2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet
Home  AWS  AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate certification is designed for individuals who have experience
designing and deploying scalable, fault-tolerant, and cost-effective systems on Amazon Web Services (AWS)
cloud.
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
1/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Preparing for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam encompasses studying the exam
material and practicing with sample exams to become acquainted with the exam structure and question
types. AWS offers various resources to aid in your exam preparation, such as training courses, whitepapers,
and documentation.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Glossary
Here are some key terms and concepts you may encounter in the AWS Certified Solutions Architect
Associate certification:
Amazon Web Services (AWS): A cloud computing platform that offers an array of services, including
computing, storage, databases, and networking.
Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2): A web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud.
Simple Storage Service (S3): A scalable object storage service that allows users to store and retrieve
data.
Elastic Load Balancing (ELB): A service that distributes incoming traffic across multiple EC2 instances
to improve availability and fault tolerance.
Auto Scaling: A service that autonomously scales the number of EC2 instances in response to
fluctuations in demand.
Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): A virtual network that allows users to launch AWS resources into a defined
virtual network.
Route 53: A DNS web service that allows users to manage domain names and routes traffic to AWS
resources.
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
2/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Relational Database Service (RDS): A managed database service that simplifies the process of
configuring, operating, and scaling a relational database in the cloud.
Simple Queue Service (SQS): A fully managed message queuing service that enables decoupling and
scaling microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications.
Lambda: A serverless compute service that runs your code in response to events and automatically
manages the computing resources for you.
Elastic Beanstalk: A service that makes it easy to deploy, manage, and scale web applications and
services developed with Java, .NET, PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, and Docker.
CloudFront: A content delivery network (CDN) service that delivers data, videos, applications, and APIs
to customers globally with low latency, high transfer speeds, all within a developer-friendly environment.
Identity and Access Management (IAM): A service that enables you to manage access to AWS services
and resources securely.
CloudWatch: A monitoring service for AWS resources and the applications you run on them.
CloudFormation: A service that enables you to use a template file to create and provision AWS
resources in a consistent and repeatable way.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Study Guide
Here are some official resources provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help you prepare for the AWS
Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam:
1. Exam guide: The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Exam Guide offers comprehensive
insights into the exam, encompassing its structure, content, and domains. This resource is crucial for
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
3/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
gaining a clear understanding of the exam’s subject matter and how to ready oneself for it. You can
access the exam guide here: https://d1.awsstatic.com/training-and-certification/docs-sa-assoc/AWSCertified-Solutions-Architect-Associate_Exam-Guide_EN.pdf
2. Exam readiness training: AWS offers a range of training courses to help you prepare for the exam,
including classroom training, virtual training, and e-learning courses. The exam readiness training is
designed to help you learn about the exam format and content and to provide tips and strategies for
taking the exam. You can access the exam readiness training here:
https://aws.amazon.com/training/course-descriptions/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-examreadiness/
3. Sample questions: AWS offers sample questions to assist you in getting acquainted with the exam’s
layout and the kinds of questions presented. These sample questions are designed to help you test
your knowledge and identify areas where you may need to focus your study. You can access the
sample questions here: https://d1.awsstatic.com/training-and-certification/docs-sa-assoc/AWSCertified-Solutions-Architect-Associate_Sample-Questions.pdf
4. Official study guide: The official study guide is a comprehensive resource that provides detailed
information about the exam content, along with hands-on exercises, review questions, and sample
scenarios. This guide is designed to help you build the knowledge and skills needed to pass the exam.
You can access the official study guide here: https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Solutions-ArchitectOfficial-Study/dp/111950421X
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Exam Tips and
Tricks
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
4/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Understand the Exam Format: The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Exam consists of 65
multiple-choice questions, and you have 130 minutes to complete them.
Study the AWS Whitepapers: AWS whitepapers are an excellent source of information for the exam,
and it’s recommended to read the following whitepapers: AWS Well-Architected Framework, AWS
Security Best Practices, AWS Cloud Adoption Framework, and AWS Storage Services Overview.
Understand the AWS Services: You need to understand the various AWS services, their capabilities,
and limitations. It’s essential to know which services to use in specific situations, such as storage,
compute, networking, and databases.
Practice with AWS Free Tier: AWS offers a free tier that you can use to experiment with different
services, which can help you gain hands-on experience with the AWS platform.
