Security, Automation and Optimization on AWS
Security, Automation and Optimization on AWS
This course is part of AWS Certified Solutions Architect SAA-C03 with Capstone Labs Specialization
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What you'll learn
Automate AWS infrastructure with CloudFormation and deploy resources like EC2 and VPC.
Secure your AWS environment using tools like KMS, WAF, Shield, and GuardDuty.
Monitor resources and optimize costs with CloudWatch, CloudTrail, and AWS Cost Explorer.
Skills you'll gain
Details to know
May 2026
8 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 course equips you with the skills needed to automate infrastructure, optimize security, and manage resources effectively using AWS services. Starting with AWS CloudFormation, you'll learn how to automate infrastructure deployments and manage resources at scale. The course includes hands-on labs that will help you work with EC2, VPC, and security groups, along with complex tasks like cross-stack references and nested stacks. Additionally, you’ll explore AWS security tools such as AWS KMS, WAF, and GuardDuty to ensure secure operations in your cloud environment. You’ll also get familiar with monitoring and governance using tools like AWS CloudWatch, CloudTrail, and AWS Config, enabling you to track your AWS resources and automate management. Finally, you'll dive into machine learning and AI tools like Amazon Rekognition and SageMaker, gaining insights into how AWS enables intelligent applications. The course culminates with optimizing cost management using AWS Cost Explorer, Budgets, and AWS License Manager. This course is designed for cloud engineers, IT professionals, and developers who want to enhance their knowledge of AWS automation, security, and resource management. If you have experience with AWS or cloud computing, this intermediate-level course will deepen your understanding and enable you to optimize AWS infrastructure efficiently. By the end of the course, you will be able to automate infrastructure deployments with CloudFormation, secure your AWS environment with built-in security tools, manage costs effectively, and use AWS machine learning services to build intelligent applications.
In this module, we will explore AWS CloudFormation, a powerful tool for automating and managing infrastructure as code. You will learn how to deploy resources like EC2 instances, VPCs, and load balancers using CloudFormation, and leverage advanced techniques for better stack management. Hands-on labs will help you practice real-world automation tasks to streamline your infrastructure deployment.
What's included
20 videos2 readings1 assignment
20 videos•Total 224 minutes
- Introduction to AWS CloudFormation•12 minutes
- LAB - Deploy EC2 Instance with CloudFormation•10 minutes
- LAB - AWS CloudFormation Change Sets•9 minutes
- AWS CloudFormation Template Anatomy•13 minutes
- LAB - AWS CloudFormation Metadata and CFN-INIT•16 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 1 - VPC•29 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 2 - Internet Gateway•6 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 3 - Subnets•17 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 4 - Public Route Table•12 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 5 - NAT Gateways•9 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 6 - Private Route Table•7 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 7 - Security Groups•7 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 8 - Outputs•11 minutes
- LAB - Deploy VPC using CloudFormation Part 9 - Deployment•8 minutes
- LAB - AWS CloudFormation Cross Stack References - Load Balancers•14 minutes
- LAB - AWS CloudFormation Cross Stack References - ASG and EC2•13 minutes
- LAB - AWS CloudFormation Cross Stack References - Project Cleanup•2 minutes
- LAB - AWS CloudFormation Nested Stacks•21 minutes
- AWS CloudFormation Stack Sets•2 minutes
- AWS CloudFormation - Additional Policies•6 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
- Introduction to the Course 'Security, Automation and Optimization on AWS'•10 minutes
- Full Specialization Resource•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- Automation on AWS - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will guide you through AWS’s suite of security tools, designed to protect your resources, applications, and data. You will learn to use AWS KMS for encryption, AWS WAF and Shield for application protection, and GuardDuty for continuous threat monitoring. The module also covers services like Amazon Macie and Inspector for sensitive data management and vulnerability analysis.
What's included
10 videos1 assignment
10 videos•Total 50 minutes
- AWS KMS Revisited•10 minutes
- LAB - AWS KMS Demo•8 minutes
- AWS CloudHSM•4 minutes
- Introduction to AWS WAF•6 minutes
- Introduction to AWS Shield•4 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Firewall Manager•3 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon GuardDuty•2 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Inspector•4 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Macie•4 minutes
- AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- AWS Security Tools and Services - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will dive into AWS’s management and governance tools. You’ll learn how to use AWS Systems Manager for automation and configuration management, while Amazon CloudWatch and CloudTrail provide the monitoring and logging solutions needed for operational excellence. Additionally, you will discover how AWS Config and Trusted Advisor can help ensure compliance and optimize resource management.
