So far in the course series, students would have been introduced to general IT knowledge and some AWS foundations. In this course, students will be introduced to specific topics for the Support Associate role. The instructors will present the following: Cloud Support Associate best practices, how tools such as automation and genAI can help, troubleshooting methodologies, how Cloud workloads change support’s approach, root cause analysis, post-mortem writing skills, and how to be your customers’ trusted technical and business advisor.

This course will also be the first one on the series where we will bring Amazon employees in support roles to talk about their experiences and best-practices when interacting with their customers. We brought two Amazonians who work as a manager to ask them questions about hiring on the role, and two Amazonians who work as Individual Contributors assisting customers. On camera, you can expect having the dynamic duo Morgan and Raf doing their best, which is sharing their experiences, as well as lecturing topics that will give you a good idea on what to expect on the Cloud Support field.

This course will focus on building the skills that you need to get started with the Command Line Interface (CLI). It will cover basic navigation, program installation, reading logs, and troubleshooting issues. We will also dive into network troubleshooting and common AWS scenarios that you may encounter as a Cloud Support Associate. In the first section of this course, we will focus on how to navigate in a Linux environment using only the CLI. We will explain how to create files, directories, and the commands you need to manage your system. We will also discover how to set permissions in the environment as well as edit text and configuration files.

In the second section, we’ll go a bit deeper into the CLI and learn about troubleshooting tools that we have available to us. You’ll see how to test networking connectivity as well as install and configure Linux applications. The third portion of this course will focus on network troubleshooting in AWS. We’ll discover the common ports that can cause problems when setting up security groups and network access control lists (NACLs). We’ll also learn how AWS handles DNS and the steps you can take if something isn’t resolving correctly. Finally, the course concludes by covering common troubleshooting scenarios. What do you do when your Linux application keeps crashing? How about a troublesome SSH connection that isn’t working? Where do you look if your hosts are missing internet connectivity? By the end of this course, you’ll have a strong technical foundation in the skills needed to troubleshoot IT problems as a Cloud Support Associate.

Automation in the Cloud can simplify processes, enable agility and scalability, and help you deploy faster. But how should you master these topics to enhance your career potential? The course kicks off by introducing automation in the cloud, comparing the differences between on-premises and cloud. We'll answer why automation is so powerful and you'll get hands-on by working with AWS CLI. Week 1 closes with automation with scripting by sharing examples of how automation helps and the benefits of using scripts. A focus on Automation isn't complete with an overview of Infrastructure as Code. You'll get introduced to Provisioning and Configuration Management and solve an automation problem with AWS CloudFormation. The instructors will then share some simple automation examples and how various tools can help you get the job done. In the course's final week, we'll cover the various AWS Services and features used for automation, how to scale resource management, and use the Systems Manager console and AWS Config for compliance.

This course's focus will be on practical aspects of preparing to work as a support agent in organizations with AWS environments. We will start with some review of previous topics covered in the series, with specific attention paid towards debugging and troubleshooting. We’ll then move into concepts around interacting with customers to obtain information and progress towards a solution.

In the next module, you'll have the opportunity to view the architecture from various perspectives, such as builder, supporter, and interviewer. We will then shift into preparing you to apply for Cloud Support Associate positions. This will involve diving into resume and portfolio building, as well as the creation of an online presence. The second module will close out with a look at how you can evaluate opportunities and any gaps you may have in your knowledge. The third module of the course will have a focus on interviewing. This will involve preparing for interviews, discussions with professions from AWS Premium Support around the interviewing and hiring process, and looking at mock interviews and sample questions. The last module of the course will allow you to practice using the knowledge and various skills you’ve acquired over the course of the series with a multi-part project. In the project, you’ll build, analyze, and document an application architecture. You’ll also can view the architecture from various perspectives, such as builder, supporter, and interviewer.