AWS Certification Exam Mapping
This page maps the 20 bootcamp modules to the four domains of the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) exam.
Exam Overview
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Exam code | SAA-C03 |
| Format | Multiple choice and multiple response |
| Questions | 65 (50 scored + 15 unscored) |
| Duration | 130 minutes |
| Passing score | 720 out of 1,000 |
| Cost | $150 USD |
| Validity | 3 years |
Domain Weights
| Domain | Weight | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 1: Design Secure Architectures | 30% | IAM, encryption, VPC security, data protection, compliance |
| Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures | 26% | Multi-AZ, disaster recovery, decoupling, Auto Scaling, replication |
| Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures | 24% | Compute selection, storage optimization, database choice, caching, networking |
| Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures | 20% | Pricing models, storage classes, right-sizing, cost management tools |
Module-to-Domain Mapping
Domain 1: Design Secure Architectures (30%)
This is the highest-weighted domain. It tests your ability to design secure access, secure application tiers, and appropriate data security controls.
| Module | Topics Covered for This Domain |
|---|---|
| 02, IAM and Security | IAM users, groups, roles, policies, policy evaluation logic, MFA, least privilege |
| 03, Networking Basics | VPC, security groups, NACLs, public vs. private subnets, route tables |
| 05, Storage: S3 | S3 bucket policies, ACLs, encryption (SSE-S3, SSE-KMS, SSE-C), access points |
| 06, Databases | RDS encryption at rest, DynamoDB encryption, IAM database authentication |
| 13, Security in Depth | KMS, Secrets Manager, WAF, Shield, CloudTrail, GuardDuty, Config, Security Hub |
| 17, Well-Architected Framework | Security pillar design principles |
Domain 2: Design Resilient Architectures (26%)
This domain tests your ability to design multi-tier architectures, highly available systems, and decoupled architectures.
| Module | Topics Covered for This Domain |
|---|---|
| 03, Networking Basics | Multi-AZ VPC design, NAT gateways, redundant networking |
| 04, Compute: EC2 | Auto Scaling groups, launch templates, health checks, placement groups |
| 06, Databases | RDS Multi-AZ, read replicas, Aurora, DynamoDB global tables |
| 07, Load Balancing and DNS | ALB/NLB, target groups, health checks, Route 53 routing policies, failover |
| 08, Messaging and Integration | SQS, SNS, EventBridge, decoupling patterns, dead-letter queues |
| 16, Reliability and DR | RTO/RPO, backup and restore, pilot light, warm standby, active-active |
| 17, Well-Architected Framework | Reliability pillar design principles |
Domain 3: Design High-Performing Architectures (24%)
This domain tests your ability to select the right compute, storage, database, and networking solutions for a workload.
| Module | Topics Covered for This Domain |
|---|---|
| 04, Compute: EC2 | Instance types, EBS volume types, instance store, placement groups |
| 05, Storage: S3 | Storage classes, S3 Transfer Acceleration, multipart upload |
| 06, Databases | RDS vs. DynamoDB selection, read replicas for read scaling, DAX, ElastiCache |
| 07, Load Balancing and DNS | ALB vs. NLB selection, CloudFront, Route 53 latency-based routing |
| 09, Serverless: Lambda | Lambda concurrency, cold starts, provisioned concurrency, API Gateway caching |
| 10, Containers: ECS | Fargate vs. EC2 launch type, ECS service auto scaling |
| 18, Architecture Patterns | Microservices, event-driven, CQRS, caching patterns |
| 19, Advanced Topics | CloudFront, ElastiCache, Step Functions, Athena |
Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures (20%)
This domain tests your ability to select cost-effective compute, storage, and database services.
| Module | Topics Covered for This Domain |
|---|---|
| 04, Compute: EC2 | On-Demand, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, Spot Instances |
| 05, Storage: S3 | Storage class tiers, lifecycle policies, Intelligent-Tiering |
| 09, Serverless: Lambda | Pay-per-invocation pricing, right-sizing memory |
| 10, Containers: ECS | Fargate pricing vs. EC2, Spot for ECS |
| 15, Cost Optimization | Cost Explorer, Budgets, Compute Optimizer, right-sizing, tagging strategies |
| 17, Well-Architected Framework | Cost Optimization pillar design principles |
AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) Mapping
The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) is a foundational certification that validates broad understanding of AWS Cloud concepts. For career changers, it serves as a milestone certification that you can earn mid-bootcamp for a confidence boost and an early resume credential.
Exam Logistics
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Exam code | CLF-C02 |
| Format | Multiple choice and multiple response |
| Questions | 65 (50 scored + 15 unscored) |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Passing score | 700 out of 1,000 |
| Cost | $100 USD |
| Validity | 3 years |
Recommended Timeline
Consider taking the CLF-C02 after completing Phase 4 of the bootcamp (Modules 01 through 26). By that point, you will have covered approximately 80% of the CLF exam content through the bootcamp's more detailed treatment of the same topics.
