Introduction to AWS

If you've ever wondered how companies like Netflix, Airbnb, or Spotify handle millions of users without their websites crashing, the answer often involves cloud computing. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the most popular cloud platform, powering a huge portion of the internet.

But AWS can feel overwhelming at first. With hundreds of services and endless configuration options, where do you even start?

This guide takes a different approach. Instead of trying to cover everything, you'll learn the core services that matter most by building a real web application from scratch. By the end, you'll understand how the pieces fit together and feel confident exploring AWS on your own.

What You'll Build

Throughout this guide, you'll create a complete web application that includes:

• A website that can handle thousands of visitors
• A database to store user information
• File storage for images and documents
• Automatic scaling when traffic increases
• Monitoring to know when something goes wrong
• Security to protect your users' data

Most importantly, you'll understand why each piece exists and how they work together.

How This Guide Is Different

Rather than jumping straight into technical commands, each section explains:

• Why you need each service
• When you'd use it in real applications
• How it compares to traditional hosting
• What it costs and how to avoid surprises

You'll see plenty of examples, but they're explained in plain English first.

What You Need to Get Started

Before diving in, make sure you have:

• A computer with internet access (Windows, Mac, or Linux all work)
• A credit card for AWS account creation (don't worry, we'll stick to free services)
• Basic web knowledge - you should know what a website, database, and server are
• Willingness to experiment - cloud computing is best learned by doing

You don't need programming experience, though it helps. When we do show code, we'll explain what it does step by step.

About AWS Costs

AWS has a generous free tier that covers most of what you'll learn in this guide. New accounts get:

• 750 hours of basic servers per month (enough to run one 24/7)
• 5GB of file storage
• 750 hours of database hosting
• 1 million requests to serverless functions

We'll clearly mark when something costs money and show you how to avoid unexpected charges.

The Learning Path

This guide follows a logical progression:

1. Setting up your account and understanding the AWS console
2. Security basics - protecting your account from day one
3. Your first server - launching a virtual machine in the cloud
4. File storage - handling images, documents, and backups
5. Networking - connecting services securely
6. Databases - storing and retrieving data reliably
7. Scaling up - handling more users automatically
8. Monitoring - knowing what's happening in your application
9. Going serverless - running code without managing servers
10. Managing costs - keeping your bills predictable

Each section builds on the previous ones, but you can also jump to specific topics if needed.

A Word of Encouragement

Cloud computing might seem complex, but remember that every expert started exactly where you are now. The concepts become clearer as you work with them, and AWS provides excellent documentation when you need more details.

Don't worry about understanding everything immediately. Focus on the big picture first, then dive deeper into the areas that interest you most.

Ready to start your cloud journey? Let's begin with setting up your AWS account and getting familiar with the basics.