I. Overview:

This course teaches cloud operators and anyone performing systems operations functions how to manage and operate automatable and repeatable deployments of networks and systems on AWS. You will learn about cloud operations functions such as installing, configuring, automating, monitoring, securing, maintaining, and troubleshooting these services, networks, and systems. The course also covers specific AWS features, tools, and best practices related to these functions.

II. Duration: 24 hours (3 days)

III. Objectives:

• Identify the AWS services that support the different phases of Operational Excellence, a Well-Architected Framework pillar
• Mange access to AWS resources using AWS accounts and organizations and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• Maintain an inventory of in-use AWS resources by using AWS services such as AWS Systems Manager, AWS CloudTrail, and AWS Config
• Develop a resource deployment strategy using metadata tags, Amazon Machine Images (AMI), and AWS Control Tower to deploy and maintain an AWS cloud environment
• Automate resource deployment by using AWS services such as AWS CloudFormation and AWS Service Catalog
• Use AWS services to manage AWS resources through CloudOps lifecycle processes such as deployments and patches
• Configure a highly available cloud environment that uses AWS services such as Amazon Route 53 and Elastic Load Balancing to route traffic for optimal latency and performance
• Configure AWS Auto Scaling and Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling to scale out your cloud environment based on demand
• Use Amazon CloudWatch and associated features, such as alarms, dashboards, and widgets, to monitor your cloud environment
• Manage permissions and track activity in your cloud environment by using AWS services such as AWS CloudTrail and AWS Config
• Deploy your resources to an Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC), establish necessary connectivity to your Amazon VPC, and protect your resources from disruptions of service
• State the purpose, benefits, and appropriate use cases for mountable storage in your AWS cloud environment
• Explain the operational characteristics of object storage in the AWS Cloud, including Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and Amazon S3 Glacier
• Build a comprehensive cost model to help gather, optimize, and predict your cloud costs by using services such as AWS Cost Explorer and the AWS Cost & Usage Report

IV. Intended Audience:

• Systems administrators and operators who are operating in the AWS Cloud.
• Informational technology workers who want to increase their system operations knowledge.

V. Prerequisites:

We recommend that attendees of this course have:

• Completed AWS Cloud Technical Essentials
• Background in software development or systems administration
• Proficiency in maintaining operating systems at the command line, such as shell scripting in Linux environments or cmd/PowerShell in Windows
• Basic knowledge of networking protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP).

VI. Course outlines:

1. Module 1: Introduction to Cloud Operations on AWS

• Overview
• Cloud Operations
• AWS Well-Architected Framework
• AWS Well-Architected Tool
• Knowledge Check

2. Module 2: Access Management

• Overview
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Best Practices for IAM
• Resources, Accounts, and AWS Organizations
• Knowledge Check

3. Module 3: System Discovery

• Overview
• Interacting with AWS Services
• AWS Systems Manager Session Manager
• Automation Tools
• Knowledge Check
• Lab 1 - Auditing AWS resources with AWS Systems Manager and AWS Config

4. Module 4: Deploy and Update Resources

• Overview
• Cloud Operations in Deployments
• Development of a Tagging Strategy
• Deployment Using AMIs
• Multi-account Deployment Using AWS Control Tower
• Knowledge Check

5. Module 5: Automate Resource Deployment

• Overview
• Deployment Automation
• Demo: AWS CloudFormation
• AWS CloudFormation Templates
• Efficiency Tools
• Best Practices
• Deployment using AWS Service Catalog
• Knowledge Check
• Lab 2 - Infrastructure as Code

6. Module 6: Manage Resources

• Overview
• AWS Systems Manager
• Operations Management
• Application Management
• Change Management
• Automation Management
• Demo: AWS Systems Manager
• Troubleshooting
• Knowledge Check
• Lab 3 - Operations as Code

7. Module 7: Configure Highly Available Systems

• Overview
• Elastic Load Balancing
• Amazon Route 53
• Knowledge Check

8. Module 8: Automate Scaling

• Overview
• Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling
• Launch Templates and Launch Configurations
• Scaling Policies
• Demo: Auto Scaling
• Auto Scaling with Spot Instances
• Troubleshooting
• Knowledge Check

9. Module 9: Monitor and Maintain System Health

• Overview
• Monitoring and Maintaining Healthy Workloads
• Demo: Create a CloudWatch Alarm
• Detailed Monitoring
• CloudWatch Logs and Events
• Monitoring AWS Infrastructure
• Knowledge Check
• Lab 4 - Monitor Applications and Infrastructure

10. Module 10: Data Security and System Auditing

• Overview
• Permissions Management
• Detection and Auditing
• AWS Config and Amazon GuardDuty
• Incident Response and Automated Remediation
• Troubleshooting
• Knowledge Check

11. Module 11: Operate Secure and Resilient Networks

• Overview
• Layered Networking for VPCs
• Amazon VPC: Networking Components
• Connecting your VPC to other Networks
• Networking Beyond the VPC
• AWS Certificate Manager
• Knowledge Check

12. Module 12: Mountable Storage

• Overview
• Instance Store
• Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)
• Monitoring EBS Volumes
• Shared File System Storage
• Knowledge Check
• Lab 5 - Automating Data Snapshots for Archiving and Data Recovery

13. Module 13: Object Storage

• Overview
• Deploying Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3)
• Demo: Amazon S3 Versioning
• Amazon S3 Tiers and Lifecycle Rules
• Knowledge Check

14. Module 14: Cost Reporting, Alerts, and Optimization

• Overview
• Cost Management
• Cost Control Mechanisms
• Resource Cost Optimization
• Knowledge Check
• Lab 6 - Capstone Lab