Academic Catalog

C S 55G: AWS CLOUD PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION PREPARATION

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2026
Units: 4.5
Hours: 4 lecture, 2 laboratory per week (72 total per quarter)
Advisory: C S 55A or equivalent knowledge and experience.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • A successful student will be able to describe the AWS Global Infrastructure model and explain its benefits to their organization.
  • The student will be able to configure and deploy a cloud-based infrastructure which meets basic security and compliance requirements.

Description

This introductory course provides an overview of cloud concepts, Amazon Web Services (AWS) core services, basic security, architecture principles, pricing, and technical support. Students gain an overall understanding of the AWS Cloud, independent of specific technical roles. Review of core characteristics of deploying and operating in the AWS Cloud. This course prepares students to pursue becoming an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner using official AWS Academy Cloud Foundations material.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Understand, work with, and configure the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Infrastructure model and the basic AWS services.
  2. Understand, work with, and configure the key services on the AWS platform and their common use cases.
  3. Understand, work with, and configure the AWS Cloud architectural principles.
  4. Understand, work with, and configure the AWS basic security and compliance aspects of the AWS platform and the shared security model.
  5. Understand, work with, and configure billing, account management, and pricing models.
  6. Identify sources of documentation or technical assistance (e.g., whitepapers, support tickets).
  7. Register for and take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam.

Course Content

  1. Cloud concepts overview
    1. Introduction to cloud computing
      1. Cloud computing definitions
      2. Computing deployment models
    2. Advantages of the cloud
      1. Capex vs. Opex
      2. Economies of scale
      3. Capacity planning
      4. Agility
      5. Going global
  2. Introduction to Amazon Web Services (AWS)
    1. What is a web service?
    2. Categories of services
    3. Architecture of an example application
    4. Ways we interact with AWS
  3. Moving to the AWS Cloud
    1. AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (AWS CAF)
    2. Perspectives/capabilities
  4. Cloud economics and billing
    1. Pricing fundamentals
    2. Total cost of ownership
    3. AWS operations
    4. Billing and cost management
    5. Technical support plans
    6. AWS pricing calculator
  5. AWS Cloud security
    1. AWS shared responsibility model
    2. AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
    3. Securing a new AWS account
    4. Securing accounts
    5. Securing data on AWS
    6. Working to ensure compliance
  6. Networking and content delivery
    1. Networking basics
    2. Amazon VPC
    3. VPC networking
    4. VPC security
    5. Amazon Route 53
    6. Amazon CloudFront
  7. Compute services
    1. Amazon EC2
      1. Amazon EC2 cost optimization
    2. Container services
    3. Functions with AWS Lambda
    4. Introduction to AWS Elastic Beanstalk
  8. Storage services
    1. Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)
    2. Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3)
    3. Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS)
    4. Amazon Simple Storage Service Glacier
  9. Databases
    1. Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS)
    2. Amazon DynamoDB
    3. Amazon Redshift
    4. Amazon Aurora
  10. Cloud architecture
    1. AWS Well-Architected Framework
    2. Reliability and high availability
    3. AWS Trusted Advisor
  11. Load balancing, autoscaling, and monitoring
    1. Elastic load balancing
    2. Amazon CloudWatch
    3. Amazon EC2 Autoscaling
  12. AWS Skill Builder practice questions

Lab Content

  1. Billing dashboard demo
  2. IAM basics, working and creating IAM concepts users/groups/roles/policies
  3. VPC Wizard and VPC configuration
    1. Launching a web server in a VPC
  4. EC2 basics
  5. AWS Lambda basics
  6. AWS Elastic Beanstalk basics
  7. Storage labs
    1. EC2/EBS - EC2 compute with EBS block storage
    2. EC2 with S3 and EFS storage
    3. EC2 Glacier backup
  8. Databases
    1. Build a DB server
    2. Demonstrate Object Database (DynamoDB)
  9. Autoscaling - scale and load balance an architecture

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. Access to a computer with a web browser compatible with the Foothill learning management system.
2. Access to the public internet with bandwidth sufficient for high definition video and audio.
3. A learning management system with an assignment posting component (through which all lab assignments are to be submitted) and a forum component (where students can discuss course material and receive help from the instructor). This applies to all sections, including on campus (i.e., face-to-face) offerings.
4. The college will provide a fully functional and maintained course management system through which the instructor and students can interact.
5. Students must have email accounts and ongoing access to computers with internet capabilities.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Subject assessments and quizzes
Laboratory assignments which include detailed instructions, sample runs, and documentation
Final examination

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lectures which include motivation for the architecture of the specific topics being discussed
In-person or online labs (for all sections, including those meeting face-to-face/on campus), consisting of:
1. An assignment webpage located on a college-hosted course management system or other department-approved internet environment. Here, the students will review the specification of each assignment and submit their completed lab work
2. A discussion webpage located on a college-hosted course management system or other department-approved internet environment. Here, students can request assistance from the instructor and interact publicly with other class members
Detailed review of laboratory assignments which includes model solutions and specific comments on the student submissions
In-person or online discussion which engages students and instructor in an ongoing dialog pertaining to all aspects of designing, implementing, and analyzing programs
When course is taught fully online:
1. Instructor-authored lecture materials, handouts, syllabus, assignments, tests, and other relevant course material will be delivered through a college-hosted course management system or other department-approved internet environment
2. Additional instructional guidelines for this course are listed in the attached addendum of CS department online practices

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Sequiera, Anthony. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 Cert Guide. 2025.

Carter, Daniel. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner All-in-One Exam Guide (Exam CLF-C01). 2021.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Reading:
    1. Textbook assigned reading averaging 30 pages per week.
    2. Reading the supplied handouts and modules averaging 10 pages per week.
    3. Reading online resources as directed by instructor though links pertinent to programming.
    4. Reading library and reference material directed by instructor through course handouts.
  2. Writing:
    1. Writing technical prose documentation that supports and describes the programs that are submitted for grades.

Discipline(s)

Computer Information Systems