Use AWS Documentation: The AWS documentation is an excellent resource that provides in-depth
information about the various AWS services. Make sure to read and understand the documentation for
the services covered in the exam.
Take Practice Tests: Practice tests are a valuable tool for evaluating your understanding and
pinpointing areas that require enhancement. AWS provides sample questions on its official website,
and numerous third-party practice tests are also accessible.
Understand Security Best Practices: AWS places a significant emphasis on security, and it’s crucial to
understand security best practices and how to secure your AWS resources.
Manage Your Time: Make sure you manage your time effectively during the exam. You will have a total
of 130 minutes to respond to 65 questions, which translates to approximately 2 minutes per question. If
you encounter a challenging question, it’s advisable to proceed to the next one and return to it later if
needed.
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
5/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Quick Guide for AWS Certified Solutions Architect
Associate
For good preparation for the AWS certification exam, you will require a plan and the essential resources. So,
here in this quick AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam guide, we will check the various
resources from making a blueprint to understanding exam topics with essential study material. So, without
wasting time, let’s get started with this to help you prepare and pass the exam.
Step 1: Review the Exam Blueprint
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
6/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Creating a blueprint with mentioning all the important details and topics will provide you benefits during the
revision time. However, in this cheat sheet for the AWS exam, we have almost created an accurate blueprint
that will help you. Further, this will also help you mark out the areas that you find difficult so that first you can
revise them properly.
Step 2: Understanding the Important Exam Concepts
This is an important part of the revision for the AWS certified solutions architect associate certification exam.
Getting familiarity with the exam topics will not increase your knowledge but it will help you to understand the
concepts instead of cramming it. Moreover, with this, you will get the confidence of giving the exam as almost
every part is covered in the exam topics provided by AWS. Below, you can see the list of important topics
with important subsections, just go through them.
New AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) Exam Course Outline
Domain 1: Design Secure Architectures
Task Statement 1: Design secure access to AWS resources.
Knowledge of:
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
7/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Access controls and management across multiple accounts (AWS Documentation: Delegate access
across AWS)
AWS federated access and identity services (for example, AWS Identity and Access Management
[IAM], AWS Single Sign-On [AWS SSO]) (AWS Documentation: Identity providers and federation)
AWS global infrastructure (for example, Availability Zones, AWS Regions) (AWS Documentation:
Regions, Availability Zones, and Local Zones)
The AWS shared responsibility model (AWS Documentation: Shared responsibility model)
Skills in:
Applying AWS security best practices to IAM users and root users (for example, multi-factor
authentication [MFA]) (AWS Documentation: Best practices to protect your account’s root user)
Understanding and Designing a flexible authorization model that includes IAM users, groups, roles, and
policies (AWS Documentation: IAM Identities (users, user groups, and roles))
Designing a role-based access control strategy (for example, AWS Security Token Service [AWS STS],
role switching, cross-account access) (AWS Documentation: Define permissions to access AWS
resources , Delegate access across AWS)
Designing a security strategy for multiple AWS accounts (for example, AWS Control Tower, service
control policies [SCPs])
Determining the appropriate use of resource policies for AWS services (AWS Documentation: Identitybased policies and resource-based policies)
Determining when to federate a directory service with IAM roles
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
8/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Task Statement 2: Design secure workloads and applications.
Knowledge of:
Application configuration and credentials security (AWS Documentation: Configuration and credential
file settings)
AWS service endpoints (AWS Documentation: Service endpoints and quotas)
Control ports, protocols, and network traffic on AWS (AWS Documentation: Control traffic to subnets
using Network ACLs)
Secure application access
Security services with appropriate use cases (for example, Amazon Cognito, Amazon GuardDuty,
Amazon Macie) (AWS Documentation: Amazon Macie, Amazon GuardDuty, Cognito)
Threat vectors external to AWS (for example, DDoS, SQL injection) (AWS Documentation: AWS
Shield)
Skills in:
Designing VPC architectures with security components (for example, security groups, route tables,
network ACLs, NAT gateways) (AWS Documentation: VPC with public and private subnets (NAT))
Determining network segmentation strategies (for example, using public subnets and private subnets)
(AWS Documentation: VPC with public and private subnets (NAT))
Integrating AWS services to secure applications (for example, AWS Shield, AWS WAF, AWS SSO, AWS
Secrets Manager) (AWS Documentation: AWS Shield Advanced, Authenticating requests)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
9/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Securing external network connections to and from the AWS Cloud (for example, VPN, AWS Direct
Connect) (AWS Documentation: AWS Virtual Private Network, AWS Direct Connect)
Task Statement 3: Determine appropriate data security controls.
