AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Feb 2018 Exam Guide V1.5.2
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AWS Certified Solutions Architect –
Associate (Released February 2018) SAA-C01 Exam Guide
Version 1.5 SAA-C01 1 | P a g e
Introduction
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C01) examination is intended for individuals who perform a
Solutions Architect role. This exam validates an examinee’s ability to effectively demonstrate knowledge of how to
architect and deploy secure and robust applications on AWS technologies.
It validates an examinee’s ability to:
Define a solution using architectural design principles based on customer requirements.
Provide implementation guidance based on best practices to the organization throughout the lifecycle of
the project.
Recommended AWS Knowledge
One year of hands-on experience designing available, cost-efficient, fault-tolerant, and scalable
distributed systems on AWS
Hands-on experience using compute, networking, storage, and database AWS services
Hands-on experience with AWS deployment and management services
Ability to identify and define technical requirements for an AWS-based application
Ability to identify which AWS services meet a given technical requirement
Knowledge of recommended best practices for building secure and reliable applications on the AWS
platform
An understanding of the basic architectural principles of building on the AWS cloud
An understanding of the AWS global infrastructure
An understanding of network technologies as they relate to AWS
An understanding of security features and tools that AWS provides and how they relate to traditional
services
Exam Preparation
These training courses and materials will help with exam preparation:
AWS Training (aws.amazon.com/training)
Architecting on AWS instructor-led, live or virtual 3 day course
AWS Whitepapers (aws.amazon.com/whitepapers) Kindle and .pdf and Other Materials
Architecting for the Cloud: AWS Best Practices whitepaper, Feb 2016
AWS Well-Architected web page (various whitepapers linked)
Exam Content
Response Types
There are two types of questions on the examination:
Multiple-choice: Has one correct response and three incorrect responses (distractors).
Multiple-response: Has two correct responses out of five options.
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Select one or more responses that best complete the statement or answer the question. Distractors, or incorrect
answers, are response options that an examinee with incomplete knowledge or skill would likely choose. However,
they are generally plausible responses that fit in the content area defined by the test objective.
Unanswered questions are scored as incorrect; there is no penalty for guessing.
Unscored Content
Your examination may include unscored items that are placed on the test to gather statistical information. These
items are not identified on the form and do not affect your score.
Exam Results
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C01) examination is a pass or fail exam. The examination is
scored against a minimum standard established by AWS professionals who are guided by certification industry best
practices and guidelines.
Your results for the examination are reported as a score from 100-1000, with a minimum passing score of 720.
Your score shows how you performed on the examination as a whole and whether or not you passed. Scaled
scoring models are used to equate scores across multiple exam forms that may have slightly different difficulty
levels.
Your score report contains a table of classifications of your performance at each section level. This information is
designed to provide general feedback concerning your examination performance. The examination uses a
compensatory scoring model, which means that you do not need to “pass” the individual sections, only the overall
examination. Each section of the examination has a specific weighting, so some sections have more questions than
others. The table contains general information, highlighting your strengths and weaknesses. Exercise caution when
interpreting section-level feedback.
Content Outline
This exam guide includes weightings, test domains, and objectives only. It is not a comprehensive listing of the
content on this examination. The table below lists the main content domains and their weightings.
Domain
% of Examination
Domain 1: Design Resilient Architectures
34%
Domain 2: Define Performant Architectures
24%
Domain 3: Specify Secure Applications and Architectures
26%
Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
10%
Domain 5: Define Operationally Excellent Architectures
6%
TOTAL
100%
Domain 1: Design Resilient Architectures
1.1 Choose reliable/resilient storage.
1.2 Determine how to design decoupling mechanisms using AWS services.
1.3 Determine how to design a multi-tier architecture solution.
1.4 Determine how to design high availability and/or fault tolerant architectures.
Domain 2: Define Performant Architectures
2.1 Choose performant storage and databases.
2.2 Apply caching to improve performance.
2.3 Design solutions for elasticity and scalability.
Domain 3: Specify Secure Applications and Architectures
3.1 Determine how to secure application tiers.
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3.2 Determine how to secure data.
3.3 Define the networking infrastructure for a single VPC application.
Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
4.1 Determine how to design cost-optimized storage.
4.2 Determine how to design cost-optimized compute.
Domain 5: Define Operationally-Excellent Architectures
5.1 Choose design features in solutions that enable operational excellence.
