From Zero to Cloud Hero: AWS part-2

7 min readJun 4, 2024

Welcome back to our comprehensive AWS guide! In Part 1, we covered the basics of getting started with AWS. Now, in Part 2, we’ll dive deeper into the core AWS services that are fundamental to the AWS ecosystem. We’ll cover AWS compute, storage, database, and networking services in detail. Let’s get started!

Compute Services

AWS provides several compute services to meet different application needs. Here are the key services you need to know about:

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)

Amazon EC2 provides scalable virtual servers in the cloud. It allows you to run applications, host websites, and perform data analysis.

Launching an EC2 Instance

Navigate to the EC2 Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “EC2” under the Compute category.

2. Launch Instance:

Click the “Launch Instance” button.

3. Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI):

Select an AMI, which is a pre-configured template for your instance. For this guide, choose the “Amazon Linux 2 AMI”.

4. Choose an Instance Type:

Select an instance type. For Free Tier eligibility, choose “t2.micro” or “t3.micro”.

5. Configure Instance Details:

Accept the default settings or customize as needed. For beginners, the default settings are usually sufficient.

6. Add Storage:

Configure your storage options. The default settings should be fine for a basic setup.

7. Configure Security Groups:

Security groups act as a virtual firewall. Create a new security group and add rules to allow SSH (port 22) access.

8. Review and Launch:

Review your settings and click “Launch”.
Choose an existing key pair or create a new one to connect to your instance. Download the key pair file (keep it secure).

9. Connect to Your Instance:

Once your instance is running, select it from the EC2 dashboard.
Click the “Connect” button and follow the instructions to connect via SSH using the key pair file.

Here’s a sample SSH command to connect to your instance:

ssh -i /path/to/your-key-pair.pem ec2-user@your-instance-public-dns

Setting Up Auto Scaling

Auto Scaling helps maintain application availability and allows you to automatically add or remove EC2 instances based on conditions you define.

Navigate to the Auto Scaling Dashboard:

From the EC2 dashboard, select “Auto Scaling Groups” under the “Auto Scaling” section.

2. Create Auto Scaling Group:

Click “Create Auto Scaling group”.
Define the name, launch configuration, and instance type.

3. Configure Scaling Policies:

Set up scaling policies based on CloudWatch alarms. For example, add instances when CPU utilization is above 70% and remove instances when it’s below 30%.

AWS Lambda

AWS Lambda lets you run code without provisioning or managing servers. You pay only for the compute time you consume.

Creating a Lambda Function

Navigate to the Lambda Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “Lambda” under the Compute category.

2. Create Function:

Click “Create function”.
Choose the “Author from scratch” option.

3. Configure Function:

Name your function, choose a runtime (e.g., Python 3.8), and set up an execution role.

4. Write Your Code:

You can write your function code directly in the Lambda console or upload a .zip file with your code. Here’s an example in Python:

import json
def lambda_handler(event, context):
    return {
        'statusCode': 200,
        'body': json.dumps('Hello from Lambda!')
    }

5. Test Your Function:

Click “Test”, create a new test event, and invoke your function to see the output.

Amazon ECS (Elastic Container Service)

Amazon ECS is a fully managed container orchestration service.

Running a Docker Container on ECS

Navigate to the ECS Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “ECS” under the Compute category.

2. Create a Cluster:

Click “Clusters” and then “Create Cluster”.
Choose the “EC2 Linux + Networking” option and configure your cluster.

3. Register a Task Definition:

Click “Task Definitions” and then “Create new Task Definition”.
Choose the EC2 launch type and configure your container details, including image and resource settings.

4. Run a Task:

Select your cluster, click “Tasks”, and then “Run new Task”.
Choose your task definition and start the task.

Storage Services

AWS offers various storage services to meet different needs:

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)

Amazon S3 is an object storage service that offers industry-leading scalability, data availability, security, and performance.

Creating an S3 Bucket and Uploading Data

Navigate to the S3 Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “S3” under the Storage category.

2. Create a Bucket:

Click “Create bucket”.
Enter a unique name for your bucket and select a region.
Configure any additional settings as needed and click “Create bucket”.

3. Upload Data:

Select your new bucket and click “Upload”.
Add files or folders from your computer and click “Upload” again.

4. Manage Permissions:

Set permissions for your objects to control who can access them. You can make objects public or restrict access to specific users.

Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store)

Amazon EBS provides block storage for use with EC2 instances.

Creating and Attaching an EBS Volume

Navigate to the EC2 Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “EC2” under the Compute category.

2. Create Volume:

Under “Elastic Block Store”, click “Volumes” and then “Create Volume”.
Choose the volume type, size, and availability zone, then click “Create Volume”.

3. Attach Volume to EC2 Instance:

Select the created volume, click “Actions”, and then “Attach Volume”.
Select the instance to attach the volume to and specify the device name, then click “Attach”.

