudWatch, CloudTrial can show you which API was called at What time and by Who. 
So, whenever you see in the exam a question about which services can show you who used the delete API for example, choose CloudTrial. 


### 3. CloudFront vs Global Accelerator ###

If you're looking to improve the performance of your website, there are a few different options available to you. One option is to use a content delivery network (CDN), such as Amazon CloudFront. Another option is to use a global accelerator, such as the Amazon Global Accelerator. Both of these options can help to improve the performance of your website, but there are some key differences between them.

Amazon CloudFront is a CDN that allows you to cache and deliver your website content to users more quickly and efficiently. It can also help to reduce the load on your origin server. Amazon Global Accelerator is a bit different. It's a network of proxy servers that caches and delivers your website content to users more quickly and efficiently. It can also help to reduce the load on your origin server.

If you're looking to improve the speed and performance of your website, both Amazon CloudFront and Amazon Global Accelerator can be a great option. However, if you're looking for a more cost-effective option, Amazon Global Accelerator may be the way to go.

That's it for now. We'll stop at the latter concepts to make sure you are able now to grasp the knowledge base of each one of them. 

The remaining concepts will be explained in details as well in  Part 2.

Let me know what do you think in the comments!

Thanks for reading! I hope you found this post helpful in your journey to becoming an Amazon Web Services Cloud Practitioner.

Feel free to reach me out on the following:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lara-wehbe/
Email: larawehbee@outlook.com