1.

Last Three AWS Versions/Key Milestones

Note: AWS doesn’t have versioned releases like software; instead, it evolves
through major service announcements:
Yea
Major Changes/Highlights
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202 Introduced Amazon Q (AI assistant), enhanced Graviton4 processors,

4 better cost optimization tools in Cost Explorer.

202 Advanced Zero Trust capabilities, Wavelength Zones expansion, more

3 savings plans for compute.

202 Launched Amazon Inspector v2, EBS Snapshots Archive, and AWS
2 Cloud WAN for global networking.

2. Day-to-Day 10 Administrative Tasks

1. Manage IAM Users/Roles – Create and maintain access policies for

secure account access.

2. Monitor EC2 Instances – Check health, metrics, and automate scaling

using CloudWatch.

3. Review Billing & Budgets – Track cost usage in Cost Explorer and set
alarms for budget breaches.

4. Manage S3 Buckets – Handle lifecycle policies, encryption, and bucket

access policies.

5. Patch EC2 and OS – Use Systems Manager (SSM) Patch Manager to

automate patching.

6. Backup with AWS Backup – Configure and monitor backup jobs across
AWS services.

7. CloudTrail Log Review – Audit API activities and detect anomalies.

8. Security Group Updates – Adjust firewall rules for least privilege

network access.

9. Lambda Monitoring – Track performance, errors, and invocation metrics.

10.VPC/Subnet Management – Ensure proper routing, peering, and

NAT/GW setups.

3. Top 10 Points to Know (AWS)

1. Regions & AZs – AWS is global; always design for high availability across
Availability Zones.

2. IAM is foundational – Secure access control and permissions are critical

for cloud security.

3. EC2 is IaaS core – Your virtual machines run here; pay attention to
instance types and autoscaling.
 4. S3 is highly durable – For object storage, designed for 11 9’s durability.

5. CloudWatch = Monitoring Hub – Central for logs, metrics, alarms, and

automation triggers.

6. RDS vs DynamoDB – RDS is for relational DBs; DynamoDB is serverless

NoSQL.

7. Lambda = Serverless Compute – Great for event-driven workloads and

automation.

8. Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) – Distributes traffic across healthy targets.

9. VPC = Networking Control – Design your cloud network with subnets,

routing, and gateways.

10.Tags are vital – For cost tracking, organization, and automation.

4. 10 Best Practices

1. Use IAM Roles, not static keys – Prevent credential leaks and ensure
temporary access.

2. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – Protect root and user

accounts.

3. Turn on CloudTrail in all regions – Get full account-level auditing.

4. Use Auto Scaling – Handle traffic spikes and save costs.

5. Design Multi-AZ Deployments – Ensure high availability and disaster

recovery.

6. Encrypt data at rest and in transit – Use KMS, TLS, and S3/SSE.

7. Apply tagging policies – Enforce consistent resource management and

cost allocation.

8. Set budget alerts – Prevent unexpected billing surprises.

9. Use VPC Flow Logs – Gain insights into network traffic.

10.Keep security groups tight – Avoid 0.0.0.0/0 open access.

5. 10 Interview Questions (With Detailed Answers)

1. What is the difference between IAM User, Group, and Role?

o User is a person, Group is a collection of users with common policies,

and Role is an assumed identity often used by services/applications.
2. Explain S3 storage classes.

oS3 offers different classes: Standard, IA (Infrequent Access), One

Zone IA, Glacier, and Glacier Deep Archive. Use them to optimize
costs based on access patterns.
3. What’s the difference between ELB types: Classic, ALB, and NLB?
 oClassic Load Balancer (legacy), Application Load Balancer (layer 7 -
HTTP/S), Network Load Balancer (layer 4 - TCP/UDP).
4. How does Auto Scaling work?

oMonitors metrics like CPU; scales out/in EC2 instances based on

thresholds or schedules for cost-efficiency and reliability.
5. What’s the purpose of AWS VPC and what are its key
components?

oVirtual Private Cloud is your isolated network in AWS. Includes

subnets, route tables, gateways, and security groups.
6. How do you secure data in AWS?

oUse encryption (KMS, SSL), IAM policies, VPC peering, WAF/Shield,

and secure access patterns.
7. What is CloudFormation and why is it useful?

oIt's an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool to manage resources using

templates. Enables reproducible, auditable deployments.
8. How do you monitor AWS resources?

oUse CloudWatch for logs, metrics, and alarms; integrate with SNS,
Lambda, or third-party tools.
9. What are EC2 Spot Instances and when should you use them?

oCost-effective, interruptible compute; great for batch processing,

CI/CD, or fault-tolerant workloads.
10.Describe AWS Lambda limits and use cases.

 Limited to 15 min run time, memory up to 10GB. Used for automation,

ETL, API backends, and microservices.

6. 10 Troubleshooting Tips

1. Check CloudWatch Logs – Look for function errors, timeouts, or system

logs.

2. Review IAM Permissions – Denied actions often result from missing

policies.

3. Use VPC Reachability Analyzer – Debug network connectivity issues.

4. Check Route Tables/Subnets – Misconfigured routes or subnets block

traffic.

5. Examine S3 Permissions – Public access blocks or object-level ACLs can

cause access issues.

6. Check EC2 Status Checks – Two failure types: system and instance.

7. Verify Lambda Timeouts – Increase timeout or optimize execution.

8. Confirm NAT Gateway Setup – For internet-bound traffic in private

subnets.

9. Look at EventBridge Rules – Ensure correct event patterns and targets.

 10.DNS/Route53 Debug – Validate domain propagation and record types.

7. 10 Security Settings

1. Enable AWS Config – Tracks configuration changes across services.

2. Enforce MFA for Root – Most critical account—must be protected.

3. Use Service Control Policies (SCP) – Restrict actions across AWS

Organizations.

4. Rotate Access Keys Regularly – Prevent long-lived credentials.

5. Encrypt EBS volumes – Enforce encryption at launch.

6. Restrict S3 Public Access – Use block public access and policies.

7. Use Secrets Manager – Secure app credentials and rotate them.

8. Enable GuardDuty – Continuous threat detection.

9. Restrict SSH Access – Use bastion hosts and disable public SSH where
possible.

10.Review IAM Access Analyzer – Detect unintended resource sharing.

8. Lesson Summary

1. IAM is your security gatekeeper – Master policies and roles.

2. S3 and EC2 are fundamental building blocks – Optimize cost and

security.

3. CloudWatch powers observability – Central for logs, alerts, metrics.

4. Networking is critical – Understand VPCs, NATs, IGWs, and security

groups.

5. Multi-AZ = High Availability – Build redundancy into every design.

6. Autoscaling saves cost and improves reliability – Tune thresholds

wisely.

7. Tagging isn't optional – It helps with cost tracking, automation, and

compliance.

8. CloudTrail = Accountability – Log everything for security auditing.

9. Infrastructure as Code is the future – Automate with CloudFormation

or Terraform.

10.Never stop learning – AWS evolves constantly—keep up with re:Invent

and new services.

9. Extra Important Points to Know

1. AWS Well-Architected Framework – Pillars: Operational Excellence,

Security, Reliability, Performance, Cost Optimization, and Sustainability.
2. Billing Alarms Are Crucial – Prevent bill shocks using budget and cost
explorer.

3. Use Landing Zones or Control Tower for org setup – Standardize

multi-account setup.

4. Use AMIs to standardize EC2 configs – Bake your base images.

5. CloudShell for quick CLI ops – No setup, secure shell for managing your
environment.

6. AWS CLI and SDKs = Automation – Scripts can manage full AWS
lifecycle.

7. Quotas & Limits Matter – Know default limits for EC2, EBS, etc., and
request increases.

8. Data Transfer Costs Add Up – Plan for cross-region or internet traffic

costs.

9. Watch for Shadow IT – Untracked accounts or unused resources burn

cost/security.

10.Stay Certified – Consider AWS Certified SysOps Admin, DevOps Engineer,

or Solutions Architect paths.