Cloud Computing and AWS Introduction [2026]

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Build a strong foundation in cloud computing and Amazon Web Services (AWS) through a beginner-friendly course that combines essential cloud concepts with practical, hands-on AWS experience.

This course is designed for learners who are new to cloud computing and AWS. It begins with the fundamentals—what cloud computing is, how it works, and why organizations are moving workloads to the cloud. You will explore IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, cloud deployment models, virtualization, virtual machines, hypervisors, multitenancy, cloud migration strategies, and the key business and technical benefits of cloud adoption.

Once you have established the cloud computing foundation, the course introduces you to Amazon Web Services (AWS). You will learn how AWS Global Cloud Infrastructure is organized through Regions and Availability Zones, create and secure an AWS account, understand the AWS Free Tier, configure budget alerts, and learn important root-account security practices.

The course then moves into the AWS services that form the foundation of many real-world cloud environments. You will work with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to understand users, groups, roles, policies, access keys, MFA, and security best practices. You will also explore Amazon EC2, including instance creation, security groups, Auto Scaling, Amazon Machine Images (AMIs), public and private IP addresses, Elastic IP addresses, Elastic Network Interfaces (ENIs), launch templates, instance metadata, user data, and EC2 purchasing options.

For cloud storage, you will learn Amazon S3 through both conceptual lessons and hands-on demonstrations. Topics include buckets, objects, storage classes, versioning, replication, bucket policies, encryption, presigned URLs, static website hosting, event notifications, access security, and protection against accidental deletion.

You will also gain an introduction to AWS database services using Amazon RDS and Amazon DynamoDB, followed by application integration and event-driven services including Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS, and Amazon EventBridge. Monitoring and logging lessons introduce Amazon CloudWatch and AWS CloudTrail, including metrics, alarms, logs, and activity tracking.

The networking portion introduces DNS and Amazon Route 53, including how DNS resolution works, domain-name management, Route 53 fundamentals, and routing policies. You will also receive an introduction to AWS DevOps, including key DevOps services and a hands-on introduction to infrastructure as code with AWS CloudFormation.

The course concludes by expanding your understanding of modern AWS capabilities through introductory coverage of AWS AI/ML services and AWS security services, giving you a broader view of the AWS ecosystem and a foundation for continued cloud learning.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain cloud computing and its key benefits

• Understand IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS service models

• Compare public, private, hybrid, community, and multi-cloud deployment models

• Understand virtualization, virtual machines, hypervisors, and multitenancy

• Explain common cloud migration strategies

• Understand AWS Regions, Availability Zones, and global infrastructure

• Create and secure an AWS account and configure budget alerts

• Work with IAM users, groups, roles, policies, MFA, and access credentials

• Launch and configure Amazon EC2 instances

• Understand EC2 security groups, Auto Scaling, AMIs, IP addressing, ENIs, and purchasing options

• Work with Amazon S3 buckets, storage classes, versioning, replication, encryption, policies, and event notifications

• Understand Amazon RDS and DynamoDB

• Explore SQS, SNS, and EventBridge for application integration

• Monitor AWS environments using CloudWatch and CloudTrail

• Understand DNS and work with Amazon Route 53

• Understand basic AWS DevOps concepts and use AWS CloudFormation

• Gain introductory knowledge of AWS AI/ML and security services

Hands-On Learning

This course goes beyond theory. Throughout the curriculum, you will follow practical AWS demonstrations covering tasks such as creating an AWS account, enabling MFA, configuring IAM permissions, launching and securing EC2 instances, working with S3 buckets, creating RDS and DynamoDB resources, configuring messaging and event-driven services, monitoring resources, working with Route 53, and deploying infrastructure using CloudFormation.

The hands-on approach helps connect cloud concepts with the AWS Management Console so that you understand not only what AWS services do, but how they are used.

Who This Course Is For

This course is ideal for beginners with little or no previous AWS experience, including students, IT professionals, developers, system administrators, technical support professionals, aspiring cloud engineers, and anyone interested in starting a career in cloud computing.

No advanced cloud knowledge is required. The course progresses from fundamental cloud concepts to practical AWS services in a structured, beginner-friendly manner.

If you want to understand cloud computing from the ground up and gain practical exposure to the core services that make up the AWS ecosystem, this course provides a comprehensive starting point.