Welcome to the journey of becoming an Amazon Web Services (AWS) solutions architect. A path full of challenges, but also a path full of knowledge awaits you. To begin, I'd like to start by defining the role of a solutions architect in the software-engineering context. Architecture has a lot to do with technology, but it also has a lot to do with everything else; it is a discipline responsible for the nonfunctional requirements, and a model to design the Quality of Service (QoS) of the information systems.
Architecture is about finding the right balance and the midpoint of every circumstance. It is about understanding the environment in which problems are created, involving the people, the processes, the organizational culture, the business capabilities, and any external drivers that can influence the success of a project.
We will learn that part of our role as solutions architects is to evaluate several trade-offs, manage the essential complexity of things, their technical evolution, and the inherent entropy of complex systems.
The following topics will be covered in this chapter:
- Understanding cloud computing
- Cloud design patterns and principles
- Shared security model
- Identity and access management
