This is my first post in a long time. You know, pandemic, elections, world falling apart distractions. Will be prepping for my next AWS cert soon. But in the meantime, I have a cautionary tale about Dropbox. I love Dropbox....

Hi, I'm Mark Freedman, a problem solver who uses software to implement pragmatic solutions. I'll work with you on your specific challenges. I'll take the time to learn and understand your business because that's what really matters.

The AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM) is a CloudFormation transformation macro used to ease the creation of serverless applications. We can think of it as a lightweight CloudFormation template with the core purpose of creating serverless infrastructure as code.

EC2 is essentially a virtual server in the cloud. It can be available within minutes after setting it up. Compare that to how long it would take to provision and prepare a physical server in your own datacenter. Even ordering it and awaiting initial configuration and shipment can take weeks. General knowledge about EC2 is one of the key categories in the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam.

S3 is object-based flat file unlimited storage. It's unlimited, but that doesn't mean we should throw files up there without thinking -- storage still costs money. It's not block-based, so it's not meant for storing operating systems or live databases. But any type of file can be stored (including database file backups), and each can be from 0 bytes up to 5 TB. General knowledge about S3 is one of the key categories in the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam.

In my last article, we discussed S3 pricing, which was an entire topic on its own. In this part, we'll discuss other key service charges, and the options and decisions we need to make when planning. I don’t believe the exams...