AWS Database Specialty Certification (Coursera)

Key modules cover database fundamentals, AWS database services, cost considerations, automation with CloudFormation, migration strategies, monitoring with CloudWatch, disaster recovery solutions, and advanced security practices. By the end, learners will be equipped with the skills to design, deploy, and manage databases securely and efficiently in AWS environments.

Target Learners:

1) Database Administrators (DBAs): Professionals who are responsible for the design, implementation, maintenance, and optimization of databases on AWS.

2) Database Architects: Individuals who design database solutions on AWS, including selecting appropriate database services, designing schemas, and ensuring scalability, availability, and security.

3) Cloud Engineers: Engineers responsible for deploying and managing database solutions in cloud environments, particularly AWS.

4) Solution Architects: Professionals who design comprehensive solutions that incorporate AWS database services to meet specific business requirements.

5) Developers: Developers who work with applications that utilize AWS databases and need to understand database-specific features, performance optimization, and best practices.

6) Data Engineers: Individuals who work with large volumes of data, including ingestion, transformation, storage, and analytics, using AWS database services.

7) System Administrators: Administrators responsible for managing the infrastructure and resources supporting AWS database deployments.

To be successful in this course, you should have a background in:

1) AWS Fundamentals: A strong understanding of core AWS services, architecture, and best practices is essential. This includes knowledge of AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), EC2 instances, S3 storage, and networking concepts.

2) Database Concepts: Familiarity with fundamental database concepts such as data modeling, schema design, indexing, normalization, ACID properties (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability), database transactions, and query optimization is important.

3) Database Management Systems (DBMS): Experience with database management systems like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, or NoSQL databases such as MongoDB, Cassandra, or Couchbase will provide a solid foundation for understanding AWS database services.

4) SQL (Structured Query Language): Proficiency in SQL is crucial for working with relational databases like Amazon RDS, Aurora, and Redshift. Understanding SQL queries, data manipulation, joins, subqueries, and transactions is essential.

5) Data Warehousing and Analytics: Knowledge of data warehousing concepts, business intelligence tools, and analytics platforms will be helpful, especially for understanding services like Amazon Redshift and Amazon EMR (Elastic MapReduce).

6) Data Migration and Replication: Understanding data migration strategies, tools, and techniques, as well as experience with database replication technologies, will be beneficial for working with AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) and other related services.

What you'll learn

- Learn the concepts of ACID and BASE workloads, distinguish between different types of databases, and analyze relational database

- Learn Amazon Aurora's architecture, serverless capabilities, parallel query, and multi-master databases

- Learn the features and benefits of Amazon Keyspaces as a fully managed, scalable, and highly available Apache Cassandra-compatible database service.

Syllabus

Database Basics-Quick Refresher

In this module we are going to study the fundamentals of Databases. We will understand the basic significance of the databases.

Database Design using AWS Part 1

These modules provide an overview of the capabilities and functionalities of each AWS database service like RDS, Aurora and DynamoDB, focusing on their managed nature, performance benefits, and suitability for various application scenarios. These services cater to different database requirements, offering managed solutions for relational and NoSQL databases, allowing users to select the best fit for their specific application needs based on scalability, performance, and ease of use.

Database Design using AWS Part 2

This module provides an in-depth exploration of four key Amazon Web Services (AWS) database services: Amazon Redshift, Amazon ElastiCache, Amazon DocumentDB, and Amazon Neptune Service. Each service offers unique capabilities tailored for specific data storage and processing requirements, catering to diverse use cases and workloads.

Database Service Cost and Other Services

This module provides an in-depth analysis and comparison of the cost structures, pricing models, and value propositions associated with various Amazon Web Services (AWS) database services. It focuses on understanding the pricing components and considerations when choosing between different database services offered by AWS, along with a detailed exploration of specific offerings like Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (Amazon QLDB), Amazon Timestream Service, and Amazon Keyspaces.

Database Management

This module offers a comprehensive understanding of AWS CloudFormation, a service that allows the automated provisioning and management of AWS resources. Participants will explore CloudFormation's capabilities, its integration with relational databases such as Amazon RDS and Amazon Aurora, and its synergy with AWS Secrets Manager for managing sensitive information.

Database Deployment and Migration

This module provides a comprehensive understanding of database migration strategies, tools, and techniques essential for moving databases to AWS cloud infrastructure. Participants will explore the concepts, methodologies, and AWS services involved in seamless and efficient database migration, focusing on AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) and AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT).

Database Monitoring and Automation

This module provides an in-depth understanding of key AWS services and strategies essential for monitoring, optimizing performance, leveraging serverless computing within databases, and implementing disaster recovery mechanisms in AWS environments.

Database Security and Networking Fundamentals

This module offers a comprehensive understanding of data encryption practices, the AWS Key Management Service (KMS), and networking fundamentals within AWS using Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). Participants will explore encryption methods, the role of KMS in managing encryption keys, and fundamental networking concepts within the VPC environment.