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Tips and Tricks to pass the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional Exam

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Cracking the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional exam is no small feat. It requires a deep understanding of AWS services, architectural best practices, and the ability to design robust, scalable, and secure cloud solutions. This blog post is your roadmap to success. We’ll break down the exam blueprint, provide essential study tips, and offer expert advice to help you confidently tackle this challenging certification. Whether you’re a seasoned cloud practitioner or looking to level up your AWS skills, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and strategies needed to excel.

AWS Solutions Architect Professional Exam: Overview

Solutions architects are the target audience for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C01) exam. The exam verifies a candidate’s expertise and advanced technical knowledge in developing distributed systems and applications on the AWS platform.

The exam also certifies a candidate’s proficiency in the following tasks:

  • Creating and deploying applications that are fault-tolerant, highly available, and scalable dynamically on AWS.
  • Designing and deploying an application based on the requirements provided, and choosing the right AWS services.
  • Migrating complex, multi-tier applications to AWS.
  • Creating and implementing scalable business operations on AWS.
  • Putting cost-cutting measures into action.
Knowledge Required For This Exam:

Those with two or more years of practical experience developing and delivering cloud architecture on AWS might consider becoming an AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional. We recommend you to have the following before taking this test:

  • Knowledge of Windows and Linux systems, a programming language, the AWS CLI, AWS APIs, AWS CloudFormation templates, and the AWS Billing and Management Consoles.
  • Ability to relate business goals to application/architecture requirements, as well as the ability to give best practice advice on architectural design across different corporate applications and projects.
  • Thirdly, the ability to assess architectural proposals for the implementation, deployment, and provisioning of cloud application needs on AWS.
  • Having the ability to create hybrid architectures using important AWS technologies (such as VPNs and AWS Direct Connect) and a continuous integration and deployment approach
  • Then, the ability to assess architectural suggestions for application implementation, deployment, and provisioning on AWS.
  • Skills to offer best practice advice on architectural design for a wide range of applications, projects, or a company.
  • Understanding and knowledge of:
    • AWS Well-Architected Framework’s five pillars
    • Connecting business goals to application and architectural needs.
    • Utilizing essential AWS technologies, create a hybrid architecture.
    • Creating an architecture for a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) operation.

Above we have covered the knowledge area and basic skills for the exam, it’s time for exploring advanced study resources.

Preparing for AWS Solution Architect Professional Exam

Being a professional-level exam, you will have to work a lot on skills and knowledge to earn this certification. Considering the difficulty level of the AWS Solution Architect Professional exam, you must stick to the suggested test preparation strategy if you want to pass an exam. Here are some strategies and study resources for passing the exam.

1. Understand the Exam Format

Consider this step as a basic exam page visit that you should do before starting your preparation. This will let you know the number and types of questions and other basic details for the exam.

  • The AWS Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C01) exam has a time limit of 180 minutes to finish 75 questions of type multiple-choice or multiple-response. Additionally, a score of 750 is required to pass the test. The test will cost $300 USD and can be taken online with a proctor or in person at a testing facility.
  • English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, and Spanish (Latin America) are the accessible language versions of this test.

2. Pass the Associate Level Exams (Recommended, not compulsory)

It is highly advised to pass the three previous associate tests, Solutions Architect, Developer, and SysOps Administrator Associate exam, before showing up for the Solution Architect Professional Exam, even if achieving so is not required by AWS. This will be really helpful in clarifying the fundamental ideas behind the main AWS services. If you succeed in these exams, you will be equipped to take on the professional level.

