Introduction to AWS for Beginners

Chapter 1: Understanding Cloud Computing and AWS Fundamentals

🌐 What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing refers to the on-demand delivery of IT resources—like servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics—over the internet, with pay-as-you-go pricing.

Instead of buying, owning, and maintaining physical data centers and servers, you can access technology services (such as computing power, storage, and databases) on an as-needed basis from a cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS).

🔍 Characteristics of Cloud Computing

• On-Demand Self-Service – Provision computing resources automatically
• Broad Network Access – Accessible over the internet from anywhere
• Resource Pooling – Shared resources across multiple customers
• Rapid Elasticity – Scale up or down quickly to meet demand
• Measured Service – Pay only for what you use

☁️ Types of Cloud Services (Cloud Models)

☁️ Types of Cloud Deployment Models

🚀 Introduction to AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon that offers reliable, scalable, and cost-effective cloud computing solutions. It launched in 2006, and today it powers startups, enterprises, and government projects globally.

🔧 What Makes AWS Popular?

• Most mature and widely adopted cloud platform
• Over 200 fully featured services available globally
• Trusted by major companies like Netflix, NASA, Airbnb, and Amazon itself
• Free Tier available for learning and prototyping

🗂️ Categories of AWS Services (Overview)

🔐 AWS Shared Responsibility Model

AWS secures the cloud infrastructure, while you’re responsible for what you put in the cloud.

📊 Global Infrastructure of AWS

🌎 Example:

• Region: us-west-1 (Northern California)
• Availability Zones: us-west-1a, us-west-1b
• Edge Locations: CloudFront CDN nodes in global cities

🧪 Creating an AWS Free Tier Account

1. Visit https://aws.amazon.com/free
2. Click Create a Free Account
3. Provide:
• Email and password
• Payment information (for identity validation)
• Phone verification
4. Choose Basic Plan
5. Access the AWS Management Console

🆓 What’s in the AWS Free Tier?

🧭 Navigating the AWS Management Console

The console is the web-based UI for managing AWS services. Key features include:

• Search Bar: Find any service
• Pinned Services: Create shortcuts
• Dashboard: View billing, limits, and alerts
• Service Navigation: Categorized by Compute, Storage, etc.

💻 Intro to AWS CLI (Command Line Interface)

While most beginners use the AWS Console, you can also manage AWS resources via AWS CLI.

✅ Install CLI

bash

brew install awscli        # macOS

sudo apt install awscli    # Ubuntu/Debian

✅ Configure CLI

bash

aws configure

# Enter your AWS Access Key, Secret Key, Region, and Output Format

✅ Example Command

bash

aws s3 ls

# Lists all your S3 buckets

⚠️ Best Practices for Beginners

• Set up IAM users instead of using the root account
• Enable MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) for security
• Use billing alerts to avoid surprises
• Tag your resources for easy tracking
• Always stop or delete unused instances to avoid charges

📚 Summary Table – AWS Core Concepts

🏁 Final Thoughts

Congratulations! By now, you understand what AWS is, how cloud computing works, and how to create and navigate your AWS account. You're ready to start launching services and building in the cloud.

In the next chapter, we’ll dive deeper into Core AWS Services like EC2, S3, and RDS—and how to use them for real-world applications.