Knowledge of:
Data access and governance (AWS Documentation: Management and Governance)
Learning Data recovery (AWS Documentation: Elastic Disaster Recovery)
Data retention and classification (AWS Documentation: Data Classification)
Encryption and appropriate key management (AWS Documentation: AWS Key Management Service)
Skills in:
Aligning AWS technologies to meet compliance requirements (AWS Documentation: Security and
compliance)
Encrypting data at rest (for example, AWS Key Management Service [AWS KMS]) (AWS
Documentation: AWS KMS concepts)
Encrypting data in transit (for example, AWS Certificate Manager [ACM] using TLS) (AWS
Documentation: Using SSL/TLS to encrypt a connection to a DB instance)
Implementing access policies for encryption keys
Understanding and Implementing data backups and replications (AWS Documentation: Replicating
automated backups to another AWS Region)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
10/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Implementing policies for data access, lifecycle, and protection
Rotating encryption keys and renewing certificates (AWS Documentation: Rotating your SSL/TLS
certificate)
Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures
Task Statement 1: Design scalable and loosely coupled architectures.
Knowledge of:
API creation and management (for example, Amazon API Gateway, REST API) (AWS Documentation:
Amazon API Gateway)
AWS managed services with appropriate use cases (for example, AWS Transfer Family, Amazon
Simple Queue Service [Amazon SQS], Secrets Manager) (AWS Documentation: AWS Secrets
Manager, AWS Transfer Family (AMS SSPS))
Caching strategies Caching strategies)
Design principles for microservices (for example, stateless workloads compared with stateful
workloads)
Event-driven architectures (AWS Documentation: Event-driven architectures)
Horizontal scaling and vertical scaling
How to appropriately use edge accelerators (for example, content delivery network [CDN]) (AWS
Documentation: Content Delivery Networks (CDNs))
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
11/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
How to migrate applications into containers (AWS Documentation: Migrate your Applications to
Containers at Scale)
Load balancing concepts (for example, Application Load Balancer) (AWS Documentation: Application
Load Balancer)
Multi-tier architectures (AWS Documentation: multi-tier application)
Queuing and messaging concepts (for example, publish/subscribe) (AWS Documentation: Pub/Sub
Messaging)
Serverless technologies and patterns (for example, AWS Fargate, AWS Lambda) (AWS
Documentation: serverless saga pattern by using AWS Step Functions)
Storage types with associated characteristics (for example, object, file, block)
The orchestration of containers (for example, Amazon Elastic Container Service [Amazon ECS],
Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service [Amazon EKS]) (AWS Documentation: Orchestrating the
containers)
When to use read replicas
Workflow orchestration (for example, AWS Step Functions) (AWS Documentation: AWS Step
Functions)
Skills in:
Designing event-driven, microservice, and/or multi-tier architectures based on requirements (AWS
Documentation: Event-Driven Architecture)
Determining scaling strategies for components used in an architecture design
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
12/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Understanding Determining the AWS services required to achieve loose coupling based on
requirements (AWS Documentation: Loosely Coupled Scenarios)
Determining when to use containers (AWS Documentation: Determining task size)
Determining when to use serverless technologies and patterns
Recommending appropriate compute, storage, networking, and database technologies based on
requirements
Using purpose-built AWS services for workloads (AWS Documentation: Database)
Task Statement 2: Design highly available and/or fault-tolerant architectures.