Check out the exam details for:

3. Utilizing the Exam Study Guide to Understand the Topics

You must start your exam preparation by using the AWS study guide if you want to be thoroughly conversant with the topic. With the assistance of this guide, you can more clearly understand the main concepts and objectives of the test. This guide will provide you with a complete overview of the subjects you should concentrate on when studying for the exam. Furthermore, you will also be able to understand all exam topics and discover study advice. All you need to do is carefully follow them in order to pass the certification exam. The subjects are:

Domain 1: Understanding to Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity 26%

1.1 Explain  Architect network connectivity strategies.

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to evaluate connectivity options for multiple VPCs
  • Learn to evaluate connectivity options for on-premises, co-location, and cloud integration
  • Learn to select AWS Regions and Availability Zones based on network and latency requirements (AWS Documentation: Regions and Zones)
  • Learn to troubleshoot traffic flows by using AWS tools (AWS Documentation: Logging IP traffic using VPC Flow Logs)
  • Learn to utilize service endpoints for service integrations (AWS Documentation: AWS service endpoints)

1.2 Explain security controls

Skills Evaluated

1.3 Explain to design reliable and resilient architectures.

  • Recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) (AWS Documentation: Recovery objectives)
  • Disaster recovery strategies (for example, using AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery [CloudEndure Disaster Recovery], pilot light, warm standby, and multi-site) (AWS Documentation: Disaster recovery options in the cloud)
  • Data backup and restoration (AWS Documentation: Restoring a backup)

Skills Evaluated

1.4 Explain Design a multi-account AWS environment.

Skills Evaluated 

  • Learn to evaluate the most appropriate account structure for organizational requirements (AWS Documentation: Organizing Your AWS Environment Using Multiple Accounts)
  • Learn to recommend a strategy for central logging and event notifications
  • Learn to develop a multi-account governance model

1.5 Explain to determine cost optimization and visibility strategies.

  • AWS cost and usage monitoring tools (for example, AWS Trusted Advisor, AWS Pricing Calculator, AWS Cost Explorer, AWS Budgets) (AWS Documentation: Analyzing your costs with AWS Cost Explorer)
  • AWS purchasing options (for example, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, Spot Instances) (AWS Documentation: Instance purchasing options)
  • AWS right-sizing visibility tools (for example, AWS Compute Optimizer, Amazon S3 Storage Lens)

Skills Evaluated

Domain 2: Understand to Design for New Solutions 29%

2.1 Explain to design a deployment strategy to meet business requirements

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to determine an application or upgrade path for new services and features (AWS Documentation: Perform an automated upgrade)
  • Learn to select services to develop deployment strategies and implement appropriate rollback mechanisms (AWS Documentation: Deployment strategies)
  • Learn to adopt managed services as needed to reduce infrastructure provisioning and patching overhead (AWS Documentation: What is AWS Managed Services?)
  • Learn to make advanced technologies accessible by delegating complex development and deployment tasks to AWS (AWS Documentation: Design principles)

2.2 Explain to Design a solution to ensure business continuity.

Skills Evaluated

2.3 Explain to determine security controls based on requirements.

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to specify IAM users and IAM roles that adhere to the principle of least privilege access (AWS Documentation: Security best practices in IAM)
  • Learn to specify inbound and outbound network flows by using security group rules and network ACL rules (AWS Documentation: Control traffic to subnets using network ACLs)
  • Learn to develop attack mitigation strategies for large-scale web applications (AWS Documentation: Mitigation techniques)
  • Learn to develop encryption strategies for data at rest and data in transit (AWS Documentation: Encrypting Data-at-Rest and Data-in-Transit)
  • Lean to specify service endpoints for service integrations
  • Learn to develop strategies for patch management to remain compliant with organizational standards

2.4 Explain to design a strategy to meet reliability requirements.

  • AWS global infrastructure (AWS Documentation: Global infrastructure)
  • AWS storage services and replication strategies (for example Amazon S3, Amazon RDS, Amazon ElastiCache) Multi-AZ and multi-Region architectures (AWS Documentation: Disaster recovery options in the cloud)
  • Auto scaling policies and events (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling)
  • Application integration (for example, Amazon Simple Notification Service [Amazon SNS], Amazon Simple Queue Service [Amazon SQS], AWS Step Functions) (AWS Documentation: Application integration)
  • Service quotas and limits 

Skills Evaluated

2.5 Explain Design a solution to meet performance objectives.

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to design large-scale application architectures for a variety of access patterns
  • Learn to design an elastic architecture based on business objectives (AWS Documentation: Adopting a consistent design decision approach)
  • Learn to apply design patterns to meet performance objectives with caching, buffering, and replicas (AWS Documentation: Performance Design Patterns for Amazon S3)
  • Learn to develop a process methodology for selecting purpose-built services for required tasks
  • Learn to design a right-sizing strategy (AWS Documentation: Tips for Right Sizing)

