GuideAdvanced
Aws Core Services
Start AWS from zero and build a real end-to-end architecture with your own hands — without ever entering a credit card. The guide follows Andes Cargo, a fictional LATAM logistics company that needs to move its shipment manifests and inventory tracking off a laptop and into the cloud, and uses that thread to build the mental model of "the cloud" (managed services, the shared responsibility model, regions and availability zones) plus the four services that carry 80% of what gets built on AWS: IAM (identity and least privilege), S3 (object storage), EC2 + VPC (compute and the minimal network to run it), and Lambda + DynamoDB (event-driven processing and a managed NoSQL database). Everything runs against LocalStack, the emulator that replicates AWS's real API in Docker, so every command is the same `aws`/`awslocal` you'd run against a real account, with literal, verified JSON output. The thread is cumulative: the VPC from module 2 hosts the EC2 instance from module 5, the IAM roles from module 3 get attached to Lambda and EC2, the S3 bucket from module 4 triggers the Lambda function from module 6, which writes to the DynamoDB table from module 7 — and the module 8 capstone runs that full flow, from file upload to final query, with executed evidence at every step. This is the guide that opens the AWS Cloud ecosystem: it doesn't teach Terraform, containers, Kubernetes, CI/CD, SRE, or multi-account security — it builds the foundation those sibling guides build on.
- 64
- lessons
- 8
- modules
- English · Spanish
- available in
- Yes
- certificate
- Free
- access
Outcomes
What you'll be able to do
- Explain the shared responsibility model and identify what AWS secures versus what you secure for each service
- Stand up a $0 lab with LocalStack (free account, auth token, Docker) and run real AWS CLI commands against it
- Design a single-account IAM model: users, groups, roles, JSON policies, and the principle of least privilege
- Create and operate a VPC with public/private subnets, security groups, and minimal ingress/egress rules
- Upload, organize, and protect objects in S3 with buckets, prefixes, bucket policies, versioning, and public access blocking
- Launch and connect an EC2 instance inside a VPC, with key pairs, user data, and the correct service role attached
- Deploy a Lambda function triggered by an S3 event and grant it least-privilege permissions via a service role
- Model a DynamoDB table with a partition key, write and query items, and choose between on-demand and provisioned capacity
- Chain S3 → Lambda → DynamoDB into a real end-to-end flow and verify it via CLI at every step
- Recognize the real AWS Free Tier trap in 2026 and apply cost guardrails before touching real AWS
Before you start
What you need to bring
It's for you if...
- Devs and sysadmins who have never touched a public cloud and need the AWS mental model before specializing
- Anyone coming from on-premise or single-machine infrastructure who needs to move it to managed services
- Devs who want to practice real AWS without risking a charge, using commands that work identically in production
- Anyone preparing for the rest of the AWS Cloud ecosystem (serverless, Terraform, CI/CD, security, SRE) who needs the foundation first
Requirements and materials
- Terminal and command line: shell, filesystem, permissions, `ping`/`dig`/`curl`, SSH (covered in the Terminal and Command Line Guide)
- Docker installed and running locally (to run LocalStack)
- Basic networking knowledge (IP, DNS) — the guide adds only the AWS-specific layer (CIDR for VPC, security groups, Route 53)
- No credit card or real AWS account needed: the entire guide is completed with LocalStack
Content
The syllabus, module by module
Open any of them to see its lessons.
- 1. Guide introduction: the Andes Cargo case and the $0 commitment
- 2. What is cloud computing
- 3. The shared responsibility model
- 4. Regions and availability zones
- 5. The real AWS Free Tier in 2026
- 6. LocalStack: your $0 AWS
- 7. Setting up the lab: Docker, LocalStack, and awslocal
- 8. Project: verify your lab and meet Andes Cargo
- 1. Introduction: who can do what on AWS
- 2. The IAM model: users, groups, roles, policies
- 3. JSON Policies and Least Privilege
- 4. IAM users vs. roles: when to use each
- 5. Hands-on: users and groups
- 6. Hands-on: writing and attaching policies
- 7. Service roles: when an AWS service acts on your behalf
- 8. Project: Andes Cargo's access model
- 1. Introduction: A Computer You Rent by the Hour
- 2. What Is a Virtual Machine in the Cloud
- 3. Choosing an Instance Type and AMI
- 4. Hands-On: Launching an Instance with LocalStack
- 5. Key Pairs and Connecting with SSH
- 6. User Data: Booting the Instance Already Configured
- 7. The Real-AWS Path, with Cost Guards
- 8. Project: Andes Cargo's Server
- 1. Introduction: Code That Only Runs When Something Happens
- 2. What Serverless Compute Is
- 3. Anatomy of a Lambda Function
- 4. Hands-On: Deploying Your First Function
- 5. Event Sources: What Can Trigger Lambda
- 6. Hands-On: S3 Triggers Lambda
- 7. Permissions: Lambda Needs a Role Too
- 8. Project: Andes Cargo Automatically Processes Manifests
- 1. Introduction: A Database That Scales on Its Own
- 2. What a NoSQL Key-Value Database Is
- 3. Tables, Partition Key, and Sort Key
- 4. Hands-On: Creating a Table
- 5. Hands-On: Put, Get, and Query
- 6. Capacity Modes: On-Demand vs. Provisioned
- 7. Connecting Lambda to DynamoDB
- 8. Project: Andes Cargo's Shipments Table
- 1. Capstone Introduction: The Guide's Close
- 2. Architecture Review: What We Built
- 3. End-to-End Walkthrough: From Upload to Query
- 4. Tagging and Organizing Resources
- 5. Cleaning Up: Cost Guards Checklist
- 6. What This Guide Did NOT Cover
- 7. From Core Services to Production AWS
- 8. Final Project: Andes Cargo's Deliverable
Common questions
What people usually ask
No limit. It's a free guide: come in whenever you like, as often as you like.
No. Modules run from easier to harder, but you can jump to the one you need. Progress is saved per lesson.
Whatever is needed is listed under “What you need to bring”, above. If nothing is listed there, you can start from zero.
In the Club's WhatsApp group, and every two weeks there's a live with an instructor where questions get worked through.
Yes. It's issued automatically once you finish every lesson, with a verifiable code you can share on LinkedIn.
Start whenever you like
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