AWS Essentials: Cloud, AWS IAM, & Amazon S3 for Beginners

Name: AWS Essentials: Cloud, AWS IAM, & Amazon S3 for Beginners
Rating: 4.6 (6 reviews)

Begin your AWS journey with cloud, IAM, & Amazon S3 basics. Cloud Practitioner hands-on prep!

Role Play

Created byEmre Yilmaz | AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, Solutions Architect, Developer

Last updated 6/2026

English

What you'll learn

Understand key AWS Cloud concepts — Regions, AZs, pricing, and shared responsibility
Manage users and groups in AWS IAM and understand how permissions and IAM roles are used across AWS
Create and manage Amazon S3 buckets, permissions, and lifecycle policies
Use the AWS CLI to interact with and manage services efficiently
Explore AWS documentation to find service commands and parameters independently
Configure cross-region replication and host a static website on S3
Build a strong foundation for progressing toward AWS certifications and deeper AWS learning
Test your understanding with frequent quizzes

Course content

6 sections • 73 lectures • 5h 49m total length

Course Introduction3:23
Explore AWS essentials, including cloud fundamentals, IAM permissions, the AWS CLI, and Amazon S3 basics through hands-on labs, quizzes, and practical guidance for the Cloud Practitioner exam.
Meet Your Instructor1:14
Meet Emre, a cloud architect with AWS certifications, guiding you through practical, step-by-step, hands-on lessons to build secure, reliable cloud solutions on AWS.
Creating Your AWS Account (Hands-on)8:13
Learn the steps to create your free-tier eligible AWS account.
AWS Account Creation Troubleshooting0:50
Learn the steps you need to take to troubleshoot if you cannot create your AWS account successfully.

What is Cloud Computing?6:24
This lecture introduces cloud computing by comparing it with the traditional IT architecture.
Advantages of Cloud Computing4:18
Understand the advantages of cloud computing and how it can help you improve your business.
What is AWS?7:30
Learn about AWS, its history, and its current state in the cloud market.
Quiz – Introduction to Cloud & AWS
AWS Regions & Availability Zones5:26
Learn about the core AWS global infrastructure concepts: AWS regions and Availability Zones.
How to Choose an AWS Region?1:53
Learn the key factors to consider when selecting an AWS region for your application.
AWS Edge Locations2:04
Learn about another AWS global infrastructure concept, Edge locations, and how using them with Amazon CloudFront may help you.
Introducing the AWS Management Console (Hands-on)5:51
Hands-on lecture! This lecture will introduce you to the AWS Management Console and selecting AWS regions.
Quiz – Primary AWS Infrastructure Components
Pitching the Cloud to a Panicked CEO
Types of Cloud Computing Services5:59
You will learn about various cloud computing service types: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS.
Cloud Deployment Models5:41
AWS Local Zones2:28
Explore AWS Local Zones, physical data centers that extend an AWS region to deliver closer compute and storage for low latency and data residency needs.
AWS Outposts3:07
AWS Wavelength Zones1:42
Discover AWS wavelength zones at the edge of 5G networks, enabling apps to run within provider networks with ultra-low latency. Use cases include game streaming and IoT image/video recognition.
Quiz – Cloud Service Types, Deployment Models, & More AWS Infrastructure
AWS Pricing Principles5:44
You will learn the key principles of how AWS prices your resource usage: Compute, storage, networking, and databases.
AWS Pricing Models2:19
This lecture will introduce you to the on-demand pricing, Savings Plans, reserved instances, and spot instances.
AWS Plans & AWS Free Tier5:50
This lecture will cover the new AWS plans and the AWS Free Tier benefits.
Which AWS Services Offer Free Tier Benefits?4:09
You will learn where to find information about the AWS services with Free Tier benefits.
Monitoring Your Bills & Free-Tier Usage (Hands-on)7:02
Shared Responsibility Model5:17
Understand the shared responsibility model: aws secures the cloud, while you secure data, apps, and configurations, with duties varying by service such as ec2 and dynamodb.
Quiz – AWS Pricing & Shared Responsibility Model