Knowledge of:
AWS global infrastructure (for example, Availability Zones, AWS Regions, Amazon Route 53) (AWS
Documentation: AWS Global Infrastructure, Regions and Availability Zones)
AWS managed services with appropriate use cases (for example, Amazon Comprehend, and Amazon
Polly) (AWS Documentation: Machine Learning (ML))
Basic networking concepts (for example, route tables) (AWS Documentation: Configure route tables)
Disaster recovery (DR) strategies (for example, backup and restore, pilot light, warm standby, activeactive failover, recovery point objective [RPO], recovery time objective [RTO]) (AWS Documentation:
Plan for Disaster Recovery (DR))
Distributed design patterns (AWS Documentation: Design Interactions in a Distributed System to
Prevent Failures)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
13/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Failover strategies (AWS Documentation: Active-active and active-passive failover)
Immutable infrastructure (AWS Documentation: Use immutable infrastructure with no human access)
Load balancing concepts (for example, Application Load Balancer) (AWS Documentation: Application
Load Balancer)
Proxy concepts (for example, Amazon RDS Proxy) (AWS Documentation: Using Amazon RDS Proxy)
Service quotas and throttling (for example, how to configure the service quotas for a workload in a
standby environment) (AWS Documentation: AWS service quotas)
Storage options and characteristics (for example, durability, replication) (AWS Documentation:
Replicating objects)
Workload visibility (for example, AWS X-Ray) (AWS Documentation: AWS X-Ray)
Skills in:
Determining automation strategies to ensure infrastructure integrity (AWS Documentation: Protecting
Compute)
Determining the AWS services required to provide a highly available and/or fault-tolerant architecture
across AWS Regions or Availability Zones (AWS Documentation: Architecture guidelines and
decisions)
Identifying metrics based on business requirements to deliver a highly available solution
Implementing designs to mitigate single points of failure (AWS Documentation: Withstand Component
Failures)
Implementing strategies to ensure the durability and availability of data (for example, backups)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
14/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Selecting an appropriate DR strategy to meet business requirements (AWS Documentation: Plan for
Disaster Recovery (DR))
Using AWS services that improve the reliability of legacy applications and applications not built for the
cloud (for example, when application changes are not possible)
Using purpose-built AWS services for workloads (AWS Documentation: Database)
Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures
Task Statement 1: Determine high-performing and/or scalable storage
solutions.
Knowledge of:
Hybrid storage solutions to meet business requirements (AWS Documentation: Hybrid Cloud Storage)
Storage services with appropriate use cases (for example, Amazon S3, Amazon Elastic File System
[Amazon EFS], Amazon Elastic Block Store [Amazon EBS]) (AWS Documentation: Storage)
Storage types with associated characteristics (for example, object, file, block)
Skills in:
Determining storage services and configurations that meet performance demands (AWS
Documentation: Storage Architecture Selection)
Determining storage services that can scale to accommodate future needs (AWS Documentation:
Storage)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
15/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Task Statement 2: Design high-performing and elastic compute solutions.
Knowledge of:
AWS compute services with appropriate use cases (for example, AWS Batch, Amazon EMR, Fargate)
(AWS Documentation: AWS Batch on AWS Fargate, Compute Services)
Distributed computing concepts supported by AWS global infrastructure and edge services (AWS
Documentation: Global infrastructure)
Queuing and messaging concepts (for example, publish/subscribe) (AWS Documentation: Pub/Sub
Messaging)
Scalability capabilities with appropriate use cases (for example, Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling, AWS Auto
Scaling) (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling)
Serverless technologies and patterns (for example, Lambda, Fargate) (AWS Documentation:
Serverless)
The orchestration of containers (for example, Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS) (AWS Documentation:
Orchestrating the containers)
Skills in:
Decoupling workloads so that components can scale independently (AWS Documentation: EventDriven Architecture)
Identifying metrics and conditions to perform scaling actions (AWS Documentation: Monitor
CloudWatch metrics)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
16/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Selecting the appropriate compute options and features (for example, EC2 instance types) to meet
business requirements (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 Instance Types)
Selecting the appropriate resource type and size (for example, the amount of Lambda memory) to meet
business requirements
Task Statement 3: Determine high-performing database solutions.
Knowledge of:
AWS global infrastructure (for example, Availability Zones, AWS Regions) (AWS Documentation:
Global infrastructure)
Caching strategies and services (for example, Amazon ElastiCache) (AWS Documentation: Caching
strategies)
Data access patterns (for example, read-intensive compared with write-intensive) (AWS
Documentation: Best practices for Amazon RDS)
Database capacity planning (for example, capacity units, instance types, Provisioned IOPS)
Understanding Database connections and proxies (AWS Documentation: Using Amazon RDS Proxy)
Database engines with appropriate use cases (for example, heterogeneous migrations, homogeneous
migrations) (AWS Documentation: Heterogeneous database migration)
Learning Database replication (for example, read replicas) (AWS Documentation: Working with read
replicas)
Database types and services (for example, serverless, relational compared with non-relational, inmemory) (AWS Documentation: Database)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
17/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Skills in:
Configuring read replicas to meet business requirements
Designing database architectures (AWS Documentation: Database Architecture Selection)
Understanding and Determining an appropriate database engine (for example, MySQL compared with
PostgreSQL) (AWS Documentation: Best practices for Amazon RDS)
Determining an appropriate database type (for example, Amazon Aurora, Amazon DynamoDB)
Integrating caching to meet business requirements
Task Statement 4: Determine high-performing and/or scalable network
architectures.