CLF-C02 Domain Mapping
| CLF-C02 Domain | Weight | Bootcamp Modules That Cover It |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 1: Cloud Concepts | 24% | 01 (Cloud Fundamentals), 17 (Well-Architected Framework), 18 (Architecture Patterns) |
| Domain 2: Security and Compliance | 30% | 02 (IAM and Security), 03 (Networking: security groups, NACLs), 13 (Security in Depth) |
| Domain 3: Cloud Technology and Services | 34% | 03 (VPC), 04 (EC2), 05 (S3), 06 (Databases), 07 (Load Balancing, DNS), 08 (Messaging), 09 (Lambda), 10 (ECS), 14 (Monitoring) |
| Domain 4: Billing, Pricing, and Support | 12% | 15 (Cost Optimization), 01 (Shared Responsibility Model, support plans) |
CLF-C02 as a Milestone Certification
Completing Phases 1 and 2 of the bootcamp (Modules 01-08) covers approximately 80% of the Cloud Practitioner exam content. The bootcamp teaches these topics at a deeper level than the CLF exam requires, which means you're over-prepared for the foundational questions.
Who should take the CLF-C02:
- Career changers who want an early credential to build confidence and signal commitment to employers
- Students who want structured motivation mid-bootcamp (a concrete exam date creates urgency)
- Anyone who wants to validate foundational knowledge before moving to the more challenging SAA-C03
Who can skip the CLF-C02:
- Students with prior IT experience who are confident in their foundational knowledge
- Anyone who wants to focus all certification effort on the SAA-C03
- Students on a tight budget who prefer to spend $100 on the higher-value SAA-C03 exam
Next Steps After SAA-C03
After passing the Solutions Architect Associate exam, two associate-level certifications extend your skills in complementary directions:
AWS Developer Associate (DVA-C02)
The Developer Associate certification validates your ability to develop, deploy, and debug cloud-based applications. It goes deeper into services you used in the bootcamp:
| DVA-C02 Domain | Weight | Bootcamp Modules That Prepare You |
|---|---|---|
| Development with AWS Services | 32% | 09 (Lambda), 06 (DynamoDB), 05 (S3), 08 (SQS, SNS), 19 (Step Functions) |
| Security | 26% | 02 (IAM), 13 (KMS, Secrets Manager), 09 (Lambda execution roles) |
| Deployment | 24% | 11 (IaC), 12 (CI/CD), 10 (ECS deployment) |
| Troubleshooting and Optimization | 18% | 14 (CloudWatch, X-Ray), 09 (Lambda performance tuning) |
Best for: Students whose capstone was code-heavy (Lambda-based APIs, complex DynamoDB access patterns, Step Functions workflows).
AWS SysOps Administrator Associate (SOA-C02)
The SysOps Administrator Associate certification validates your ability to deploy, manage, and operate workloads on AWS. It emphasizes operational tasks:
| SOA-C02 Domain | Weight | Bootcamp Modules That Prepare You |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation | 20% | 14 (CloudWatch, alarms, logs, X-Ray), 13 (CloudTrail, Config) |
| Reliability and Business Continuity | 16% | 16 (DR strategies, backups), 07 (health checks, failover) |
| Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation | 18% | 11 (CloudFormation), 12 (CI/CD), 04 (Auto Scaling, launch templates) |
| Security and Compliance | 16% | 02 (IAM), 13 (Security in Depth), 19 (Organizations, SCPs) |
| Networking and Content Delivery | 18% | 03 (VPC), 07 (ALB, Route 53), 19 (CloudFront) |
| Cost and Performance Optimization | 12% | 15 (Cost Optimization), 04 (instance types, Spot) |
Best for: Students who prefer operations over development (monitoring, troubleshooting, automation, networking) and are targeting Cloud Support Engineer or SysOps roles.
Preparation Tips
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Focus on Domain 1 first. At 30%, security is the highest-weighted domain. Make sure you deeply understand IAM policies, encryption with KMS, VPC security groups vs. NACLs, and the Shared Responsibility Model.
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Practice scenario-based questions. The exam presents real-world scenarios and asks you to choose the best architecture. The phase exams in this bootcamp use a similar format.
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Know the "why," not just the "what." The exam tests whether you can select the right service for a given set of requirements, not whether you can recite service features.
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Use official practice questions. AWS offers a free official practice question set for SAA-C03 on AWS Skill Builder.
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Review the Well-Architected Framework. Module 17 covers this in depth. The exam frequently asks you to evaluate architectures against the six pillars.
Additional Certification Resources
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, Official certification page
- SAA-C03 Exam Guide, Official exam guide PDF with detailed domain descriptions
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Official CLF-C02 certification page
- AWS Skill Builder, Free digital courses, learning plans, and exam prep
- AWS Well-Architected Framework, Essential reading for all four domains
AWS Bootcamp: From Novice to Architect Author: Samuel Ogunti License: CC BY-NC 4.0