Introducing AWS IAM7:05
Learn how AWS IAM secures access via authentication and authorization, apply the principle of least privilege, manage identities, policies, and roles, and use temporary credentials for safe S3 access.
The Root User, IAM Users & Groups4:29
IAM Roles3:40
Explore IAM roles, which use temporary credentials to access AWS services, learn how to assume roles, attach policies, and enable service access for Lambda, EC2, and cross-account scenarios.
Protecting The Root User5:48
What is MFA?4:39
Enabling MFA for the Root User (Hands-on)6:03
Quiz – Introducing IAM & The Root User
Identity-based IAM Policies6:49
Identity-based Policy Structure and Rules3:54
Learn how identity-based policies are structured as json documents, with syntax version and statements. See how allow and deny rules on actions and resources work, including wildcards and group inheritance.
Creating an Administrator IAM User (Hands-on)9:41
Setting Password Policies for Your IAM Users (Hands-on)5:48
AWS Account Aliases (Hands-on)3:31
Granting Permissions to IAM Users via IAM Groups (Hands-on)8:54
Create IAM users and assign them to groups with AWS managed policies to grant S3 access; test full and read-only permissions by creating and listing buckets.
Attaching Policies to IAM Users Directly (Hands-on)3:11
Granting Permissions with Inline Policies (Hands-on)8:13
Creating Customer-Managed Policies (Hands-on)6:29
Reusing Customer-Managed Policies (Hands-on)4:10
Updating Customer-Managed Policies (Hands-on)3:39
Resource-based Policies5:29
Access Control Lists (ACLs)1:44
Creating Programmatic Access Keys (Hands-on)5:54
Create and manage programmatic access keys for IAM users in IAM console, using access key ID and secret access key to sign AWS CLI and API requests, while rotating keys.
Quiz – AWS Policies

(Optional) Installing Visual Studio Code2:43
An optional lecture to guide you on downloading and installing Visual Studio Code as a text editor and using its built-in terminal.
What is AWS CLI?3:40
Learn to use the AWS CLI to manage AWS services from a terminal, automate tasks, and configure programmatic access, with IAM roles or CloudShell for secure, browser-based use.
Installing AWS CLI (Hands-on)3:40
Configuring AWS CLI (Hands-on)3:27
Configure the AWS CLI with IAM programmatic access keys, then set a default region and an output format. Verify access by listing S3 buckets.
Using AWS CLI (Hands-on)4:20
Quiz – AWS CLI Essentials

