AWS Cloud Services: A Beginner's Guide — PickAClass
⏱ 3h 📚 30 lessons

AWS Cloud Services: A Beginner's Guide

Gain a foundational understanding of essential AWS cloud services to kickstart your journey into cloud computing.

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About this course

Are you new to cloud computing and looking to understand the essential building blocks of AWS? This course is designed to demystify the core services that power the world's leading cloud platform. By completing this course, you will develop a clear understanding of the fundamental AWS services, their purpose, and how they interact to form scalable and resilient cloud architectures. You will be equipped with the knowledge to confidently navigate the AWS ecosystem and lay the groundwork for deploying your first cloud-based applications. What you'll learn: * Understand the core concepts of cloud computing and the AWS global infrastructure. * Explore fundamental compute services, including virtual machines (EC2) and serverless functions (Lambda). * Manage data storage effectively using object storage (S3), block storage (EBS), and managed databases (RDS). * Configure basic networking components with Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and implement secure access using Identity and Access Management (IAM). * Apply foundational security best practices and monitor your cloud resources using services like CloudWatch. * Practice basic interactions with common AWS services through step-by-step written exercises. This course begins by establishing a solid understanding of cloud principles and AWS account setup, then progresses through key service categories such as compute, storage, networking, and security. Each topic is explained with clear, written explanations and practical code snippets to reinforce learning. This course is specifically designed for absolute beginners with no prior experience in cloud computing or AWS. No prerequisites are required. Begin your exploration of AWS and unlock the potential of the cloud.

Course contents

6 modules · 30 lessons · 3h

1 Cloud Foundations & AWS Basics
Understand the 'why' of cloud and set up your environment.
5 lessons · 30 min
  1. What is Cloud Computing?
    The shift from on-premise hardware to on-demand internet-based resources.
    6 min
  2. Benefits of AWS
    Cost savings, elasticity, and global reach of the AWS platform.
    5 min
  3. AWS Global Infrastructure
    How Regions and Availability Zones provide reliability and low latency.
    7 min
  4. Setting Up Your AWS Account
    Step-by-step guide to creating a Free Tier account safely.
    6 min
  5. Navigating the AWS Console
    Finding services and understanding the management interface layout.
    6 min
2 Security & Networking Essentials
Build a secure foundation for your cloud resources.
5 lessons · 30 min
  1. Introduction to IAM
    Managing users, groups, and permissions to control access.
    6 min
  2. IAM Policies and Roles
    Using JSON documents to define what users and services can do.
    6 min
  3. Security Best Practices
    Implementing MFA and the principle of least privilege.
    6 min
  4. Understanding VPC Basics
    Creating your own private virtual network in the cloud.
    7 min
  5. Subnets and Gateways
    Differentiating between public and private network segments.
    5 min
3 Compute: From Servers to Serverless
Learn how to run code and applications in AWS.
5 lessons · 30 min
  1. Introduction to Amazon EC2
    The concept of virtual machines and instance types.
    6 min
  2. Exercise: Launching an EC2 Instance
    Practical steps to get a Linux server running in minutes.
    8 min
  3. Introduction to AWS Lambda
    The serverless paradigm where you only pay for code execution.
    5 min
  4. Exercise: Creating a Lambda Function
    Writing and testing a simple 'Hello World' function.
    6 min
  5. EC2 vs. Lambda
    When to use a full server versus a serverless function.
    5 min
4 Storage & Managed Databases
Master data management using AWS storage services.
6 lessons · 36 min
  1. Amazon S3: Object Storage
    Storing files in buckets with high durability and availability.
    6 min
  2. Exercise: Managing Files in S3
    Uploading objects and managing public access settings.
    6 min
  3. Amazon EBS: Block Storage
    Attaching virtual hard drives to your EC2 instances.
    5 min
  4. Snapshots and Backups
    Protecting your data using point-in-time EBS snapshots.
    6 min
  5. Introduction to Amazon RDS
    Managed relational databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL.
    7 min
  6. Exercise: Launching an RDS Database
    Setting up a managed database instance for an application.
    6 min
5 Monitoring, Scaling & Reliability
Keep your cloud environment healthy and responsive.
5 lessons · 30 min
  1. Monitoring with CloudWatch
    Tracking metrics and logs to see how resources perform.
    6 min
  2. Setting Up CloudWatch Alarms
    Automating notifications when resource limits are reached.
    6 min
  3. Introduction to Auto Scaling
    Automatically adjusting capacity to maintain steady performance.
    6 min
  4. Elastic Load Balancing (ELB)
    Distributing incoming traffic across multiple targets.
    6 min
  5. Shared Responsibility Model
    Understanding what AWS secures vs. what you secure.
    6 min
6 Putting It All Together
Synthesize individual services into a complete architecture.
4 lessons · 24 min
  1. Connecting EC2 to RDS
    Configuring security groups to allow a server to talk to a database.
    6 min
  2. Hosting a Static Site on S3
    Turning an S3 bucket into a globally accessible website.
    7 min
  3. AWS Budgets & Cost Management
    Setting up alerts to avoid unexpected cloud bills.
    5 min
  4. Designing Resilient Architectures
    Reviewing how core services interact for high availability.
    6 min
Final project

The 'Cloud Starter' Architecture

You will design a basic cloud architecture that includes a public web server (EC2) connected to a private database (RDS), with static assets stored in S3 and monitoring enabled via CloudWatch.

What you'll get

  • 📜 Certificate of completion
    Add it to your LinkedIn profile
  • 💬 Personal AI tutor
    Stuck on a lesson? Ask your built-in tutor anything, any time.
  • ♾️ Lifetime access
    Come back anytime, no expiry
  • 📱 Phone or computer
    Works anywhere, any device
  • 💸 14-day refund
    No questions asked
  • ⚡ Short & focused
    3h of practical content

Certificate of completion

Every course you complete on PickAClass issues a credential like this — original, with its own code, verifiable by URL, and detailed about what was actually demonstrated.

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Certificate of Mastery
This certifies that
Name Surname
has successfully demonstrated mastery of
AWS Cloud Services: A Beginner's Guide
Skills demonstrated
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Foundational
1.2 hrs
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Decision-architecture frameworks
Proficient
1.4 hrs
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A/B test design
Proficient
1.7 hrs
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1.9 hrs
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PickAClass — Name Surname
AWS Cloud Services: A Beginner's Guide
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Performance detail
Coursework summary
Lessons completed 14 / 14
Practice questions 26 / 28
Assignments submitted 4 (avg 4.5 / 5)
Capstone project Reviewed — 4.6 / 5
Total practice 6.2 hrs
Performance benchmark
Cohort rank Top 12% of 1,625
Time to completion 11 days (median: 22)
Mastery score 91 / 100
Practice-question score 94%
Skill verification Verified Skill Path
Verify this credential
pickaclass.com/certificates/PCC-2026-X4F7-AP19
Issued under the academic standards of PickAClass. Skill levels reflect assessed performance against the course's competency rubric. This is an original credential of this platform.

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