Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides a variety of tools to develop, deploy, and troubleshoot applications. These tools are essential for individuals planning to take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) exam. This exam provides a comprehensive evaluation of the exam-taker’s ability to demonstrate knowledge of how to architect and deploy secure and robust applications on AWS technologies.
The Development Tools
AWS Cloud9
AWS Cloud9 is an integrated development environment (IDE) that allows you to write, run, and debug code with just a web browser. With Cloud9, you can share your coding environment with your team, making collaborative coding and troubleshooting easy and efficient. The example below illustrates how to use AWS Cloud9 to create a simple Python script:
print(“Welcome to AWS Cloud9!!”)
To run this script, you can simply use Cloud9’s built-in command line and execute:
python script.py
AWS CodeStar
AWS CodeStar is a cloud-based service for creating, managing, and working with software development projects on AWS. CodeStar comes with an automated CI/CD pipeline, making the deployment of applications swift and effective.
For instance, to develop a sample web service, you will use CodeStar to prescribe a development project. On creating the project, CodeStar automatically sets up a continuous delivery toolchain and creates a Git repository for source control.
The Deployment Tools
AWS CodeDeploy
AWS CodeDeploy automates code deployments to any instance, including Amazon EC2 instances and servers running on-premise. CodeDeploy automates the deployment process making it more reliable, faster and safer.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
AWS Elastic Beanstalk provides an easy-to-use service for deploying and scaling web applications developed with Java, .NET, PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, and Docker. With Elastic Beanstalk, you can quickly deploy and manage applications without worrying about the infrastructure that runs those applications.
The Troubleshooting Tools
AWS CloudTrail
AWS CloudTrail is a service that provides governance, compliance, operational auditing, and risk auditing of your AWS account. With CloudTrail, you can troubleshoot by identifying which users and accounts called AWS, the source IP address from which the calls were made, and when the calls occurred.
AWS CloudWatch
AWS CloudWatch is a monitoring service for AWS resources and the applications you run on AWS. You can use Amazon CloudWatch to collect and track metrics, collect and monitor log files, and set alarms.
In summary, understanding these development, deployment, and troubleshooting tools is essential for any AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner. A good understanding of these tools not only builds proficiency in managing applications but also aids in passing the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) exam.
Practice Test
True or False: Amazon CloudWatch helps you monitor and troubleshoot applications running on your AWS resources.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon CloudWatch is a monitoring and logging service for AWS resources, applications and services, offering detailed views of operational data.
Which AWS service helps you build, test, and debug code from within your Integrated Development Environment (IDE)?
- a. EC2
- b. Elastic Beanstalk
- c. Fargate
- d. AWS Cloud9
Answer: d. AWS Cloud9
Explanation: AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you write, run, and debug your code with just a browser.
Which of the following AWS services helps simplify the deployment and scalability of applications?
- a. AWS Lambda
- b. AWS Elastic Beanstalk
- c. AWS X-RAY
- d. Amazon Aurora
Answer: b. AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Explanation: 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, and more.
AWS X-RAY service is used to _______.
- a. Monitor applications, users, and database performance
- b. Deliver content to end users with low latency and high speed
- c. Analyze and debug production applications
- d. Provide a serverless compute environment
Answer: c. Analyze and debug production applications
Explanation: AWS X-Ray helps developers analyze and debug production, distributed applications, such as those built using a microservices architecture.
Which AWS service features a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform?
- a. Amazon S3
- b. AWS DevOps
- c. AWS CodeStar
- d. AWS CodePipeline
Answer: d. AWS CodePipeline
Explanation: AWS CodePipeline is a fully managed continuous delivery service that helps you automate your release pipelines for fast and reliable application and infrastructure updates.
True or False: You don’t need to use AWS CodeCommit if you’re already using GitHub in conjunction with other AWS services.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: AWS CodeCommit is an Amazon service for storing and managing source code, similar to GitHub. If you are already using GitHub, there is no mandatory requirement to switch to or also use CodeCommit.
