CS105: Cloud Computing & AWS Masterclass 2026 – Complete Guide

Unlock Your Future in the Cloud: A Comprehensive Guide to AWS Mastery

The world runs on the cloud, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the undisputed leader. In an era where digital transformation is paramount, the demand for skilled AWS professionals has skyrocketed, creating a wealth of high-paying opportunities for those with the right expertise. This masterclass is your definitive guide to not just understanding AWS, but mastering it. We will take you from the fundamental concepts of cloud computing to deploying complex, scalable applications, all while preparing you for a successful career in this dynamic field.

Unlike other courses that provide a superficial overview, we will delve deep into the core services that power the modern internet. We will explore the nuances of compute, storage, databases, and networking, all while providing hands-on projects that will solidify your knowledge and give you the practical experience that employers are looking for. We will also go beyond the technical, providing insights into career paths, salary expectations, and the AWS certification roadmap, giving you a holistic understanding of what it takes to succeed in the world of cloud computing.

Section 1: What is AWS and Why Does It Matter?

Before we dive into the specifics of AWS, it’s crucial to understand the fundamental concepts of cloud computing. In essence, cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. Instead of buying, owning, and maintaining your own data centers and servers, you can access technology services, such as computing power, storage, and databases, on an as-needed basis from a cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS).

There are three main models of cloud computing:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): This is the most basic category of cloud computing services. With IaaS, you rent IT infrastructure—servers and virtual machines (VMs), storage, networks, operating systems—from a cloud provider on a pay-as-you-go basis.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): PaaS refers to cloud computing services that supply an on-demand environment for developing, testing, delivering, and managing software applications. PaaS is designed to make it easier for developers to quickly create web or mobile apps, without worrying about setting up or managing the underlying infrastructure of servers, storage, network, and databases needed for development.
• Software as a Service (SaaS): SaaS is a method for delivering software applications over the Internet, on demand and typically on a subscription basis. With SaaS, cloud providers host and manage the software application and underlying infrastructure and handle any maintenance, like software upgrades and security patching.

The demand for AWS certified professionals is at an all-time high. According to a 2025 report by Global Knowledge, the average salary for an AWS certified IT professional in North America is over $155,000. This masterclass will not only equip you with the technical skills to excel in this field but also provide you with a clear roadmap to achieving these valuable certifications.

Section 2: The Core Pillars of AWS

Compute

At the heart of AWS is its compute services, which provide the processing power for your applications. The most fundamental of these is **Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)**, which provides scalable virtual servers in the cloud. With EC2, you can launch as many or as few virtual servers as you need, configure security and networking, and manage storage. It’s the backbone of many applications running on AWS.

For a more hands-off approach, **AWS Lambda** allows you to run code without provisioning or managing servers. You simply upload your code, and Lambda automatically and precisely allocates compute execution power and runs your code based on the incoming request or event, for any scale of traffic. This is the essence of serverless computing.

AWS Elastic Beanstalk** is an easy-to-use service for deploying and scaling web applications and services developed with Java, .NET, PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, and Docker on familiar servers such as Apache, Nginx, Passenger, and IIS.

Storage

AWS offers a wide range of storage services to meet the needs of different applications. **Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)** is an object storage service that offers industry-leading scalability, data availability, security, and performance. This means you can store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web.

**Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store)** provides persistent block storage volumes for use with Amazon EC2 instances. Each EBS volume is automatically replicated within its Availability Zone to protect you from component failure, offering high availability and durability.

**Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)** provides a simple, scalable, elastic file system for Linux-based workloads for use with AWS Cloud services and on-premises resources. It is built to scale on demand to petabytes without disrupting applications, growing and shrinking automatically as you add and remove files.

**Amazon Glacier** is a secure, durable, and extremely low-cost cloud storage service for data archiving and long-term backup.

Databases

AWS provides a variety of managed database services to fit the needs of different applications. **Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service)** makes it easy to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. It provides cost-efficient and resizable capacity while automating time-consuming administration tasks such as hardware provisioning, database setup, patching, and backups.

**Amazon DynamoDB** is a fast and flexible NoSQL database service for all applications that need consistent, single-digit millisecond latency at any scale. It is a fully managed database and supports both document and key-value store models.

**Amazon Aurora** is a MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud, that combines the performance and availability of traditional enterprise databases with the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of open source databases.

Networking

AWS provides a comprehensive set of networking services that enable you to build a secure and scalable network infrastructure in the cloud. **Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)** lets you provision a logically isolated section of the AWS Cloud where you can launch AWS resources in a virtual network that you define. You have complete control over your virtual networking environment, including selection of your own IP address range, creation of subnets, and configuration of route tables and network gateways.

Section 3: Hands-On Project Showcase

In this section, we will walk you through a practical, real-world project: deploying a scalable WordPress site on AWS. This project will give you hands-on experience with many of the core services we’ve discussed, including EC2, RDS, S3, and VPC.

Section 4: The AWS Certification Path

AWS certifications are a valuable way to validate your cloud skills and demonstrate your expertise to potential employers. AWS offers a variety of certifications at different levels:

• Foundational: The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is the starting point for individuals looking to build and validate a foundational understanding of the AWS Cloud.
• Associate: These certifications are for individuals with some experience in designing and deploying applications on AWS. The most popular is the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate.
• Professional: These certifications are for individuals with two or more years of comprehensive experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting solutions using the AWS Cloud.
• Specialty: These certifications validate advanced skills in specific technical areas, such as security, networking, and machine learning.

This masterclass will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to confidently pursue the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification.

Conclusion

The world of cloud computing is vast and full of opportunity. By mastering AWS, you are not just learning a new technology, you are investing in a skill set that will be in high demand for years to come. This masterclass has provided you with a comprehensive overview of the core AWS services, a practical hands-on project, and a clear roadmap to achieving AWS certification. Now it’s time to take the next step. Enroll in our full course today and unlock your future in the cloud.