AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) ToC

✅ AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) - Table of Contents

1. Introduction

  • About the SAA-C03 exam
  • Target audience and prerequisites
  • Exam overview (format, duration, passing score)
  • Study resources and preparation tips

2. Domain 1: Design Secure Architectures (30%)

  • IAM (Users, Roles, Groups, Policies)
  • IAM Permissions boundaries and session policies
  • Resource-based vs Identity-based policies
  • AWS Organizations, SCPs, and account structure
  • Encryption and Data Protection
    • AWS KMS, S3 encryption, EBS encryption
    • Secrets Manager & Systems Manager Parameter Store
  • Secure Network Architecture
    • VPC, Security Groups, NACLs
    • PrivateLink, VPC Peering, VPN, Direct Connect

3. Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures (26%)

  • High Availability and Fault Tolerance
    • Multi-AZ, Multi-Region design patterns
  • Load Balancing
    • ALB, NLB, CLB use cases
  • Auto Scaling and Elasticity
  • DNS-based Failover (Route 53)
  • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • Backup policies, AWS Backup
    • DR strategies: Pilot light, Warm standby, Active-active

4. Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures (24%)

  • Storage Optimization
    • S3 Storage Classes (Standard, IA, Glacier)
    • EBS, EFS, FSx
  • Compute Optimization
    • EC2 instance types and performance tuning
    • Lambda, Fargate, ECS, EKS
    • Placement groups
  • Database Selection and Performance
    • RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift
    • Read Replicas, Global Tables, ElastiCache
  • Content Delivery and Caching
    • CloudFront, API Gateway caching

5. Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures (20%)

  • Resource Right-Sizing
  • Pricing Models
    • On-Demand, Reserved, Spot Instances, Savings Plans
  • Cost Management Tools
    • AWS Budgets, Cost Explorer, Trusted Advisor
  • Cost-Effective Storage and Data Transfer

6. AWS Well-Architected Framework

  • Pillars of the Well-Architected Framework
    • Operational Excellence
    • Security
    • Reliability
    • Performance Efficiency
    • Cost Optimization
    • Sustainability

7. Practice and Exam Preparation

  • Sample questions and explanations
  • Practice exams and mock tests
  • Hands-on labs (AWS Free Tier, Qwiklabs, AWS SkillBuilder)
  • Final review tips

8. Appendix

  • Summary of Key AWS Services
  • AWS CLI and SDK basics
  • Architectural Design Patterns (Well-Architected Diagrams)
  • Certification Exam FAQs
  • Cheat Sheets and Flashcards