Amazon Glacier

Amazon Glacier is a low-cost cloud storage service for data archiving and long-term backup.

Storing Data in Amazon Glacier

Navigate to the S3 Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “S3” under the Storage category.

2. Create a Lifecycle Rule:

Select your S3 bucket, click “Management”, and then “Lifecycle”.
Click “Add lifecycle rule” and configure it to transition objects to Glacier storage class based on the specified criteria.

Database Services

AWS offers managed database services for different database engines:

Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service)

Amazon RDS makes it easy to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud.

Creating an RDS Instance

Navigate to the RDS Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “RDS” under the Database category.

2. Create Database:

Click “Create database”.
Choose a database creation method (Standard Create), database engine (e.g., MySQL), and version.

3. Configure Database Settings:

Enter instance details, including DB instance identifier, master username, and master password.
Choose an instance type and configure storage.

4. Configure Connectivity:

Specify VPC, subnet group, and security group settings to control network access.

5. Additional Configuration:

Configure backup, monitoring, and maintenance settings as needed.

6. Launch Database:

Click “Create database” to launch your RDS instance.

Amazon DynamoDB

Amazon DynamoDB is a fast and flexible NoSQL database service for any scale.

Creating a DynamoDB Table

Navigate to the DynamoDB Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “DynamoDB” under the Database category.

2. Create Table:

Click “Create table”.
Enter table name and primary key attributes.
Configure read/write capacity settings or enable on-demand mode.

3. Add Items:

After the table is created, click “Explore items” to add and manage items in your table.

Amazon Aurora

Amazon Aurora is a MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud.

Creating an Aurora DB Cluster

Navigate to the RDS Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “RDS” under the Database category.

2. Create Database:

Click “Create database”.
Choose “Amazon Aurora” as the database engine and select either MySQL or PostgreSQL compatibility.

3. Configure DB Cluster:

Enter DB cluster identifier, master username, and master password.
Choose an instance type and configure storage.

4. Configure Connectivity:

Specify VPC, subnet group, and security group settings to control network access.

5. Launch Cluster:

Click “Create database” to launch your Aurora DB cluster.

Networking Services

AWS provides robust networking services to securely connect your cloud resources:

Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)

Amazon VPC lets you provision a logically isolated section of the AWS cloud where you can launch AWS resources in a virtual network that you define.

Creating a VPC

Navigate to the VPC Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “VPC” under the Networking & Content Delivery category.

2. Create VPC:

Click “Create VPC”.
Enter a name, CIDR block, and tenancy option (default is usually sufficient).

3. Create Subnets:

After creating the VPC, create subnets to divide your VPC. Click “Subnets”, then “Create subnet”.
Choose your VPC, specify a subnet name, and define the CIDR block.

4. Configure Route Tables:

Create a route table to control traffic flow. Click “Route Tables”, then “Create route table”.
Associate the route table with your subnets.

5. Set Up Security Groups and Network ACLs:

Security groups act as virtual firewalls for your instances to control inbound and outbound traffic.
Network ACLs provide an additional layer of security at the subnet level.

Amazon Route 53

Amazon Route 53 is a scalable Domain Name System (DNS) web service.

Configuring a Domain with Route 53

Navigate to the Route 53 Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “Route 53” under the Networking & Content Delivery category.

2. Register a Domain:

Click “Register Domain” and follow the steps to register a new domain.

3. Create a Hosted Zone:

Click “Create hosted zone” to manage DNS settings for your domain.
Enter the domain name and select the appropriate type (public or private hosted zone).

4. Create DNS Records:

Add records (e.g., A, CNAME, MX) to route traffic to your application’s resources.

Amazon CloudFront

Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that securely delivers data, videos, applications, and APIs to customers globally with low latency and high transfer speeds.

Setting Up a CloudFront Distribution

Navigate to the CloudFront Dashboard:

From the AWS Management Console, select “CloudFront” under the Networking & Content Delivery category.

2. Create Distribution:

Click “Create Distribution”.
Choose a delivery method (Web for websites).

3. Configure Origin Settings:

Specify your origin settings (e.g., S3 bucket or custom origin like an EC2 instance).

4. Configure Distribution Settings:

Customize cache behaviour, SSL settings, and other distribution settings as needed.

5. Create Distribution:

Click “Create Distribution”. It may take a few minutes to propagate.

Conclusion

In this part, we covered some of the core AWS services essential for building and managing applications in the cloud. Understanding these services will give you the foundation to leverage AWS’s full potential. In the next part of this series, we’ll explore advanced AWS topics, including security, monitoring, automation, and big data.

Stay tuned for Part 3, where we’ll dive into advanced AWS topics. For more insightful blogs and tutorials, follow Shivam Maurya on Medium. Happy learning!