Knowledge of:
Edge networking services with appropriate use cases (for example, Amazon CloudFront, AWS Global
Accelerator) (AWS Documentation: Edge networking with AWS)
How to design network architecture (for example, subnet tiers, routing, IP addressing) (AWS
Documentation: VPC with public and private subnets (NAT))
Load balancing concepts (for example, Application Load Balancer) (AWS Documentation: Application
Load Balancer)
Network connection options (for example, AWS VPN, Direct Connect, AWS PrivateLink) (AWS
Documentation: AWS Direct Connect)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
18/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Skills in:
Creating a network topology for various architectures (for example, global, hybrid, multi-tier) (AWS
Documentation: Plan your Network Topology)
Determining network configurations that can scale to accommodate future needs (AWS
Documentation: AWS Foundational Security Best Practices controls)
Determining the appropriate placement of resources to meet business requirements
Selecting the appropriate load balancing strategy (AWS Documentation: Application Load Balancer)
Task Statement 5: Determine high-performing data ingestion and
transformation solutions.
Knowledge of:
Data analytics and visualization services with appropriate use cases (for example, Amazon Athena,
AWS Lake Formation, Amazon QuickSight) (AWS Documentation: Amazon QuickSight, Use Amazon
Athena and Amazon QuickSight to build custom reports)
Learning Data ingestion patterns (for example, frequency) (AWS Documentation: Data ingestion
patterns)
Data transfer services with appropriate use cases (for example, AWS DataSync, AWS Storage
Gateway) (AWS Documentation: AWS DataSync)
Data transformation services with appropriate use cases (for example, AWS Glue) (AWS
Documentation: What is AWS Glue?)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
19/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Secure access to ingestion access points (AWS Documentation: Managing data access with Amazon
S3 access points)
Sizes and speeds needed to meet business requirements
Streaming data services with appropriate use cases (for example, Amazon Kinesis) (AWS
Documentation: AWS Streaming Data Solution for Amazon Kinesis)
Skills in:
Building and securing data lakes (AWS Documentation: Securing, protecting, and managing data)
Designing data streaming architectures (AWS Documentation: Build Modern Data Streaming
Analytics Architectures on AWS)
Designing data transfer solutions
Implementing visualization strategies (AWS Documentation: Visualizing data in Amazon QuickSight)
Selecting appropriate compute options for data processing (for example, Amazon EMR)
Selecting appropriate configurations for ingestion (AWS Documentation: Data ingestion methods)
Transforming data between formats (for example, .csv to .parquet)
Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
Task Statement 1: Design cost-optimized storage solutions.