Storage Types on AWS4:15
Learn about the various storage types offered by AWS: block, file system, and object storage.
What is Amazon S3?6:22
This lecture will introduce the Amazon S3 service and its core concepts.
S3 Bucket & Object Naming Rules2:09
Access Control on Amazon S36:21
Learn how to grant permissions to your Amazon S3 buckets and objects.
Creating an S3 Bucket (Hands-on)7:26
Hands-on lecture! Learn to create an S3 bucket with detailed explanations on crucial configuration.
Uploading a File to Your S3 Bucket (Hands-on)4:19
Hands-on lecture! Learn to upload objects to your bucket, organize them into folders, and delete them.
Managing Files and Folders in Your S3 Bucket (Hands-on)4:43
Learn to manage files and folders in S3 by uploading into folders, understanding that folders are prefixes, and moving objects between fruits and vegetables folders.
Deleting S3 Objects and Buckets (Hands-on)2:11
Learn to delete single objects or folders in S3, confirm irreversible deletions by typing permanently delete, and empty buckets by deleting all objects and folders before confirming.
Amazon S3 Versioning5:15
Learn about versioning on your Amazon S3 buckets.
Enabling Versioning on Your S3 Bucket (Hands-on)5:18
Hands-on lecture! You will learn how S3 versioning works by uploading objects with and without enabling it on your S3 bucket.
Deleting S3 Object Versions (Hands-on)3:09
Introducing Amazon S3 Storage Classes4:26
Introducing the Amazon S3 storage classes, starting with the ones designed for frequently or infrequently accessed data.
Amazon S3 Glacier Classes5:09
You will learn about Amazon S3 storage classes designed for archive data.
Amazon S3 Intelligent Tiering2:54
What if you are unsure of the S3 storage class to use? Then, learn about Amazon S3 Intelligent Tiering in this lecture.
Choosing an S3 Storage Class on Object Uploads (Hands-on)2:55
Hands-on lecture! Learn how to select a storage class when uploading an object to your S3 bucket.
S3 Lifecycle Policies – Transition Rules4:49
This lecture will introduce S3 lifecycle policies with transition rules.
S3 Lifecycle Policies – Expiration Rules3:31
You will learn about expiration rules in your Amazon S3 lifecycle policies.
Defining S3 Lifecycle Policies (Hands-on)12:37
Hands-on lecture! Learn how to define S3 lifecycle rules and see them in action with a demonstration spanning multiple days.
Static Website Hosting on Amazon S33:52
Learn about using Amazon S3 for static website hosting.
Hosting a Static Website on Your S3 Bucket (Hands-on)7:03
Hands-on lecture! Learn to configure your Amazon S3 bucket to host a static website with a simple practice.
Amazon S3 Replication5:33
Learn about Amazon S3 replication with its features and limits.
Configuring Amazon S3 Replication (Hands-on)9:08
Hands-on lecture! Configure an S3 replication rule from a source bucket to a destination bucket in a different AWS region to automatically copy uploaded objects.
Introducing Data Encryption on AWS6:09
This lecture will introduce you to the general encryption concepts on AWS and the crucial AWS services used for data encryption.
Amazon S3 Encryption3:36
Learn about client-side and server-side encryption methods on Amazon S3.
Quiz – S3 Essentials

Requirements

No prior cloud or AWS experience required — you’ll learn everything step by step
A willingness to dedicate time and effort to becoming confident with AWS

Description

Build a strong foundation in AWS — Cloud concepts, IAM, the AWS CLI, and Amazon S3 — through clear explanations, hands-on demonstrations, and section-end quizzes designed to reinforce your learning.

This course is ideal for anyone beginning their AWS journey or preparing for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. Whether you’re an aspiring cloud engineer, software developer, or IT professional, you’ll gain the practical knowledge to use AWS confidently and understand how modern cloud computing works behind the scenes.

You’ll start with the fundamentals of cloud computing and explore how AWS operates its global infrastructure, including Regions, Availability Zones, reliability, and pricing. You’ll also learn the AWS Shared Responsibility Model, which defines how security responsibilities are divided between AWS and customers.

Next, you’ll dive into Identity and Access Management (IAM) — the service that controls who can access what in AWS. You’ll learn the essential components of IAM, including users, groups, policies, and authentication. You’ll understand how IAM roles work and why they are used throughout AWS. You’ll apply the hands-on role creation process in a later course of the AWS Essentials series, where roles integrate naturally with services like Amazon EC2.

You’ll then install and configure the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) to manage AWS services more efficiently. After that, you’ll explore Amazon S3 in depth — including buckets, objects, storage classes, lifecycle rules, replication, and static website hosting — all demonstrated step by step.

Each section concludes with a short quiz to help you review key concepts and ensure you’re ready for the next topic.

By the end of this course, you’ll not only understand how AWS works but also know how to apply these foundational services in real-world situations. You’ll be ready to move confidently toward the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification or continue learning with the upcoming courses in the AWS Essentials series.

Who this course is for:

Beginners exploring AWS for the first time
Learners preparing for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam
Developers or IT professionals moving into cloud roles
Teams seeking an efficient, hands-on AWS onboarding resource

AWS Essentials: Cloud, AWS IAM, & Amazon S3 for Beginners

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction4 lectures • 14min

Cloud Computing & AWS Essentials19 lectures • 1hr 23min

AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) Essentials20 lectures • 1hr 49min

AWS Command-Line Interface (AWS CLI) Essentials5 lectures • 18min

Amazon S3 Essentials24 lectures • 2hr 3min

Conclusion2 lectures • 3min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: