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Back to SAA-C03 Exam

This study plan provides a comprehensive structure for mastering the key content of the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) exam. By focusing on the most important concepts within each domain, you’ll develop the skills needed to design secure, resilient, high-performance, and cost-optimized architectures.

Study Plan Overview

  • Duration: 6 weeks
  • Daily Time Commitment: 2-3 hours
  • Primary Goal: Develop a deep understanding of AWS services and architecture principles to confidently pass the SAA-C03 exam.
  • Outcome: Master AWS core domains with practice and hands-on labs.

Week 1: Design Secure Architectures (30%)

Objective: Understand how to secure AWS services using access controls, encryption, and network policies.

Key Topics:

  • IAM (Identity and Access Management):

    • Create users, groups, and roles.
    • Write and assign JSON policies following least privilege principles.
    • Understand temporary credentials through roles for EC2 and Lambda.

  • Encryption:

    • Use AWS KMS to encrypt data at rest and in transit.
    • Enable encryption for services like S3 and EBS.

  • Network Security:

    • Configure security groups and Network ACLs (Access Control Lists).
    • Design isolated networks with VPC and subnet segmentation.

  • Multi-Account Management:

    • Apply AWS Organizations for centralized governance.
    • Use Service Control Policies (SCPs) to enforce rules across accounts.

Hands-on Tasks:

  • Create IAM roles and experiment with permissions.
  • Set up an encrypted S3 bucket with KMS.
  • Build a VPC with public and private subnets, and configure security groups.

Week 2: Design Resilient Architectures (26%)

Objective: Learn to build fault-tolerant, highly available systems.

Key Topics:

  • Multi-AZ Configurations:

    • Use RDS or DynamoDB Multi-AZ setups for high availability.

  • Load Balancing with ELB:

    • Implement Application Load Balancer (ALB) for web traffic.
    • Use health checks to keep traffic routed to healthy instances.

  • Auto Scaling:

    • Set up Auto Scaling groups to adjust the number of instances based on demand.

  • Disaster Recovery (DR):

    • Configure automated backups with AWS Backup.
    • Use S3 Glacier for long-term archival storage.

Hands-on Tasks:

  • Configure RDS with Multi-AZ.
  • Create an Auto Scaling group and simulate load changes.
  • Set up AWS Backup for an RDS instance and test data recovery.

Week 3: Design High-Performance Architectures (24%)

Objective: Ensure AWS solutions meet performance requirements by optimizing compute, storage, and network resources.

Key Topics:

  • Compute Optimization:

    • Choose appropriate EC2 instance types (compute-optimized vs memory-optimized).
    • Use Elastic Beanstalk to deploy applications quickly.

  • Storage Performance:

    • Use EBS for low-latency block storage and EFS for shared storage.
    • Implement S3 lifecycle policies to manage infrequently accessed data.

  • Database Tuning:

    • Use read replicas for RDS to offload traffic from the main database.
    • Implement DAX (DynamoDB Accelerator) to speed up queries.

  • Network Optimization:

    • Configure CloudFront as a CDN to reduce latency.
    • Use AWS Global Accelerator to optimize global access paths.

Hands-on Tasks:

  • Launch EC2 instances of different types and monitor performance.
  • Configure an RDS read replica.
  • Set up a CloudFront distribution to serve content from an S3 bucket.

Week 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures (20%)

Objective: Learn to reduce AWS costs without compromising performance.

Key Topics:

  • AWS Pricing Models:

    • Understand On-Demand, Reserved, and Spot Instances.
    • Use Savings Plans to reduce compute costs.

  • Storage Optimization:

    • Configure S3 lifecycle policies to archive old data to Glacier.

  • Cost Monitoring:

    • Set up AWS Budgets to track expenses and receive alerts.
    • Use Cost Explorer to visualize usage patterns.

  • Savings Plans:

    • Learn to apply Savings Plans based on forecasted workloads.

Hands-on Tasks:

  • Experiment with Spot Instances for batch workloads.
  • Create a Savings Plan and calculate potential savings using the AWS Pricing Calculator.
  • Set a budget in AWS Budgets and track your spending.

Week 5: Review and Hands-on Practice

Objective: Solidify knowledge with mock exams, hands-on labs, and revisiting difficult topics.

  • Day 1-2: Take full-length mock exams and analyze results.
  • Day 3: Review key topics from Week 1 and Week 2.
  • Day 4: Focus on Week 3 and Week 4 topics with hands-on labs.
  • Day 5: Take another mock exam and improve on weak areas.

Week 6: Final Review and Exam Readiness

Objective: Ensure confidence before the exam day.

  • Day 1-2: Review AWS services like IAM, RDS, Auto Scaling, S3, and CloudFront.
  • Day 3: Complete a final mock exam under timed conditions.
  • Day 4: Relax and revise flashcards for quick memory refresh.

Additional Learning Tools and Resources

  • AWS Skill Builder: Access official AWS practice questions.
  • Whizlabs/Tutorials Dojo: Practice exams to simulate real test conditions.
  • AWS Free Tier: Use the free tier to experiment without incurring costs.
  • AWS Well-Architected Framework: Understand AWS best practices for architecture design.

Conclusion

By following this plan, you’ll gain both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, ensuring comprehensive preparation for the SAA-C03 exam. Prioritize hands-on learning alongside reviewing key concepts. With consistent effort over 6 weeks, you’ll be well-prepared to pass the exam and apply your knowledge to real-world AWS projects.