AWS Solutions Architect Associate
Demonstrate ability to design and implement distributed systems on AWS. One of the most in-demand cloud certifications.
Exam Details
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Step-by-Step RoadmapEstimated total: 8 to 12 weeks
Prerequisites: AWS Cloud Practitioner
Ensure you have AWS CLF-C02 level knowledge or pass it first. SAA-C03 assumes you know core AWS services.
What to Learn
- Core AWS services recap (EC2, S3, RDS, VPC, IAM)
- AWS global infrastructure (regions, AZs, edge locations)
- Well-Architected Framework pillars
- AWS pricing model
- AWS Shared Responsibility Model
Resources
- AWS CLF-C02 study guide on PathCert
- AWS Skill Builder: CLF-C02 course (free)
You do not need CLF-C02 to take SAA-C03, but having that foundation makes the associate exam significantly easier. If you are new to AWS, get CLF-C02 first.
IAM and Security
Master IAM users, groups, roles, policies, and AWS security services.
What to Learn
- IAM users, groups, roles, and policies
- IAM policy evaluation logic
- AWS Organizations and SCPs
- AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
- AWS Secrets Manager
- Amazon Cognito
- AWS WAF and Shield
Resources
- Stephane Maarek SAA-C03 course (Udemy)
- AWS IAM documentation
Know the difference between IAM roles and IAM users. Users are for people, roles are for services (e.g. an EC2 instance assuming a role to access S3). This pattern is central to secure architecture design.
Compute: EC2, Lambda, and Containers
Learn EC2 instance types, pricing models, Auto Scaling, Lambda, and container services.
What to Learn
- EC2 instance types and purchasing options
- Reserved, On-Demand, Spot, Dedicated Hosts
- Auto Scaling groups and launch templates
- Elastic Load Balancers (ALB, NLB, CLB)
- AWS Lambda (serverless compute)
- Amazon ECS and EKS (containers)
- AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Resources
- Stephane Maarek SAA-C03 on Udemy
- AWS EC2 documentation
Spot Instances save up to 90% but can be terminated. Reserved Instances save up to 72% with 1 or 3 year commitment. The exam gives cost-optimisation scenarios. Key rule: stateless, fault-tolerant workloads = Spot; steady-state production = Reserved.
Storage: S3, EBS, EFS, and Storage Gateway
Master S3 storage classes, lifecycle policies, encryption, and block/file storage options.
What to Learn
- S3 storage classes (Standard, IA, Glacier, Deep Archive)
- S3 lifecycle policies and versioning
- S3 security (bucket policies, ACLs, pre-signed URLs)
- EBS volume types (gp3, io2, st1, sc1)
- Amazon EFS (elastic file system)
- AWS Storage Gateway
- AWS Snow family
Resources
- Stephane Maarek SAA-C03 course
- AWS S3 storage classes documentation
S3 is one of the biggest exam topics. Learn each storage class and its use case: Standard = frequently accessed, IA = infrequently accessed but rapid retrieval, Glacier = archival, Glacier Deep Archive = years of retention. Know the retrieval times.
Databases: RDS, DynamoDB, ElastiCache
Learn when to use relational, NoSQL, and in-memory databases on AWS.
What to Learn
- Amazon RDS (multi-AZ, read replicas)
- Amazon Aurora (MySQL/PostgreSQL compatible)
- Amazon DynamoDB (NoSQL, single-digit ms latency)
- Amazon ElastiCache (Redis, Memcached)
- Amazon Redshift (data warehouse)
- Database migration tools
Resources
- Stephane Maarek SAA-C03 course
- AWS database documentation
RDS Multi-AZ = high availability (synchronous standby). RDS Read Replica = performance (asynchronous copy). Multi-AZ is for failover, Read Replicas are for scaling reads. The exam distinguishes between these frequently.
Networking: VPC, Route 53, and CloudFront
Master VPC design, subnets, security groups, NAT gateways, and content delivery.
What to Learn
- VPC design (public vs private subnets)
- Security Groups vs NACLs
- NAT Gateway and Internet Gateway
- VPC Peering and Transit Gateway
- Amazon Route 53 (DNS and routing policies)
- Amazon CloudFront (CDN)
- AWS Direct Connect and VPN
Resources
- Stephane Maarek SAA-C03 course
- AWS VPC documentation
VPC networking is the hardest section of SAA-C03. Key distinction: Security Groups are stateful (return traffic auto-allowed), NACLs are stateless (you must explicitly allow return traffic). Practice drawing 3-tier architectures with public, private, and database subnets.
Architecture Patterns and Exam Prep
Study the Well-Architected Framework, practise full mock exams, and book your exam.
What to Learn
- AWS Well-Architected Framework (6 pillars)
- High availability patterns (multi-AZ, multi-region)
- Cost optimisation strategies
- Decoupling with SQS, SNS, EventBridge
- Full-length practice exams
- Review all wrong answers with explanations
Resources
- AWS Official Practice Exam (free sample questions)
- Tutorials Dojo SAA-C03 practice tests
- Stephane Maarek practice tests (Udemy)
Tutorials Dojo practice tests by Jon Bonso are considered the best SAA-C03 prep material. Buy those and do all 6 sets. Score above 80% consistently before booking. The real exam is harder than free practice tests but easier than Tutorials Dojo.