AWS Foundations and Core Services
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AWS Foundations and Core Services
This course is part of AWS Certified Solutions Architect SAA-C03 with Capstone Labs Specialization
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What you'll learn
Set up, secure, and manage an AWS account and core services (EC2, S3, VPC).
Understand and implement AWS security, IAM policies, and role management.
Gain hands-on experience with real-world cloud deployments through interactive labs.
Skills you'll gain
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May 2026
7 assignments
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There are 6 modules in this course
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A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. This comprehensive course is designed to equip you with the foundational knowledge and hands-on skills necessary for navigating AWS services effectively. You'll gain a deep understanding of AWS core offerings, from compute and storage to networking, security, and more. As you progress, you'll master the services and tools that AWS offers to help build scalable, reliable, and secure cloud architectures. Throughout the course, you will explore a range of topics beginning with setting up your AWS account, securing it with MFA, and progressing through the creation and management of core AWS resources. The course flows from foundational concepts to real-world applications, focusing on key AWS services such as EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, and RDS. You will also delve into more complex areas like AWS Organizations, Control Tower, and advanced IAM configurations. By the end, you’ll be proficient in utilizing AWS services to design and manage cloud solutions. This course is ideal for aspiring cloud professionals, system administrators, and those interested in pursuing AWS certifications. The content is suitable for beginners with some basic IT or cloud knowledge, and no prior experience with AWS is required. The course offers a mix of theoretical knowledge and practical labs to help solidify your learning. By the end of the course, you will be able to create and manage AWS resources, implement security best practices, optimize cloud solutions, and use AWS tools to architect scalable infrastructures.
In this module, we will introduce the course structure, outlining key learning objectives to prepare you for the AWS Solutions Architect exam. You will also learn how to download course materials, create an AWS account, and secure it with MFA for enhanced protection. Additional hands-on exercises will earn you AWS credits while deploying key services.
What's included
15 videos2 readings
15 videos•Total 100 minutes
- Introduction to the Course•5 minutes
- Course Downloads•6 minutes
- How is this Course Structured•7 minutes
- Pre-requisites and tools for the course•4 minutes
- The All New AWS Free Tier - Free and Paid Plans•11 minutes
- Create Your First AWS Account - Development Account•7 minutes
- Protect Your AWS Account with MFA•5 minutes
- Earn Extra Credits - Launch EC2 Instance•13 minutes
- Earn Extra Credits - Launch RDS Database•6 minutes
- Earn Extra Credits - Deploy WebApp with Lambda•6 minutes
- Earn Extra Credits - Amazon Bedrock•3 minutes
- Earn Extra Credits - AWS Budgets•3 minutes
- Create AWS Management Account (Optional)•5 minutes
- The AWS Global Infrastructure•11 minutes
- AWS Support Plans•7 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
- Introduction to the Course 'AWS Foundations and Core Services'•10 minutes
- Full Specialization Resource•10 minutes
In this module, we will dive into AWS Organizations and its role in managing multiple AWS accounts efficiently. You’ll gain hands-on experience creating Organizational Units (OUs) and Service Control Policies (SCPs) to secure accounts. We will also introduce AWS Control Tower to simplify multi-account governance.
What's included
9 videos1 assignment
9 videos•Total 121 minutes
- AWS multi-account strategy•6 minutes
- Introduction to AWS Organizations•20 minutes
- Securing your AWS accounts with Service Control Policies (SCPs)•13 minutes
- LAB - Create AWS Organizations OUs and Accounts•10 minutes
- LAB - Create AWS Organizations SCPs•8 minutes
- LAB - AWS Organizations and Cross-Account Access•19 minutes
- Introduction to AWS Control Tower (Optional)•11 minutes
- LAB - Deploy Control Tower in Existing Organization Part 1 (Optional)•16 minutes
- LAB - Deploy Control Tower in Existing Organization Part 2 (Optional)•19 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- AWS Organizations, SCPs and Control Tower - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will explore AWS IAM, detailing how to set up users, groups, and roles to manage access control across AWS services. You’ll also learn how to create and test IAM policies, as well as configure IAM security tools for auditing and enforcing security best practices.
What's included
16 videos1 assignment
16 videos•Total 227 minutes
- Identity and Access Management Options on AWS•34 minutes
- IAM Root User•4 minutes
- LAB - IAM Password Policies•4 minutes
- LAB - IAM Groups and Users•9 minutes
- IAM Policies•26 minutes
- LAB - Create an IAM Policy•9 minutes
- LAB - Accessing AWS Account using the CLI•19 minutes
- IAM Permission Boundaries•22 minutes
- LAB - IAM Policy Simulator•6 minutes
- LAB - Create an IAM Role•19 minutes
- LAB - Resource-based Policies•12 minutes
- IAM Policy Evaluation Logic•10 minutes
- Service Linked Roles and PassRole•14 minutes
- LAB - Deploy AWS Identity Center•15 minutes
- AWS Directory Services•19 minutes
- AWS IAM Security Tools•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- AWS Identity and Access Management - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will introduce you to the foundational features of Amazon S3, including storage classes, object versioning, and replication. You will also learn how to optimize S3 performance and secure your data with encryption methods. The module concludes with a focus on extending your hybrid storage solutions using AWS Storage Gateway.