2.6 Explain and determine a cost optimization strategy to meet solution goals and objectives.

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to identify opportunities to select and right size infrastructure for cost-effective resources (AWS Documentation: Identifying Opportunities to Right Size)
  • Learn to identify appropriate pricing models
  • Learn to perform data transfer modeling and selecting services to reduce data transfer costs (AWS Documentation: Perform data transfer modeling)
  • Learn to develop a strategy and implementing controls for expenditure and usage awareness

Domain 3: Understand to Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions 25%

3.1 Explain determine a strategy to improve overall operational excellence

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to determine the most appropriate logging and monitoring strategy (AWS Documentation: Designing and implementing logging and monitoring with Amazon CloudWatch)
  • Learn to evaluate current deployment processes for improvement opportunities
  • Learn to prioritize opportunities for automation within a solution stack
  • Learn to recommende the appropriate AWS solution to enable configuration management automation (AWS Documentation: AWS Systems Manager Automation)
  • Learn to engineer failure scenario activities to support and exercise an understanding of recovery actions

3.2 Explain to determine a strategy to improve security.

Skills Evaluated

3.3 Explain determine a strategy to improve performance.

  • High-performing systems architectures (for example, auto scaling, instance fleets, and placement groups) (AWS Documentation: Placement groups)
  • Global service offerings (for example, AWS Global Accelerator, Amazon CloudFront, and edge computing services)
  • Monitoring tool sets and services (for example, CloudWatch) (AWS Documentation: What is Amazon CloudWatch?)
  • Service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs)

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to translate business requirements to measurable metrics
  • Learn to test potential remediation solutions and making recommendations (AWS Documentation: GuardDuty EC2 finding types)
  • Learn to propose opportunities for the adoption of new technologies and managed services (AWS Documentation: Design principles)
  • Learn to assess solutions and applying right sizing based on requirements (AWS Documentation: Tips for Right Sizing)
  • Learn to identify and examining performance bottlenecks

3.4 Explain determine a strategy to improve reliability

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to understand application growth and usage trends (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 usage reports)
  • Learn to evaluate existing architecture to determine areas that are not sufficiently reliable
  • Learn to remediate single points of failure
  • Learn to enable data replication, self-healing, and elastic features and services (AWS Documentation: What is Elastic Disaster Recovery?)

3.5 Identify opportunities for cost optimizations.

  • Cost-conscious architecture choices (for example, utilizing Spot Instances, scaling policies, and right-sizing resources) (AWS Documentation: Spot Instances)
  • Price model adoptions (for example, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans) (AWS Documentation: Savings Plans)
  • Networking and data transfer costs (AWS Documentation: Understanding data transfer charges)
  • Cost management, alerting, and reporting

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to analyze usage reports to identify underutilized and overutilized resources (AWS Documentation: Amazon EC2 usage reports)
  • Learn to utilize AWS solutions to identify unused resources (AWS Documentation: Identify your unused resources)
  • Learn to design billing alarms based on expected usage patterns
  • Learn to investigate AWS Cost and Usage Reports at a granular level (AWS Documentation: What are AWS Cost and Usage Reports?)
  • Learn to utilize tagging for cost allocation and reporting

Domain 4: Explain to accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization 20%

4.1 Explain to select existing workloads and processes for potential migration.

Skills Evaluated

4.2 Explain to determine the optimal migration approach for existing workloads.

  • Data migration options and tools (for example, AWS DataSync, AWS Transfer Family, AWS Snow Family, S3 Transfer Acceleration) (AWS Documentation: AWS managed migration tools)
  • Application migration tools (for example, AWS Application Discovery Service, AWS Application Migration Service [CloudEndure Migration], AWS Server Migration Service [AWS SMS]) (AWS Documentation: Migration and transfer)
  • AWS networking services and DNS (for example, Direct Connect, AWS Site-to-Site VPN, Route 53)
  • Identity services (for example, AWS SSO, AWS Directory Service) (AWS Documentation: Single sign-on)
  • Database migration tools (for example, AWS Database Migration Service [AWS DMS], AWS Schema Conversion Tool [AWS SCT])
  • Governance tools (for example, AWS Control Tower, Organizations) (AWS Documentation: AWS Control Tower and AWS Organizations)

