Week 2 Worklog

Week 2 Objectives:

  • Learn and practice AWS Compute services (EC2, AMI, EBS, Auto Scaling, ELB).
  • Gain skills in monitoring and backup using CloudWatch and AWS Backup.
  • Explore AWS Storage services: S3, Storage Gateway, FSx.
  • Hands-on with deployment, scaling, and static website hosting.

Tasks to be carried out this week:

DayTaskStart DateCompletion DateReference Material
1AWS Compute & EC2 Administration
- Compute Theory: Researched Amazon EC2 architecture, Nitro Hypervisor, Instance families, and pricing strategies (Spot, Reserved, Savings Plans).
- Storage for Compute: Differentiated between EBS (Block) and Instance Store (Ephemeral); managed AMIs and Snapshots.
- Hands-on Lab 04:
   + Provisioned EC2 infrastructure (Linux & Windows) within a VPC.
   + Established secure connections via SSH (Linux) and RDP (Windows).
   + Deployed a Node.js CRUD User Management application on EC2.		14/09/202515/09/2025Module 03
2High Availability & Monitoring Operations
- Scaling & Load Balancing (Lab 06):
   + Configured Auto Scaling Groups for dynamic scalability.
   + Deployed Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) for traffic distribution.
- Observability (Lab 08): Configured Amazon CloudWatch to collect Metrics, Logs, and set up system anomaly Alarms.
- Data Protection (Lab 13): Implemented automated backup strategies using AWS Backup for EC2, RDS, and EFS based on RPO/RTO targets.		16/09/202516/09/2025Module 03
Module 06
3AWS Storage Fundamentals (Amazon S3)
- Object Storage Architecture: Studied S3 architecture, object immutability, and data durability standards.
- Storage Classes: Analyzed storage tiers (Standard, Intelligent-Tiering, Glacier) to optimize costs based on access patterns.
- Security & Management: Configured Bucket Policies, ACLs, Versioning, and Lifecycle Policies.
- Archive Strategy: Explored long-term archival solutions with S3 Glacier and Deep Archive.		17/09/202517/09/2025Module 04
4Hybrid Cloud Storage (Storage Gateway)
- Hybrid Architecture: Explored on-premises storage extension to Cloud via AWS Storage Gateway.
- Hands-on Lab 24 (File Gateway):
   + Deployed an EC2 instance acting as a Gateway Appliance.
   + Configured NFS File Shares mapping to backend S3 Buckets.
   + Practiced mounting network drives from Cloud to local workstations.		18/09/202518/09/2025Module 04
5Managed File Systems & Static Hosting
- Amazon FSx (Lab 25): Deployed fully managed Windows native file shares (SMB) using Amazon FSx for Windows File Server.
- Static Website Hosting (Lab 57):
   + Hosted a static website directly on an S3 Bucket.
   + Optimized performance and security via Amazon CloudFront (CDN) and OAI (Origin Access Identity).
   + Configured DNS and Public Access settings.		19/09/202519/09/2025Module 04

Week 2 Achievements:

  1. Compute & Deployment

    • Gained strong understanding of Amazon EC2 concepts, architecture, and related components (AMI, Snapshot, Key Pair, EBS).
    • Successfully launched and managed both Linux and Windows EC2 instances.
    • Practiced deployment of a real-world Node.js CRUD application on EC2 instances.
    • Learned automation techniques using User Data, Meta Data, and AWS Systems Manager.

  2. Scalability & High Availability

    • Implemented EC2 Auto Scaling Group to automatically adjust capacity based on demand.
    • Configured Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) to distribute traffic across multiple EC2 instances.
    • Integrated Auto Scaling with Load Balancing for high availability and cost optimization.

  3. Monitoring & Observability

    • Explored Amazon CloudWatch for infrastructure and application monitoring.
    • Created custom metrics, dashboards, and alarms for real-time system health tracking.
    • Centralized log management using CloudWatch Logs with retention and anomaly detection.
    • Practiced automated monitoring using CloudFormation stacks.

  4. Data Protection & Backup

    • Learned to design AWS Backup Plans for multiple services (EBS, RDS, DynamoDB, EFS).
    • Implemented recovery objectives (RTO/RPO) for disaster recovery strategies.
    • Configured SNS notifications for backup success, failure, and recovery events.

  5. Storage & Data Management

    • Understood Amazon S3 as an object storage service, with lifecycle policies and storage classes.
    • Practiced S3 features: versioning, access control (ACL, Bucket Policy), and CORS.
    • Configured S3 Static Website Hosting and tested public accessibility.
    • Implemented CloudFront distribution for faster content delivery and secured access via OAI.
    • Learned Amazon FSx for Windows File Server: architecture, integration with Windows, and managed file storage service.