Knowledge of:
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
20/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Access options (for example, an S3 bucket with Requester Pays object storage) (AWS
Documentation: Using Requester Pays buckets for storage transfers and usage)
AWS cost management service features (for example, cost allocation tags, multi-account billing) (AWS
Documentation: Using Cost Allocation Tags)
Understanding AWS cost management tools with appropriate use cases (for example, AWS Cost
Explorer, AWS Budgets, AWS Cost and Usage Report) (AWS Documentation: Analyzing your costs
with AWS Cost Explorer)
AWS storage services with appropriate use cases (for example, Amazon FSx, Amazon EFS, Amazon
S3, Amazon EBS) (AWS Documentation: Storage)
Backup strategies (AWS Documentation: AWS Backup)
Block storage options (for example, hard disk drive [HDD] volume types, solid state drive [SSD] volume
types) (AWS Documentation: Amazon EBS volume types)
Data lifecycles (AWS Documentation: Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager)
Hybrid storage options (for example, DataSync, Transfer Family, Storage Gateway)
Storage access patterns
Learning about Storage tiering (for example, cold tiering for object storage) (AWS Documentation:
Using Amazon S3 storage classes)
Storage types with associated characteristics (for example, object, file, block) (AWS Documentation:
Storage)
Skills in:
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
21/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Designing appropriate storage strategies (for example, batch uploads to Amazon S3 compared with
individual uploads) (AWS Documentation: Best practices design patterns: optimizing Amazon S3
performance)
Determining the correct storage size for a workload (AWS Documentation: Tips for Right Sizing)
Learning and Determining the lowest cost method of transferring data for a workload to AWS storage
Determining when storage auto scaling is required (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling)
Managing S3 object lifecycles (AWS Documentation: Managing your storage lifecycle)
Selecting the appropriate backup and/or archival solution (AWS Documentation: Choosing AWS
services for data protection)
Understanding and Selecting the appropriate service for data migration to storage services
Selecting the appropriate storage tier
Understanding and Selecting the correct data lifecycle for storage (AWS Documentation: Managing
your storage lifecycle)
Selecting the most cost-effective storage service for a workload (AWS Documentation: Cost-effective
resources)
Task Statement 2: Design cost-optimized compute solutions.
Knowledge of:
AWS cost management service features (for example, cost allocation tags, multi-account billing) (AWS
Documentation: Using Cost Allocation Tags)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
22/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Understanding AWS cost management tools with appropriate use cases (for example, Cost Explorer,
AWS Budgets, AWS Cost and Usage Report) (AWS Documentation: AWS Cost Explorer)
AWS global infrastructure (for example, Availability Zones, AWS Regions) (AWS Documentation:
Global infrastructure)
AWS purchasing options (for example, Spot Instances, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans) (AWS
Documentation: Instance purchasing options)
Distributed compute strategies (for example, edge processing) (AWS Documentation: Amazon
SageMaker Distributed Training Libraries)
Hybrid compute options (for example, AWS Outposts, AWS Snowball Edge) (AWS Documentation:
Compute Services)
Instance types, families, and sizes (for example, memory optimized, compute optimized, virtualization)
(AWS Documentation: Memory optimized instances)
Optimization of compute utilization (for example, containers, serverless computing, microservices)
Scaling strategies (for example, auto scaling, hibernation) (AWS Documentation: Warm pools for
Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling)
Skills in:
Determining an appropriate load balancing strategy (for example, Application Load Balancer [Layer 7]
compared with Network Load Balancer [Layer 4] compared with Gateway Load Balancer) (AWS
Documentation: Elastic Load Balancing FAQs)
Determining appropriate scaling methods and strategies for elastic workloads (for example, horizontal
compared with vertical, EC2 hibernation) (AWS Documentation: Best practices for EC2 Spot)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
23/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Understanding and Determining cost-effective AWS compute services with appropriate use cases (for
example, Lambda, Amazon EC2, Fargate)
Determining the required availability for different classes of workloads (for example, production
workloads, non-production workloads) (AWS Documentation: Workloads)
Selecting the appropriate instance family for a workload
Selecting the appropriate instance size for a workload (AWS Documentation: Tips for Right Sizing)
Task Statement 3: Design cost-optimized database solutions.
Knowledge of:
AWS cost management service features (for example, cost allocation tags, multi-account billing) (AWS
Documentation: Using Cost Allocation Tags)
Caching strategies (AWS Documentation: Caching strategies)
Data retention policies
Database capacity planning (for example, capacity units) (AWS Documentation: Read/write capacity
mode)
Understanding Database engines with appropriate use cases (for example, heterogeneous migrations,
homogeneous migrations) (AWS Documentation: Heterogeneous database migration)
Learning replication (for example, read replicas) (AWS Documentation: Working with read replicas)
Database types and services (for example, relational compared with non-relational, Aurora,
DynamoDB) (AWS Documentation: Database)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
24/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Skills in:
Designing appropriate backup and retention policies (for example, snapshot frequency)
Determining an appropriate database engine (for example, MySQL compared with PostgreSQL) (AWS
Documentation: Best practices for Amazon RDS)
Learning and Determining cost-effective AWS database services with appropriate use cases (for
example, DynamoDB compared with Amazon RDS, serverless)
Determining cost-effective AWS database types (for example, time series format, columnar format)
(AWS Documentation: AWS Cloud Databases)
Migrating database schemas and data to different locations and/or different database engines (AWS
Documentation: Best practices for AWS Database Migration Service)
Task Statement 4: Design cost-optimized network architectures.