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to select the appropriate database transfer mechanism (AWS Documentation: Data Migration Mechanism)
  • Learn to select the appropriate application transfer mechanism
  • Learn to select the appropriate data transfer service and migration strategy (AWS Documentation: About the migration strategies)
  • Learn to apply the appropriate security methods to migration tools
  • Learn to select the appropriate governance model (AWS Documentation: Management and governance)

4.3 Explain to determine a new architecture for existing workloads.

  • Compute services (for example, Amazon EC2, AWS Elastic Beanstalk) (AWS Documentation: Compute services)
  •  Containers (for example, Amazon Elastic Container Service [Amazon ECS], Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service [Amazon EKS], AWS Fargate, Amazon Elastic Container Registry [Amazon ECR]) (AWS Documentation: Choosing an AWS container service)
  • AWS storage services (for example, Amazon Elastic Block Store [Amazon EBS], Amazon Elastic File System [Amazon EFS], Amazon FSx, Amazon S3, Volume Gateway) (AWS Documentation: Storage)
  • Databases (for example, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon OpenSearch Service [Amazon Elasticsearch Service], Amazon RDS, self-managed databases on Amazon EC2) (AWS Documentation: Databases)

Skills Evaluated

4.4 Explain to determine opportunities for modernization and enhancements.

  • Serverless compute offerings (for example, AWS Lambda) (AWS Documentation: What is AWS Lambda?)
  • Containers (for example, Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS, AWS Fargate) (AWS Documentation: Amazon ECS on AWS Fargate)
  • AWS storage services (for example, Amazon S3, Amazon EFS)
  • Purpose-built databases (for example, DynamoDB, Amazon Aurora Serverless, ElastiCache) (AWS Documentation: Databases)
  • Integration service (for example, Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS, Amazon EventBridge [Amazon CloudWatch Events], Step Functions)

Skills Evaluated

  • Learn to identify opportunities to decouple application components (AWS Documentation: Decouple by using a standalone API)
  • Learn to identify opportunities for serverless solutions
  • Learn to select the appropriate service for containers (AWS Documentation: Choosing an AWS container service)
  • Learn to identify opportunities for purpose-built databases
  • Learn to select the appropriate application integration service (AWS Documentation: Application integration)

4. Get AWS Training 

The AWS training will help you have a better understanding of the test subjects. This comprises

Exam Readiness: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional:

Reference: https://aws.amazon.com/training/classroom/exam-readiness-aws-certified-solutions-architect-professional/

Advanced technical expertise and experience in creating distributed applications and systems on the AWS platform are validated by the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional exam. Before completing this course, we advise participants to have two or more years of hands-on experience building and implementing cloud architecture on AWS. To assist test-takers in reducing wrong answers, it provides example exam questions from each domain and descriptions of the ideas being assessed.

Further, you’ll discover how to:

  • Familiarize yourself with the logistics of the exam.
  • Recognize the formats and types of test questions.
  • Determine how a question relates to the architectural principles of AWS.
  • Analyze the ideas that an exam question is trying to assess.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional tutorial
Architecting on AWS:

Reference: https://aws.amazon.com/training/classroom/architecting-on-aws/

You will learn to recognize services and features to develop robust, secure, and highly available IT systems on the AWS Cloud through a series of use case scenarios and hands-on learning. Expert AWS Instructors walk you through the process of developing the finest IT solutions based on real-world scenarios, emphasizing best practices while utilizing the AWS Well-Architected Framework. You’ll practice creating a solution at the conclusion of the course and confidently use what you’ve learned.

