Cloud · Architecture · AWS-first · Provider-neutral

Cloud Infrastructure Fundamentals

Learn how production cloud infrastructure fits together before memorizing service consoles: deployment and service models, temporary identity, dual-stack VPC networking, VM/container/serverless compute choices, storage, load balancing, DNS/TLS/CDN delivery, managed databases and disaster recovery, security/governance, observability, FinOps and Terraform/OpenTofu-safe change management. Core labs run locally and do not require a cloud account.

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Cloud mental model

Understand the relationship before choosing the product.

The course is AWS-first for concrete examples, but the mental models transfer: identity, routing, execution, storage, recovery, security boundaries, telemetry, cost and controlled infrastructure changes.

Request path

Expose only what must be public

DNS
↓
TLS load balancer
↓
private application
↓
private data

Control path

Automate with temporary identity

Git + IaC
↓
reviewed plan
↓
controlled apply
↓
verify / rollback

Course modules

Build a production-shaped architecture one responsibility at a time.

Cloud fundamentals and shared responsibility

Understand cloud service models, regions and availability zones, elasticity, resilience, and how security responsibilities change as services become more managed.

Open module →02

Identity and access management

Learn identities, roles, policies, temporary credentials, least privilege, MFA and why workloads should not embed long-lived cloud access keys.

Open module →03

Cloud networking: VPCs, subnets and routing

Build a practical networking mental model for CIDR, usable addresses, route-table association and longest-prefix matching, public/private paths, NAT/endpoints, IPv6, VPC interconnects, and stateful versus stateless controls.

Open module →04

Compute, images, bootstrap and auto scaling

Compare VM, container, managed-container and serverless execution models, then learn images, bootstrap, instance families, lifecycle and health-driven autoscaling.

Open module →05

Block, file and object storage

Choose storage by access pattern: block devices for attached volumes, shared filesystems for file semantics, and object storage for API-addressed durable objects.

Open module →06

Load balancing and high availability

Understand L4 versus L7 load balancing, health checks, multi-AZ failure domains and how load balancing integrates with autoscaling.

Open module →07

DNS and application delivery

Follow application traffic from DNS name resolution through TLS endpoints and CDN caching to an origin or load balancer.

Open module →08

Cloud databases

Understand managed relational databases, NoSQL basics, backups, Multi-AZ availability, read replicas and secure database connectivity.

Open module →09

Security architecture

Apply layered network, identity, encryption, key, secret and audit controls with explicit security boundaries.

Open module →10

Monitoring, logging and cost

Connect metrics, logs and audit trails to operational health, then use tagging, budgets and basic FinOps controls to keep cloud usage accountable.

Open module →11

Cloud with Terraform and safe automation

Connect Terraform fundamentals to cloud providers, credentials, remote state, plans, policy checks and CI/CD without teaching unsafe static-key workflows.

Open module →12

Capstone: production-shaped cloud architecture

Integrate networking relationships, allowed flows, recovery objectives, risk-to-control mappings, observability, cost and controlled IaC into a machine-checked production-shaped architecture.

Open module →

Provider translation

Products change. Architecture concepts transfer.

These mappings are orientation aids, not claims that services are feature-identical. Check current provider documentation, regional availability, quotas and pricing before implementation.

ConceptAWSAzureGoogle Cloud

ConceptVirtual machineAWSAmazon EC2AzureAzure Virtual MachinesGoogle CloudCompute Engine

ConceptVirtual networkAWSAmazon VPCAzureAzure Virtual NetworkGoogle CloudGoogle Cloud VPC

ConceptObject storageAWSAmazon S3AzureAzure Blob StorageGoogle CloudCloud Storage

ConceptManaged relational DBAWSAmazon RDSAzureAzure SQL DatabaseGoogle CloudCloud SQL

ConceptDNSAWSAmazon Route 53AzureAzure DNSGoogle CloudCloud DNS

ConceptIdentity / accessAWSAWS IAMAzureMicrosoft Entra ID + Azure RBACGoogle CloudCloud IAM

ConceptKeys / secretsAWSAWS KMS + Secrets ManagerAzureAzure Key VaultGoogle CloudCloud KMS + Secret Manager

ConceptMonitoringAWSAmazon CloudWatchAzureAzure MonitorGoogle CloudCloud Monitoring

Three lab modes

Learn cloud architecture without forcing cloud spend.

Every module keeps the core path account-free. Optional AWS sections are clearly separated and are not used by the main validator.

Mode 1

Concept labs

Architecture reasoning, calculations, decision tables and failure analysis. Always available.

Mode 2

Local simulations

Python/bash/files simulate CIDR, longest-prefix routing, stateful/stateless filtering, scaling, recovery, telemetry, cost and capstone controls without AWS credentials.

Mode 3 · Optional

AWS inspection labs

Read-only AWS CLI exercises expose real routes, endpoints, service metadata and control-plane evidence. Each module states resources created, cost/risk, verification and cleanup.

Prerequisites and lab environment

A small local shell environment is enough for the core path.

Linux/networking basics are recommended. Git, Docker, Kubernetes and Terraform courses deepen related topics but are not mandatory to begin.

Core lab OS

Linux, macOS, or Windows 11 with WSL2. The heredoc/bash examples assume a POSIX-style shell.

Required tools

bash, Python 3 and standard command-line utilities. Terraform itself is not required until you choose to extend the IaC exercises.

Optional AWS path

AWS CLI v2 plus an authorized sandbox account. Prefer federated/temporary credentials. Real AWS credentials are never required for assessment or the main validation script.

Knowledge assessment

Prove you can reason about cloud architecture, not just product names.

The assessment selects 30 questions from an 84-question bank covering foundations/shared responsibility, IAM, networking, compute/scaling, storage/data, security/reliability, and operations/cost/IaC. The bank includes scenario questions as well as core concept checks. Pass mark: 75%. Time limit: 35 minutes.

12 MODULES→30 RANDOM QUESTIONS · 35 MIN→PASS ≥ 75%→OPTIONAL CERTIFICATION

Maximum two attempts per 24 hours. Learning and assessment are free. A passing result enables the optional ₹499 GST-inclusive Certificate of Successful Completion pathway.

2–3 hour course capstone

Prove the architecture relationships before provisioning.

Module 12 validates tier CIDRs, explicit allowed flows, no public data-tier path, numeric RTO/RPO evidence, risk-to-control mappings, multi-zone design, ownership/cost controls and reviewed IaC delivery. A seven-part rubric then scores the quality of the design evidence.

Requirements→Network + flows→Recovery + risks→IaC→Break / diagnose / prove