AWS Cloud Fundamentals & Solutions Architect: Complete Course (2026)
Master AWS from scratch and prepare for the Solutions Architect Associate exam. 10 lessons covering EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS, Auto Scaling, and Well-Architected patterns.
Amazon Web Services is the world's leading cloud platform — used by startups, enterprises, and governments to run everything from static websites to global-scale machine learning pipelines. The AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) certification is one of the most recognised and in-demand credentials in the industry.
This course teaches you AWS from the ground up, building practical skills alongside the architectural knowledge that the certification validates.
What You'll Learn
| Lesson | Topic | What You'll Build |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What Is Cloud Computing & AWS | AWS account + first service exploration |
| 2 | AWS Global Infrastructure | Multi-region architecture awareness |
| 3 | AWS IAM | Secure users, roles, and policies |
| 4 | Amazon EC2 | Launch and configure a virtual server |
| 5 | Amazon S3 | Host static content + lifecycle policies |
| 6 | AWS VPC & Networking | Isolated network with public/private subnets |
| 7 | AWS Databases | RDS instance + DynamoDB table |
| 8 | High Availability & Auto Scaling | Load-balanced, auto-scaling application |
| 9 | Solutions Architect Patterns | Well-Architected reference architectures |
| 10 | SAA-C03 Exam Guide | Full exam preparation strategy |
Who This Course Is For
This course is designed for developers who deploy to AWS and want to understand the infrastructure beneath their code, DevOps and platform engineers broadening their cloud knowledge, IT professionals transitioning from on-premises to cloud, and anyone preparing for the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) certification.
You need basic technical literacy — understanding what a server, database, and network are at a high level. No prior AWS experience is required.
Prerequisites
- Basic understanding of networking concepts (IP addresses, ports, DNS)
- An AWS account — sign up at aws.amazon.com (a free tier account is sufficient for all lessons)
- Comfort with the command line (for optional CLI sections)
Course Structure
Part 1: AWS Foundations (Lessons 1–5)
Build a solid understanding of the core AWS services that appear in virtually every architecture — how cloud computing works and why AWS dominates, the global infrastructure that makes AWS resilient, Identity and Access Management as the security foundation, EC2 virtual servers, and S3 as the most versatile storage service on the planet.
Start with Lesson 1: What Is Cloud Computing
Part 2: Architecture & Exam Readiness (Lessons 6–10)
Move from individual services to architectural thinking — VPCs and networking, database services, high availability and auto scaling, Solutions Architect patterns with the Well-Architected Framework, and SAA-C03 exam strategy.
Jump to Lesson 9: Solutions Architect Patterns
Tools and Account Setup
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| AWS Console | Web-based GUI for all services |
| AWS CLI v2 | Command-line access to AWS APIs |
| AWS Free Tier | 12-month free access to core services |
| IAM Identity Center | SSO and credential management (recommended) |
Cost warning: This course can be completed almost entirely within the AWS Free Tier. Always terminate EC2 instances and RDS databases when not in use. We highlight any resources that incur costs.
Part of the AWS Cloud Fundamentals course.