Which AWS tool lets you develop serverless applications on your local machine?
- a. DynamoDB
- b. AWS CDK
- c. EC2 Instances
- d. SAM CLI
Answer: d. SAM CLI
Explanation: AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM) CLI is a developer tool that lets you locally build, test, debug, and deploy serverless applications defined by AWS SAM templates.
True or False: AWS Developer Tools is a set of services designed to facilitate developing, deploying, and debugging applications on AWS.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: AWS Developer Tools consists of several services like AWS CodeCommit, AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy, and more to help in various phases of software delivery.
AWS Lambda is used for ________.
- a. Storage of large amounts of unstructured data
- b. Running code without provisioning or managing servers
- c. Development of web-based integrated development environments
- d. Driving insights and resolutions in network performance
Answer: b. Running code without provisioning or managing servers
Explanation: AWS Lambda lets you run your code without provisioning or managing servers. You just need to upload your code, and Lambda takes care of everything else to execute and scale your code.
True or False: Amazon RDS does not support automated backups of a database.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon RDS supports automated backups of a database. It allows you to recover your database to any second during your retention period, up to the last five minutes.
Interview Questions
What AWS service offers a managed environment to develop, test, and run applications?
AWS Elastic Beanstalk provides a managed environment for developing, testing, and running applications.
How can developers automate build and test code in AWS?
Developers can use AWS CodeBuild to automatically compile, build, and test code each time there is a code change.
What tool can be used to manage resource provisioning and configuration management in AWS?
AWS CloudFormation is used for managing resource provisioning and configuration management in AWS.
What service does AWS offer for continuous delivery and quick deployments of applications?
AWS CodeDeploy is a service that enables developers to automate application deployments to any instance.
What AWS tool simplifies the process of identifying undetected performance issues in your applications?
AWS X-Ray simplifies the process of identifying performance issues, including those that may remain undetected through traditional debugging techniques.
How can developers securely store and version control their application’s source code on AWS?
Developers can use AWS CodeCommit, a fully-managed source control service that hosts private Git repositories, to securely store and version control their application’s source code.
What is the recommended tool for monitoring applications, understanding AWS resource utilization, and detecting operational issues?
Amazon CloudWatch is the recommended tool for these tasks. It provides data and actionable insights for AWS, hybrid, and on-premises applications and infrastructure resources.
What is the role of AWS CloudTrail in application development and deployment on AWS?
AWS CloudTrail enables governance, compliance, operational auditing, and risk auditing. It can log, continually monitor, and retain account activity related to actions across your AWS infrastructure.
How can developers automate the process of publishing new application versions to AWS Lambda?
AWS CodePipeline can be used by developers to automate the process of publishing new versions of applications to AWS Lambda.
What AWS service would you use to identify application issues and root cause analysis?
AWS X-Ray helps developers analyze and debug production, distributed applications, such as those built using a microservices architecture.
How does AWS Developer Tools suite assist in the release process?
AWS Developer Tools suite—made up of AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy, AWS CodePipeline, and AWS CodeCommit—can automate software release processes, helping to accelerate the release of new features, avoid downtime during deployments, and mitigate risks associated with the release process.
How does AWS Elastic Beanstalk assist with application deployment?
Amazon Elastic Beanstalk provides a platform for easy deployment and run operations of applications. Developers just upload their code and the service automatically handles all the details such as resource provisioning, load balancing, and automatic scaling.
How does AWS Cloud9 assist developers in writing, running, and debugging code?
AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets developers write, run, and debug their code with just a browser. It includes a code editor, debugger, and terminal.
Can AWS CodeStar be used to develop, build, and deploy applications on AWS?
Yes, AWS CodeStar provides a unified user interface, enabling you to easily manage your software development activities in one place.
How can AWS SAM (Serverless Application Model) simplify AWS deployments?
AWS SAM is an open-source framework for building serverless applications. It provides shorthand syntax to express functions, APIs, databases, and event source mappings. It simplifies the process of building applications spanning multiple services and then deploying them on AWS.