CLD110 · AWS Academy Cloud Foundations
Module 1
Introduction to Cloud Computing and AWS
What cloud computing is · What AWS is · How this course is organized
Module Objective
Module Objective: Describe what cloud computing is, how AWS fits into the broader cloud landscape, and how this course is structured around the AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) body of knowledge.
No hands-on labs this module — Module 1 is conceptual groundwork for everything that follows.
What Is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources — compute, storage, databases, networking, and more — over the internet, with pay-as-you-go pricing. Instead of buying, owning, and maintaining physical data centers and servers, an organization can provision exactly the resources it needs, when it needs them, from a cloud provider.
CapEx to OpEx
This shift replaces large upfront capital expenditure (CapEx) on hardware with variable operational expenditure (OpEx) that scales with actual usage. Six commonly cited benefits of cloud computing are: trading capital expense for variable expense, benefiting from massive economies of scale, no longer guessing capacity, increasing speed and agility, stopping spending on running and maintaining data centers, and going global in minutes.
What Is AWS?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a comprehensive, evolving cloud computing platform provided by Amazon, offering a mix of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and packaged software as a service (SaaS) products delivered from data centers around the world.
Characteristics of AWS
| Characteristic | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Broad and deep catalog | Hundreds of services spanning compute, storage, databases, networking, machine learning, and more |
| Pay-as-you-go pricing | Customers pay only for the resources they actually consume, with no long-term contracts required |
| Shared responsibility model | AWS secures the underlying cloud infrastructure; customers secure what they put in the cloud (covered in Module 6) |
| Global footprint | Resources can be deployed close to end users across many geographic Regions |
Cloud Deployment Models
Not every workload runs entirely in a public cloud. Organizations choose a deployment model based on regulatory, latency, legacy-investment, and business requirements.
| Model | Description |
|---|---|
| Cloud | Resources run entirely on a public cloud provider such as AWS |
| On-premises | Resources run entirely in an organization's own data center ("private cloud") |
| Hybrid | Some resources run on-premises while others run in the cloud, connected together |
Cloud Service Models
Cloud services are typically grouped into three categories describing how much of the stack the provider manages versus the customer.
| Model | Customer Manages | AWS Example |
|---|---|---|
| IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) | OS, runtime, applications, data | Amazon EC2 |
| PaaS (Platform as a Service) | Applications and data only | AWS Elastic Beanstalk |
| SaaS (Software as a Service) | Configuration and data only | Amazon Chime |
AWS Global Infrastructure
AWS infrastructure is organized geographically so customers can choose where their resources physically run, balancing latency, cost, and data-residency requirements.
| Component | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Region | A physical geographic location containing multiple, isolated Availability Zones |
| Availability Zone (AZ) | One or more discrete data centers with independent power, cooling, and networking within a Region |
| Edge location | A site used by services like Amazon CloudFront to cache content closer to end users |
Ways to Access AWS
You'll interact with AWS in this course — and in the field — through more than one interface, covered in depth in later modules.
| Method | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| AWS Management Console | Browser-based graphical interface for exploring and configuring services |
| AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) | Scriptable, text-based access from a terminal |
| AWS Software Development Kits (SDKs) | Programmatic access from application code in languages like Python and Java |
| Infrastructure as code (e.g. AWS CloudFormation) | Declarative templates that provision and manage resources repeatably |
How This Course Is Organized
CLD110 builds skills roughly in the order the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) exam guide expects them, moving from core concepts outward to the services that implement them.
- Cloud concepts — cloud computing fundamentals, the AWS global infrastructure, and the Well-Architected Framework (Modules 1–2)
- Core compute and storage — Amazon EC2, Elastic Beanstalk, Lambda, and storage services like Amazon S3 and Amazon EBS (Modules 3–5)
- Security and identity — the shared responsibility model, AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), and compliance (Module 6)
- Networking and content delivery — Amazon VPC, routing, and Amazon CloudFront (Modules 7–8)
How This Course Is Organized (cont.)
- Databases — Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, and choosing the right database service (Module 9)
- Monitoring, elasticity, and management tools — Amazon CloudWatch, Auto Scaling, and AWS management/governance tools (Modules 10–12)
- Pricing, billing, and support — the AWS Pricing Calculator, Billing Console, and AWS Support plans (Module 13)
- Migration and innovation — the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework, migration strategies, and a survey of emerging services (Module 14)
Key Terms (1 of 2)
- cloud computing
- On-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing
- AWS
- Amazon Web Services; a comprehensive cloud computing platform offering IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS products
- Region
- A physical geographic location containing multiple isolated Availability Zones
- Availability Zone (AZ)
- One or more discrete data centers with independent power, cooling, and networking within a Region
Key Terms (2 of 2)
- IaaS
- Infrastructure as a Service; the customer manages the OS, runtime, applications, and data
- PaaS
- Platform as a Service; the customer manages only applications and data
- SaaS
- Software as a Service; the customer manages only configuration and data
- shared responsibility model
- The division of security duties between AWS (security of the cloud) and the customer (security in the cloud)
Review Questions
- What is the difference between capital expenditure (CapEx) and operational expenditure (OpEx), and how does cloud computing shift an organization from one to the other?
- What does AWS offer that distinguishes IaaS from PaaS and SaaS?
- What is the relationship between a Region and an Availability Zone?
- Under the shared responsibility model, what does AWS secure, and what does the customer secure?
Review Questions (cont.)
- What is the difference between a cloud, on-premises, and hybrid deployment model?
- Why might an organization choose the AWS Management Console over the AWS CLI, or vice versa?
- Broadly, in what order does this course move through its topics, from Module 2 through Module 14?
CLD110 AWS Academy Cloud Foundations · Module 1 · Introduction to Cloud Computing and AWS · Aligned to AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) · For instructional use · Mesa Community College