AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification Guide

AWS Cloud Practitioner is the entry-level certification for Amazon Web Services. It validates foundational cloud knowledge and AWS service awareness — no technical prerequisites required.

Exam Overview

| Detail | Value | | ------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | Exam Code | CLF-C02 | | Questions | 65 (multiple choice + multiple response) | | Length | 90 minutes | | Passing Score | 700 (on a scale of 100–1000) | | Validity | 3 years | | Price | ~$100 USD |

Domain Breakdown

| Domain | Weight | Key Topics | | ------------------------------ | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Cloud Concepts | 24% | Cloud value proposition, AWS Well-Architected Framework, cloud economics | | Security & Compliance | 30% | Shared responsibility model, IAM, encryption, compliance programs | | Technology & Services | 34% | Core AWS services (compute, storage, database, networking), global infrastructure | | Billing, Pricing & Support | 12% | Pricing models, cost management tools, support plans, TCO calculators |

Key AWS Services to Know

Compute

• EC2 — Virtual servers in the cloud (various instance types)
• Lambda — Serverless compute, pay-per-execution
• ECS / EKS — Container orchestration (Docker / Kubernetes)
• Elastic Beanstalk — PaaS for web applications

Storage

• S3 — Object storage (unlimited, 99.999999999% durability)
• EBS — Block storage for EC2 instances
• EFS — Managed NFS file system
• Glacier — Archive storage (low cost, retrieval time in minutes/hours)

Database

• RDS — Managed relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server)
• DynamoDB — NoSQL key-value and document database
• Aurora — High-performance MySQL/PostgreSQL-compatible database

Networking

• VPC — Virtual private cloud, isolated network
• CloudFront — CDN (content delivery network)
• Route 53 — DNS service, domain registration
• ELB — Load balancing across EC2 instances

Security & Identity

• IAM — Identity and Access Management (users, groups, roles, policies)
• Cognito — User authentication for apps
• KMS — Key Management Service for encryption keys
• Shield — DDoS protection

Well-Architected Framework

The 5 pillars:

1. Operational Excellence — Run and monitor systems, improve processes
2. Security — Protect data and systems, implement IAM
3. Reliability — Recover from failures, scale horizontally
4. Performance Efficiency — Use resources efficiently, right-sizing
5. Cost Optimization — Eliminate waste, use managed services

Pricing Models

• On-Demand — Pay by the hour/second, no commitment
• Reserved Instances — 1–3 year commitment, up to 72% discount
• Savings Plans — Flexible pricing based on usage ($/hour commitment)
• Spot Instances — Up to 90% discount, interruptible workloads
• Free Tier — 12 months free for new AWS customers (limited services)

Study Tips

1. Focus on the Shared Responsibility Model — Security OF the cloud (AWS) vs security IN the cloud (customer)
2. Learn the Global Infrastructure — Regions, Availability Zones, Edge Locations, Local Zones
3. Compare Pricing Models — Know when to use On-Demand vs Reserved vs Spot vs Savings Plans
4. Understand Support Plans — Basic, Developer, Business, Enterprise (response times and features)

Start AWS Cloud Practitioner Practice →

Career Path

Cloud Practitioner prepares you for:

• Cloud Sales / Marketing roles
• Project Managers overseeing cloud migrations
• Business analysts evaluating cloud solutions
• Entry-level cloud roles before pursuing Solutions Architect

Advanced certifications: AWS Solutions Architect Associate → AWS Solutions Architect Professional