AWS Explained in 6 Minutes: Your Quick Start Guide!
You might be wondering how to get started with Amazon Web Services or how to familiarize yourself with the platform. Whatever the case may be, this article will give you the right start you need as an aspiring AWS enthusiast or expert. It is designed to help those with no understanding of cloud services by introducing them to Amazon Web Services, familiarizing them with the platform, its various service offerings, and ultimately providing the push needed to start a career as an AWS expert.
This article will give you a better understanding of Amazon Web Services. It will help you understand Amazon’s global infrastructure, the provisioning of AWS resources in different regions, and introduce you to some of the clients that use AWS. Additionally, you’ll learn about AWS service offerings and the service packages provided to clients. Finally, we’ll explore job opportunities in AWS, whether as a DevOps engineer or an AWS expert.
Amazon Web Services is essentially Amazon’s flagship cloud project that enables many companies to buy resources either as Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), or Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).
By this, I mean that companies looking for resources—whether physical hardware, software, or applications—don’t have to acquire these assets physically. Instead, they can utilize resources on-demand through AWS. For example, instead of purchasing a high-spec server with a specific configuration, a company can opt to create an Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance or a virtual machine on AWS to meet their needs.
Similarly, companies that need specific applications but don’t want the complexity of coding or infrastructure development from scratch can rely on AWS to provide ready-made services, which can be utilized on-demand. AWS also simplifies resource usage by reducing the need for server management, configuration, and hardware oversight. Instead, users can simply provision services and start using them instantly.
AWS offers a vast list of services, which continues to grow over time. These include services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) for virtual servers, Amazon S3 for storage, database services, serverless computing, networking, load balancing, and many more. These are just some of the services AWS provides, and you can explore and learn about them on your AWS journey.
Another noteworthy fact is that many major companies use AWS. Among these are Nokia, Netflix, NASDAQ, Expedia, Foursquare, Airbnb, and many others. For instance, when you stream a video on Netflix, AWS is behind the scenes storing and streaming that video through its infrastructure.
AWS also offers certifications that can help you secure your first job. These certifications range from foundational certifications like AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner to associate, professional, and specialty certifications. You can find the link to explore all AWS certifications in the description. These certifications are an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise and get started in the field.
Moreover, AWS provides a free tier account that allows you to use its services for free for 12 months. This is a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with AWS, practice on the platform, and understand its offerings. In this video, I’ll also guide you through creating your first free-tier account, which you can use to practice AWS services.
Additionally, AWS offers the Cloud Practitioner Essentials course, which introduces you to the core concepts of AWS, including its global infrastructure, storage systems, and other service offerings. This course is a great resource for beginners.
This concludes a brief summary of Amazon Web Services. You can check out our other articles for more information on AWS and cloud computing.