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AWS Architecture Patterns — Reference Diagrams for Certification
58 architecture pattern posts covering all 12 AWS certification exams. Each post includes HTML/CSS diagrams, comparison tables, design decisions, exam tips, and 5 practice questions with expandable answers.
🏗️ Core Architecture Patterns (SAP-C02 / SAA-C03)
| Architecture | Key Services |
|---|---|
| Three-Tier Web & Caching | ALB, ASG, ElastiCache, DAX, RDS Proxy |
| Serverless API Architecture | API Gateway, Lambda, DynamoDB, Cognito |
| Event-Driven Serverless | EventBridge, SQS, SNS, Step Functions, Lambda |
| Container Platform (ECS/EKS/Fargate) | ECS, EKS, Fargate, ECR, App Mesh |
| Multi-Region Active-Active | Route 53, DynamoDB Global, Aurora Global |
| Disaster Recovery | Backup, Pilot Light, Warm Standby, Multi-Site |
| Auto Scaling & Performance | Target Tracking, Predictive, Warm Pools |
| Cost Optimization | Savings Plans, Spot, Right-Sizing, Tiering |
🌐 Networking (ANS-C01 / SAP-C02)
| Architecture | Key Services |
|---|---|
| VPC Connectivity Decision Guide | Peering, TGW, PrivateLink, VPC Sharing |
| Hybrid Cloud Networking | Direct Connect, VPN, Transit Gateway |
| Direct Connect Deep Dive | DX Gateway, LAG, Resiliency Patterns |
| Global Traffic Management | Route 53, Global Accelerator, CloudFront |
| Route 53 Resolver & Hybrid DNS | Resolver Endpoints, DNSSEC, Split-Horizon |
| ALB vs NLB vs GWLB | Load Balancer Decision Guide |
| VPC Advanced (CIDR, ENI, IPv6) | Secondary CIDRs, Prefix Lists, IPv6 |
| Network Performance | ENA, EFA, Jumbo Frames, Placement Groups |
🔒 Security (SCS-C03 / SAP-C02)
| Architecture | Key Services |
|---|---|
| IAM Security (SCPs, Boundaries, ABAC) | IAM, Organizations, Verified Permissions |
| Data Encryption (KMS vs CloudHSM) | KMS, CloudHSM, Key Policies, Rotation |
| Centralized Logging | CloudTrail, Security Lake, SIEM |
| DDoS & Edge Protection | WAF, Shield, CloudFront, Firewall Manager |
| Incident Response | Forensics, Containment, Detective |
| Secrets & Certificate Management | Secrets Manager, ACM, mTLS |
| Zero Trust Architecture | Verified Access, VPC Lattice |
| Network Firewall & Inspection | Network Firewall, GWLB, Traffic Mirroring |
| Federation & SSO | Identity Center, Cognito, SAML/OIDC |
| Security Services | GuardDuty, Security Hub, Inspector |
| Config vs CloudTrail vs CloudWatch | Detection & Monitoring Compared |
| Multi-Account Governance | Organizations, Control Tower, SCPs |
🤖 AI/ML & GenAI (AIP-C01 / AIF-C01 / MLA-C01)
| Architecture | Key Services |
|---|---|
| GenAI Architecture (Bedrock Overview) | Bedrock, RAG, Agents, Guardrails |
| Agentic AI (Agents, MCP, Multi-Agent) | Bedrock Agents, Strands SDK, MCP |
| RAG Architecture (Basics) | Bedrock Knowledge Bases |
| RAG Advanced (Vector DB, Hybrid Search) | OpenSearch, pgvector, Reranking |
| GenAI Cost & Performance | Tokens, Caching, Model Routing |
| GenAI Observability & Evaluation | LLM-as-Judge, CloudWatch, X-Ray |
| GenAI Security & Guardrails | PII, Prompt Injection, VPC Isolation |
| Bedrock vs SageMaker | Decision Guide |
| MLOps Pipeline | SageMaker, Model Registry, Endpoints |
| Prompt Engineering | Techniques & Best Practices |
| Responsible AI | Guardrails, Governance, Bias |
| AI Services Decision Guide | Rekognition, Comprehend, Transcribe, etc. |
📊 Data & Analytics (DAS-C01 / DEA-C01 / DBS-C01)
| Architecture | Key Services |
|---|---|
| Data Lake & Analytics | S3, Glue, Athena, Lake Formation |
| Glue ETL & Data Pipeline | Glue Jobs, Catalog, Crawlers, DQ |
| EMR & Spark Architecture | EMR, Spark, EMRFS, EMR Serverless |
| Kinesis vs MSK Streaming | Kinesis, MSK, Firehose, Flink |
| RDS & Aurora Performance | Read Replicas, Proxy, Global, Insights |
| DynamoDB Advanced | Streams, Global Tables, TTL, Capacity |
| Database Migration (DMS/SCT) | DMS, SCT, Migration Patterns |
| SNS vs SQS vs EventBridge | Messaging Comparison |
⚙️ DevOps & Operations (DOP-C02 / SOA-C03)
| Architecture | Key Services |
|---|---|
| CI/CD Pipeline | CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy |
| CloudFormation Advanced | StackSets, Drift, Custom Resources, Guard |
| Systems Manager Operations | Patch Manager, Session Manager, Automation |
🚀 Migration & Storage (SAP-C02 / SAA-C03)
| Architecture | Key Services |
|---|---|
| Migration Architecture (7Rs) | Migration Hub, MGN, DMS, Snow |
| Storage Gateway vs DataSync vs Snow | Hybrid Data Transfer Decision |
| EFS vs FSx Decision Guide | Shared File Storage Comparison |