What's included
16 videos1 assignment
16 videos•Total 224 minutes
- AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store•9 minutes
- LAB - AWS SSM Parameter Store Demo•15 minutes
- Introduction to CloudWatch•24 minutes
- LAB - Amazon CloudWatch Demo•16 minutes
- LAB - Amazon CloudWatch Alarm Demo•11 minutes
- Custom Logging and Metrics with CloudWatch Agent•7 minutes
- LAB - Custom Logging and Metrics with CloudWatch Agent Demo•21 minutes
- LAB - Amazon CloudWatch Logs Live Tail Demo•4 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon CloudTrail•8 minutes
- LAB - Amazon CloudTrail Demo•3 minutes
- LAB - AWS SSM Run Command Demo•23 minutes
- LAB - AWS SSM Session Manager Deep Dive Part 1•25 minutes
- LAB - AWS SSM Session Manager Deep Dive Part 2•29 minutes
- Introduction to AWS Config•6 minutes
- LAB - AWS Config Demo•16 minutes
- AWS Trusted Advisor•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- Management and Governance on AWS - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will introduce you to AWS’s machine learning services, covering a range of tools to add AI capabilities to your applications. You will learn to integrate Amazon Rekognition for image and video analysis, Polly for text-to-speech, and Amazon Transcribe for speech-to-text. Additionally, we will guide you through building, training, and deploying machine learning models using Amazon SageMaker, and creating personalized user experiences with Amazon Personalize and Lex.
What's included
10 videos1 assignment
10 videos•Total 29 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Rekognition•3 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Polly•1 minute
- Introduction to Amazon Transcribe•4 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Translate•2 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Textract•2 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Comprehend•5 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Kendra•3 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Lex•4 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon Personalize•2 minutes
- Introduction to Amazon SageMaker AI•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- Machine Learning on AWS - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will focus on AWS's billing, pricing, and cost optimization tools. You’ll learn to use AWS Cost Explorer and Budgets for managing and tracking your spending, while AWS Cost Allocation Tags help you organize and allocate costs across your environment. We’ll also explore AWS License Manager to help optimize and manage your software licenses.
What's included
5 videos1 assignment
5 videos•Total 17 minutes
- AWS Cost Explorer•6 minutes
- AWS Cost Allocation Tags•2 minutes
- AWS Budgets•4 minutes
- AWS Resource Access Manager•2 minutes
- AWS License Manager•2 minutes
1 assignment•Total 15 minutes
- Billing and Pricing and Other Services - Assessment•15 minutes
In this module, we will introduce the AWS Well-Architected Framework, which provides a set of best practices for designing secure, reliable, and efficient cloud architectures. You’ll learn to use the AWS Well-Architected Tool to evaluate and improve your workloads, ensuring they adhere to AWS’s guidelines for optimal performance and cost management.
What's included
2 videos1 reading3 assignments
2 videos•Total 28 minutes
- AWS Well-Architected Framework•21 minutes
- AWS Well-Architected Tool•8 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
- Conclusion to the Course 'Security, Automation and Optimization on AWS'•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- AWS Well-Architected Framework - Assessment•15 minutes
- Full Course Practice Assessment•15 minutes
- Full Course Assessment•60 minutes
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Frequently asked questions
Security, Automation, and Optimization on AWS is a specialization designed to teach how to secure AWS environments, automate workflows, and optimize resource usage. It is relevant because modern cloud architectures demand robust security measures, automated management, and cost-efficient resource utilization. This specialization equips learners with the tools and knowledge to maintain secure and high-performing environments on AWS while automating repetitive tasks and optimizing costs.
This specialization covers key AWS services for automating resource deployment, managing security, and optimizing cloud costs. You will learn about AWS CloudFormation for automating infrastructure, AWS security tools like KMS, WAF, Shield, and GuardDuty, and how to use monitoring and management tools like CloudWatch, CloudTrail, and Systems Manager. The specialization also explores cost optimization practices through tools like AWS Cost Explorer, Budgets, and the AWS Well-Architected Framework to ensure efficient resource usage.
Upon completing this specialization, you will be able to automate the deployment of AWS resources using CloudFormation, configure security measures with AWS tools, and implement best practices for managing AWS infrastructure. You will also gain the skills to monitor AWS environments, troubleshoot security issues, automate administrative tasks, and optimize AWS costs using the built-in AWS tools for financial management.
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Financial aid available,