Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides 200+ cloud services that help organizations build, deploy, and manage applications without owning physical servers. These services are usually grouped into categories based on their purpose.
Below are the major AWS service categories with common examples:
1. Compute Services
Used to run applications and virtual servers.
Amazon EC2 – Virtual servers in the cloud
AWS Lambda – Run code without managing servers
Amazon Elastic Beanstalk – Deploy and manage web apps automatically
AWS Fargate – Run containers without managing servers
Amazon Lightsail – Easy-to-use VPS for beginners
2. Storage Services
Used to store files, backups, and data.
Amazon S3 – Highly scalable object storage
Amazon EBS – Block storage for EC2 instances
Amazon EFS – Managed file storage
Amazon Glacier – Low-cost long-term backup storage
3. Database Services
Managed databases for applications.
Amazon RDS – Managed relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.)
Amazon DynamoDB – Fully managed NoSQL database
Amazon Redshift – Data warehouse for analytics
Amazon Aurora – High-performance MySQL/PostgreSQL compatible database
4. Networking & Content Delivery
Connect and deliver applications globally.
Amazon VPC – Create isolated cloud networks
Amazon CloudFront – Content delivery network
Elastic Load Balancing – Distributes traffic across servers
Amazon Route 53 – Domain name system service
5. Security & Identity
Manage users and secure resources.
AWS Identity and Access Management – Manage user permissions
AWS Shield – Protect against attacks
AWS WAF – Protect web apps from threats
AWS Secrets Manager – Manage passwords and API keys
6. Machine Learning & AI
Build AI and ML applications.
Amazon SageMaker – Build and deploy ML models
Amazon Rekognition – Image recognition
Amazon Polly – Convert text to speech
Amazon Lex – Build chatbots
7. Monitoring & Management
Monitor applications and infrastructure.
Amazon CloudWatch – Monitor logs and metrics
AWS CloudTrail – Track account activity
AWS Systems Manager – Manage cloud resources
✅ Simple way to remember AWS core services (most commonly used):
Compute → EC2, Lambda
Storage → S3, EBS
Database → RDS, DynamoDB
Networking → VPC, Route 53, CloudFront
Security → IAM
Monitoring → CloudWatch
Below is a detailed explanation of the most commonly used core services in Amazon Web Services (AWS). These services form the foundation of most AWS architectures.
1. Compute Services
1. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)
Amazon EC2 provides virtual servers in the cloud. It allows you to run applications just like you would on a physical server, but without managing hardware.
Key Features
Scalable – Increase or decrease servers depending on traffic.
Flexible instance types – Choose CPU, RAM, GPU, or storage based on workload.
Pay-as-you-go pricing.
Full control of OS (Linux, Windows).
Important Components
AMI (Amazon Machine Image) – Template used to launch EC2 instances.
Instance Type – Hardware configuration (CPU, memory).
Security Groups – Firewall rules controlling inbound/outbound traffic.
Key Pair – Used to securely access the instance via SSH.
Example Use Cases
Hosting websites
Running enterprise applications
Machine learning workloads
Development and testing environments
2. AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda lets you run code without managing servers.
You upload code and AWS automatically runs it when triggered.
Key Features
Serverless computing
Automatically scales
Pay only for execution time
No server management
Event Triggers
Lambda functions can be triggered by:
File upload to Amazon S3
API requests
Database updates
Scheduled events
Example Use Cases
Image processing
Real-time file processing
Serverless APIs
Automation tasks
2. Storage Services
3. Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)
Amazon S3 is object storage used to store unlimited files such as images, videos, backups, and logs.
Key Features
Highly durable (99.999999999% durability)
Unlimited storage
Accessible via HTTP/HTTPS
Versioning support
Important Concepts
Buckets – Containers for storing files.
Objects – Files stored inside buckets.
Storage classes
Standard
Intelligent Tiering
Glacier (archive storage)
Example Use Cases
Website hosting
Backup storage
Data lakes
Media storage
4. Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store)
Amazon EBS provides block storage volumes for EC2 instances.
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