Further, you will learn how to:

  • Identify the fundamental AWS architecture approaches.
  • Create durable, secure, and highly available IT solutions on the AWS Cloud, and identify the services and features you need.
  • Use the AWS Well-Architected Framework to develop the best IT solutions based on actual use cases.
  • Investigate AWS offerings for backup and recovery, serverless architecture, edge services, monitoring, automation, computation, storage, databases, networking, and account security.
Advanced Architecting on AWS:

Reference: https://aws.amazon.com/training/classroom/advanced-architecting-aws/?devops=sec&sec=prep

You will learn about AWS services that may be used to address architectural issues through a variety of use case scenarios and hands-on learning. Opportunities will present themselves for you to apply your new knowledge and critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. To reinforce the material you’ve learned over the course of the three days, this course concludes with a final review assignment.

Further, you will learn:

  • Process of protecting Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) virtual private cloud (VPC) endpoint connections in a lab environment.
  • The best practices for what services to use and the process of implementing permissions management.
  • AWS hybrid network designs for addressing traffic increases and streamlining remote work while ensuring FIPS 140-2 Level 2 or Level 3 security compliance.
  • Solutions and products that are available for designing a hybrid infrastructure.

5. Make Use Of The AWS Whitepapers

Officials publish and create AWS whitepapers to educate the public about specific subjects and hasten the implementation of specific strategies. For expertise and information on essential topics like security, architecture, and economics, this might be a great source. Some of the well-known AWS Whitepapers are included below, and they might help you prepare for the AWS Solution Architect Professional Exam:

6. Start Doing Practice Exams Tests

This is yet another crucial element of the study guide that will help you not only identify your areas of weakness but also develop a strong degree of revision. In other words, by using the practice exams, you may sharpen your answer-writing abilities while also saving a tonne of time. You can use practice exams as part of your study once you’ve gone over a section or a few subjects.

7. Join Online Study Communities and Groups

A helpful resource for preparing for the certification exam is online study groups. They make it possible for you to be surrounded by test-takers. You can pick up thoughts and ideas that will help you comprehend the material more rapidly. Moreover, you could come across additional study materials and other tools that might help in your appropriate comprehension of the ideas tested on the exam. You can participate in the discussion by contributing your exam-related queries and doubts.

Additional Tips and Tricks

Beyond the core exam preparation, several additional strategies can significantly boost your chances of success.

  • Use AWS Whitepapers and Documentation AWS provides a wealth of in-depth information through whitepapers and documentation. These resources offer detailed explanations of complex topics, real-world use cases, and best practices. Focus on whitepapers related to the exam domains and use them to supplement your study materials. The official AWS documentation is also invaluable for understanding service features and limitations.
  • Importance of Hands-On Experience with AWS Theoretical knowledge is essential, but practical experience is equally crucial. Create hands-on labs to experiment with different AWS services and build your own infrastructure. This hands-on approach reinforces your understanding of core concepts and helps you develop problem-solving skills. Consider using AWS Free Tier or other cost-effective options to gain practical experience.
  • Tips for Answering Different Question Types The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional exam features various question types, including multiple-choice, multiple-response, and fill-in-the-blank. Practice answering different question formats to familiarize yourself with the exam structure. Pay close attention to keywords like “most efficient,” “cost-effective,” and “highly available” to identify the best answer choice.
  • Common Pitfalls to Avoid Many candidates make common mistakes that can hinder their exam performance. Avoid rushing through questions, guessing without careful consideration, and focusing solely on memorization without understanding underlying concepts. Proper time management, effective test-taking strategies, and a solid grasp of AWS fundamentals will help you overcome these challenges.

Final Words

By following the strategies outlined in this blog, you’ll be well-prepared to tackle the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional exam with confidence. Remember, consistent study, hands-on practice, and a deep understanding of AWS services are key to success. Take the challenge, utilize available resources, and build upon your existing knowledge. With dedication and perseverance, you can achieve your goal of becoming a certified AWS Solutions Architect Professional.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional practice tests
Pulkit Dheer
With a background in Engineering and a great enthusiasm for writing, Pulkit focuses on intensive research to create targeted content. He brings his years of learning and experience to his current role. With a zeal towards technological research and powerful use of words dedicated to inspire and help professionals onset their career.
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