AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate Training Course Syllabus

Overview: This comprehensive AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) training course is designed to equip learners with the foundational and practical skills needed to design scalable, secure, and highly available systems on AWS. The curriculum spans approximately 48 hours of hands-on instruction and project work, covering core AWS services including compute, storage, networking, security, and automation. Through expert-led sessions and real-world labs, you'll gain mastery over IAM, EC2, VPC, S3, RDS, CloudFormation, and more, culminating in a capstone project that demonstrates your ability to architect end-to-end solutions aligned with AWS best practices and the Well-Architected Framework.

Module 1: AWS Cloud Concepts & Architecture

Estimated time: 5 hours

• Understand AWS global infrastructure and regions/zones
• Apply the shared responsibility model for security
• Implement principles of the Well-Architected Framework
• Launch and configure an EC2 instance using Console and CLI

Module 2: Identity & Access Management

Estimated time: 4.5 hours

• Create and manage IAM users, groups, and roles
• Apply least-privilege access policies
• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for root and IAM users
• Create custom IAM policies for fine-grained control

Module 3: Networking & VPC

Estimated time: 5 hours

• Design VPCs with public and private subnets across multiple AZs
• Configure route tables, internet gateways, and NAT gateways
• Implement VPC peering and CIDR planning
• Apply security best practices using security groups and NACLs

Module 4: Compute & Storage Services

Estimated time: 10.5 hours

• Compare EC2 instance types and pricing models (On-Demand, Reserved, Spot)
• Configure Auto Scaling groups for elasticity
• Deploy and manage serverless applications using AWS Lambda
• Implement S3 bucket policies, versioning, and lifecycle rules
• Manage EBS volumes and perform snapshot operations
• Understand EFS fundamentals for shared file storage

Module 5: Database & Monitoring Services

Estimated time: 9 hours

• Select appropriate RDS engines and configure database instances
• Design DynamoDB tables and perform CRUD operations
• Implement backup and restore strategies for databases
• Set up CloudWatch metrics, alarms, and custom dashboards
• Enable CloudTrail logging and audit AWS API activity
• Enforce compliance using AWS Config rules

Module 6: Deployment Automation & High Availability

Estimated time: 10 hours

• Write and deploy CloudFormation templates for infrastructure as code
• Build CI/CD pipelines using CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, and CodePipeline
• Configure Elastic Load Balancers (ELB) for fault tolerance
• Implement Route 53 routing policies and health checks
• Design multi-region, highly available architectures with failover simulation

Module 7: Exam Preparation & Capstone Project

Estimated time: 4.5 hours

• Review SAA-C03 exam blueprint and question patterns
• Practice with sample exam questions
• Conduct a Well-Architected review of a solution design
• Architect and present an end-to-end multi-tier application
• Submit for peer review and feedback

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with basic networking concepts
• Understanding of fundamental cloud computing principles
• Basic experience with command-line interfaces (CLI)

What You'll Be Able to Do After

• Architect secure, scalable, and fault-tolerant systems on AWS
• Design and deploy VPCs with proper segmentation and routing
• Implement identity and access management using IAM best practices
• Automate infrastructure provisioning using CloudFormation and CI/CD pipelines
• Earn the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) credential