Knowledge of:
AWS cost management service features (for example, cost allocation tags, multi-account billing) (AWS
Documentation: Using Cost Allocation Tags)
Understanding cost management tools with appropriate use cases (for example, Cost Explorer, AWS
Budgets, AWS Cost and Usage Report) (AWS Documentation: AWS Cost Explorer)
Load balancing concepts (for example, Application Load Balancer) (AWS Documentation: Application
Load Balancer)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
25/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
NAT gateways (for example, NAT instance costs compared with NAT gateway costs) (AWS
Documentation: Compare NAT gateways and NAT instances)
Network connectivity (for example, private lines, dedicated lines, VPNs) (AWS Documentation:
Network-to-Amazon VPC connectivity options)
Networking routing, topology, and peering (for example, AWS Transit Gateway, VPC peering) (AWS
Documentation: Transit gateway design best practices)
Network services with appropriate use cases (for example, DNS) (AWS Documentation: Networking
and Content Delivery)
Skills in:
Configuring appropriate NAT gateway types for a network (for example, a single shared NAT gateway
compared with NAT gateways for each Availability Zone) (AWS Documentation: NAT gateways)
Understanding and Configuring appropriate network connections (for example, Direct Connect
compared with VPN compared with internet) (AWS Documentation: AWS Direct Connect FAQs)
Configuring appropriate network routes to minimize network transfer costs (for example, Region to
Region, Availability Zone to Availability Zone, private to public, Global Accelerator, VPC endpoints)
Determining strategic needs for content delivery networks (CDNs) and edge caching (AWS
Documentation: Working with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs))
Reviewing existing workloads for network optimizations (AWS Documentation: Optimize over time)
Selecting an appropriate throttling strategy (AWS Documentation: Throttle API requests for better
throughput)
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
26/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Selecting the appropriate bandwidth allocation for a network device (for example, a single VPN
compared with multiple VPNs, Direct Connect speed) (AWS Documentation: Site-to-Site VPN single
and multiple connection)
Step 3: Exploring Amazon Web Services (AWS) Training
AWS provides training that helps you to build competence, confidence, and credibility through practical cloud
skills. You have the option to undergo AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Training at your own
convenience through online learning. This training is developed and instructed by accredited AWS experts. It
helps individuals at different levels, whether you’re a beginner looking to build upon your existing IT skills or a
seasoned professional with prior cloud knowledge. Enrolling in these AWS training programs can help
address your queries and enhance your skill set.
Step 4: Using Reference Books
Books can offer distinct advantages when it comes to studying and retaining information, particularly during
revision. They allow for a systematic approach where you can easily pick up where you left off and focus on
specific areas of interest. When preparing for the AWS Solution Architect Associate exam, you’ll find a variety
of books available online. Here are a few recommended options:
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – The Definitive Study Guide by Zeal Vora
Serverless Architectures on AWS by Peter
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Complete Study Guide: 100+ Exam Practice Questions by IP
Specialist
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
27/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Step 5: Evaluating using Practice Tests
Practice tests play a crucial role in your preparation as they enable you to assess your strengths and
weaknesses. Engaging in regular practice helps enhance your ability to answer questions efficiently,
ultimately saving you valuable time during the actual exam. It is advisable to incorporate AWS Certified
Solutions Architect Associate practice tests into your study routine, ideally after completing a full topic, as this
serves as an effective revision strategy. By revising thoroughly and then evaluating your performance, you
can increase your chances of success on the exam.
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
28/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
29/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Enhance your AWS skills and become AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Now!
Pulkit Dheer
With a background in Engineering and a great enthusiasm for writing, Pulkit focuses on intensive research to
create targeted content. He brings his years of learning and experience to his current role. With a zeal towards
technological research and powerful use of words dedicated to inspire and help professionals onset their career.

Prepare for
Assured
Success
Want to become
AWS Certified
Solutions Architect
Associate?
Learn
More
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
30/31
2/19/24, 1:48 AM
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Cheat Sheet - Blog
Are you preparing
to become AWS
Certified Solutions
Architect
Associate?
Take a
Quiz
https://www.testpreptraining.com/blog/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-cheat-sheet/
31/31