What's included
22 videos1 assignment
22 videos•Total 272 minutes
- Storage Options on AWS•9 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon S3•13 minutes
- Amazon S3 Storage Classes•23 minutes
- LAB - Create an Amazon S3 Bucket•14 minutes
- LAB - Amazon S3 Object Versioning•16 minutes
- LAB - Amazon S3 MFA Delete•15 minutes
- Amazon S3 Replication•12 minutes
- LAB - Configure Amazon S3 Replication•19 minutes
- Amazon S3 Performance•16 minutes
- Amazon S3 Lifecycle Management•13 minutes
- LAB - Amazon S3 Static Website Hosting•16 minutes
- LAB - Introduction to Cross Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)•22 minutes
- LAB - Amazon S3 Event Notification•15 minutes
- Amazon S3 Encryption•17 minutes
- Amazon S3 Encryption - More on KMS•8 minutes
- LAB - Testing Encryption Options for Amazon S3•9 minutes
- Amazon S3 Presigned URLs•6 minutes
- LAB - Amazon S3 Server Access Logs•9 minutes
- Amazon S3 Object Lock•7 minutes
- Amazon S3 and Glacier Select•3 minutes
- AWS Storage Gateway•8 minutes
- AWS Snowball•3 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- AWS Simple Storage Services (S3) and Storage Gateway - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will introduce Amazon VPC and guide you through setting up custom VPCs. You will learn essential network concepts such as IP addressing and subnetting, as well as configure critical VPC components to ensure seamless connectivity for your AWS resources.
What's included
26 videos1 assignment
26 videos•Total 377 minutes
- IP Addresses and Port Numbers Part 1•18 minutes
- IP Addresses and Port Numbers Part 2•12 minutes
- IP Addressing and Subnetting Part 1•12 minutes
- IP Addressing and Subnetting Part 2•31 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon VPC•13 minutes
- Custom VPCs on AWS•30 minutes
- LAB - Create a Custom VPC•13 minutes
- LAB - Adding Subnets to your VPC•25 minutes
- LAB - Create an Internet Gateway•9 minutes
- LAB - VPC Route Tables and Internet Access•15 minutes
- Introduction to NAT Gateways•23 minutes
- LAB - Create a NAT Gateway•6 minutes
- AWS Network Access Control Lists (NACLs)•15 minutes
- AWS Security Groups•14 minutes
- LAB - Configure Security Groups•9 minutes
- Introduction to VPC Peering•9 minutes
- LAB - Create VPC Peering Connections•28 minutes
- AWS Transit Gateway•8 minutes
- AWS VPC Endpoints•11 minutes
- LAB - Create VPC Endpoints - Interface and Gateway•21 minutes
- AWS Site-to-Site VPN•11 minutes
- AWS Client VPN•6 minutes
- AWS Direct Connect•7 minutes
- AWS Direct Connect Gateway•4 minutes
- AWS Egress Only Internet Gateway•6 minutes
- AWS VPC Flow Logs•18 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- AWS Networking Part 1 - Virtual Private Cloud (VPCs) - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will cover the essentials of Amazon EC2, explaining its various instance types and configurations. You will gain hands-on experience launching EC2 instances and managing storage with Amazon EBS. The module also introduces advanced storage and networking features to optimize your EC2 setup.
What's included
24 videos1 reading3 assignments
24 videos•Total 284 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon EC2•9 minutes
- All About EC2 Instance Types•8 minutes
- LAB - Launch an EC2 Instance•25 minutes
- LAB - Connecting to EC2 Instance in Private Subnet•9 minutes
- AWS EC2 Pricing Options•26 minutes
- AWS Elastic Block Store•7 minutes
- AWS EC2 Instance Store Volumes•5 minutes
- AWS EBS Volume Types Part 1•13 minutes
- AWS EBS Volume Types Part 2•5 minutes
- LAB - Working with EBS Volumes•33 minutes
- LAB - AWS EBS Encryption•9 minutes
- LAB - Create an AMI•15 minutes
- LAB - Launch an EC2 Instance using AMI and Scripts•16 minutes
- Introduction to AWS DLM•4 minutes
- Introduction to Elastic File System (EFS)•8 minutes
- LAB - Create an EFS File System•20 minutes
- Introduction to FSx for Windows File Server•8 minutes
- Introduction to FSx for Lustre•5 minutes
- LAB - Amazon EC2 Metadata and Userdata•22 minutes
- Amazon EC2 Placement Groups•10 minutes
- EC2 Networking Part 1•15 minutes
- EC2 Networking Part 2•5 minutes
- Amazon EC2 Hibernate•4 minutes
- Introduction to AWS Batch•3 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
- Conclusion to the Course 'AWS Foundations and Core Services'•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) - Assessment•15 minutes
- Full Course Assessment•60 minutes
- Full Course Practice Assessment•15 minutes
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Frequently asked questions
AWS Foundations and Core Services is a comprehensive specialization designed to introduce you to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its foundational cloud concepts. It is relevant because AWS is a leading cloud platform used by millions of companies worldwide, and understanding its core services is crucial for cloud architects, developers, and IT professionals. The specialization ensures you have the necessary knowledge to deploy, manage, and secure applications on AWS.
This specialization provides an in-depth understanding of AWS’s core services and infrastructure. It covers key topics like AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), Amazon EC2, Amazon S3, VPCs, AWS Organizations, and more. Through practical labs and video tutorials, it prepares learners for the AWS Solutions Architect exam by giving them hands-on experience with essential AWS tools and services.
After completing this specialization, you will be able to confidently work with AWS foundational services. You will have the skills to set up AWS accounts, deploy virtual machines, configure networking, manage storage solutions, and secure your environment with IAM. You will also be prepared to take the AWS Solutions Architect exam and start building scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud architectures using AWS.
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