Jon Baleva Jan 25, 2024
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What is AWS: Introduction to Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the leading cloud platform, needs no introduction. Its popularity gained through the years explains how AWS is the world’s most comprehensive, leading, and broadly adopted cloud service provider. It possesses the largest community of customers who avail every imaginable use case on AWS. 

Millions of customers, including start-ups, large organisations, and even government agencies, utilise AWS to innovate, grow and become more flexible faster. The sophisticated services provide flexibility, security, scalability, and reliability with the most extensive cloud infrastructure. 

Many companies like Netflix, ESPN, Twitch, LinkedIn, Facebook, BBC, and much more use AWS Services. Storage is not the only service provided by AWS; there is so much more to it. Let’s have a look at what cloud computing is and then dive down to the applications and services of AWS.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud Computing is the delivery of on-demand computing or IT services such as storage, databases, networking, servers, computing power, and so on. As a result, many organisations turn to cloud computing to lower operating costs, increase productivity, ease disaster recovery, strengthen security, and improve performance. 

Cloud Computing provides three broad categories of services. They are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (Paas), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Software vendors offer these services over the internet on a pay-as-you-go basis. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one such cloud provider. It helps firms to access and store their data from anywhere across the globe. 

What is AWS?

Amazon Web Services or AWS is an evolving cloud platform provided by Amazon that offers flexible, reliable, easy-to-use, cost-effective cloud computing services. Millions of users rely on AWS infrastructure technologies like storage and databases and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and analytics. 

AWS offers different tools and solutions to enterprises in over 190 countries. The leading cloud platform provides over 200 fully-featured services, and that list scales an accelerated growth.

History of AWS

The origins of AWS as a developer tool is traced back to the year 2002 when Amazon first released its first beta test. It opened up a door for developers to embrace the potential of developer-friendly tools. In 2004, the company launched its first product Simple Queue Service (SQS). It facilitated sending of messages online between consumers and companies. 

In the year 2006, AWS officially launched its products. They offered SImple Storage Service (S3) and Elastic Compute Cloud (E2C) with Simple Queue Service (SQS). In 2007 over 180,000 developers signed for AWS, and by 2009 they launched the Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), which allows customers to create their isolated network within the AWS cloud. 

By 2012, AWS hosted their first customer event known as Re: Invent Conference. It became an annual event that attracted over 30,000 people with local events in different regions across the globe. They continued to expand their areas to the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. 

In 2016, AWS surpassed the $10 Billion revenue target and launched AWS Snowball and AWS Snowmobile. The immense growth and success projected as they released a host of Artificial Intelligence Services that doubled their revenue and reached $27 Billion per annum. 

The AWS of today has more than 100 cloud services, constantly providing the best to every business needs. In addition, they are continually updating and developing new services to keep their consumers at the forefront of cloud computing. 

Applications of AWS

AWS provides numerous applications to business organizations to run every imaginable use case. Their products help firms to innovate and grow faster at low costs. Some of the most common applications of AWS are given below:

  • Storage and backup
  • Mobile, Web, and Social Applications
  • Websites
  • Enterprise IT
  • Gaming 
  • Storage and backup

One of the most common applications is Amazon’s cloud storage. It is a beneficial service as it offers multiple types of storage choices. In addition, AWS backup enables you to centralise and automate data protection across their services. Business firms can use AWS to store critical data, and they will have easy access to it anywhere in the world. In addition, it can be used for file indexing and storage for a long time with high-performance applications. 

  • Mobile, Web, and Social Applications

AWS facilitates the launch and scaling of web applications, especially mobile, e-commerce and SaaS applications. Not many cloud services have the capability to do so. New applications are created on server-less platforms, and the API-driven code on AWS enables companies to build uncompromising scalable applications. 

  • Websites 

Similar to other web applications, AWS cloud enables organisations to host their websites. It is also great for hosting DNS, CDNs, and domains. 

