AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate)

This AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate course is designed for:​

• IT Professionals: Deepen your understanding of AWS architecture and cloud infrastructure to progress into architecture-focused roles.
• System Administrators: Transition from managing on-prem systems to designing secure, scalable AWS cloud environments.
• Developers: Build your ability to design and deploy applications on AWS by learning best practices for cloud-native architecture.
• Career Changers: Enter the growing cloud computing field with a globally recognised AWS Architect Certification that demonstrates your technical capabilities.

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification validates your ability to design and deploy scalable, highly available, and fault-tolerant systems on AWS. The exam covers four key domains:

Domain 1: Design Secure Architectures (30%)

• Secure Access to AWS Resources: Implement access controls and management across multiple accounts using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) and AWS IAM Identity Centre (formerly AWS Single Sign-On).
• Secure Workloads and Applications: Design secure workloads and applications by applying AWS security best practices, such as the principle of least privilege.
• Data Security Controls: Determine appropriate data security controls, including encryption mechanisms and key management using services like AWS Key Management Service (KMS).

Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures (26%)

• Scalable and Loosely Coupled Architectures: Design scalable and loosely coupled architectures to enhance system resilience.
• Highly Available and Fault-Tolerant Architectures: Implement architectures that ensure high availability and fault tolerance using services like Amazon Route 53 and Elastic Load Balancing.

Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures (24%)

• High-Performing and Scalable Storage Solutions: Design storage solutions that are both high-performing and scalable, utilising services like Amazon S3 and Amazon EFS.
• Elastic Compute Solutions: Design compute solutions that are high-performing and elastic, leveraging Amazon EC2 and AWS Lambda.
• High-Performing Database Solutions: Implement database solutions that are optimised for performance, using Amazon RDS and Amazon DynamoDB.
• Scalable Network Architectures: Design network architectures that are high-performing and scalable, incorporating Amazon VPC and AWS CloudFront.
• Data Ingestion and Transformation Solutions: Design solutions for efficient data ingestion and transformation using AWS services.

Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimised Architectures (20%)

• Cost-Optimised Storage Solutions: Design cost-effective storage solutions, selecting appropriate storage classes in Amazon S3.
• Cost-Optimised Compute Solutions: Implement compute solutions that balance performance and cost, utilising features like Auto Scaling and Spot Instances.
• Cost-Optimised Database Solutions: Choose database services and configurations that meet performance requirements at the lowest cost.
• Cost-Optimised Network Architectures: Design network architectures that minimise costs while maintaining performance and reliability.

Exam Summary

Category: Associate

Duration: 130 minutes

Format: 65 multiple-choice/multiple-response questions

Cost: Included in the course (valued at USD 150)

Delivery: Online proctored or at a Pearson VUE test centre

Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America), Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese

Prepare for the Exam

Your 4-Step exam prep plan includes:

• Understand the Exam: Review the official AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam guide and familiarise yourself with the exam format and domains.
• Learn AWS Fundamentals: Participate in our instructor-led training sessions and access recorded lessons to build a strong foundation in AWS services and architectural best practices.
• Practice & Review: Engage in hands-on labs and workshops to apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios. Utilise practice exams to assess your understanding and readiness.
• Assess your readiness: Take the official AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate practice exam to evaluate your preparedness and identify areas for improvement.