  • Enterprise IT

Amazon Web Services offers a selection of application solutions that allows business firms to develop, test, and run secondary operations in the cloud. These applications for virtual desktop, document collaboration, corporate email, and calendar meet the consumers’ reliability expectations. 

  • Gaming 

AWS makes the online gaming experience easier as it reduces the power that goes into running gaming applications. In addition, it is readily available to the global gaming network to provide the best experience to gamers worldwide. 

What are AWS Services?

Amazon provides over 100 services of different ranges. Some of the commonly used broad set of global cloud-based products that offer AWS services are:

  • Compute services 
  • Network and Content Delivery 
  • Storage Services 
  • Databases 
  • Security, Identity and Compliance 

1.Compute services 

The compute domain services allow developers to build, scale and deploy applications in the cloud platform. It offers services related to computing workloads, and it includes the following services: 

  • AWS EC2
  • AWS Lambda
  • AWS Elastic Beanstalk 
  • AWS Lightsail 
  • AWS Fargate

2.Network and Content Delivery 

The network and content delivery domain allow consumers to isolate their cloud infrastructure, scale up the workload, and connect their physical network to personal private virtual networks. Some of the services it includes are: 

  • Amazon Route 53
  • Amazon CloudFront 
  • Amazon VPC 
  • AWS PrivateLink 
  • AWS Direct Connect 

3. Storage Services 

Amazon provides web storage services that also have the advantage of disaster data recovery. The storage domain includes services related to data storage like:

  • Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)
  • Amazon Elastic Block Store 
  • Amazon S3 Glacier 
  • Amazon Elastic File System 
  • AWS Storage Gateway

4.Databases 

The Amazon Database domain offers highly secure and scalable database services in the cloud. Some of its services include: 

  • Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) 
  • Amazon Aurora 
  • Amazon DynamoDB
  • Amazon ElastiCache 
  • Amazon Neptune 

5.Security, Identity and Compliance 

The security, identity and compliance domain manages authenticity and protects your AWS resources. It consists of the following resources: 

  • AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management)
  • AWS KMS (Key Management Service) 
  • AWS Shield 
  • AWS Security Hub 
  • Amazon Cloud Directory 

AWS Exam Pattern 

Through various levels of AWS Certification, you can learn to build, secure, and deploy AWS services. AWS Exam helps aspiring cloud computing professionals to explore the opportunities in their AWS career. It patterns roles as an architect, cloud practitioner, developer, DevOps engineer, machine learning and operations. 

The passing score of the AWS certification exam differs with their levels. For example, 750 is the passing score for all Professional level and Specialty exams. For the Associate level exams, the passing score is 720 and for the Foundational level is 700. 

Regardless, in 2018 AWS announced a new pattern for AWS Certified Solutions Architect that they have included questions related to all recently launched services. It also states 65 questions to be attempted in 130 minutes and a passing score of 720 out of 1000.

Benefits of AWS Exam 

An AWS certified professional demonstrates the skill to design and manage software solutions. As candidates go through a comprehensive study guide and hands-on training, it reflects on the Benefits of the AWS Exam. The numerous advantages of the AWS certification are: 

  • Validation of skill and knowledge on a cloud computing platform 
  • New listing developing professional expertise 
  • Recognised as reliable and well-designed tech credentials 
  • Better opportunities and incentives in the field 
  • Enhanced digital badges that gain access to AWS-sponsored certification events 

Conclusion 

On a concluding note, we have realised the power of AWS and its services that hold the future of cloud technology. As we discussed cloud computing, AWS history and its services and application, we understood the potential it contains and how millions of people benefit from them. Moreover, its good services and opportunities open a gateway for all aspiring techs and users.

SENIOR TRAINER: NETWORKING AND PROGRAMMING

Jon Baleva is an IT professional with 20 years of experience in programming and networking. He is an expert in Python & IT Security domains as well as in Operating Systems (OS). He has trained professionals and students in IT Programming courses, Microsoft Azure, Linux   & MAC OS. He is also a writer who writes on tech-related topics for various tech magazines in Philippine. He is now an IT Trainer with Edoxi Training Institute, Dubai.

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