AWS CLI - Certified Solutions Architect Exam Guide

Overview of AWS CLI

The AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) is a unified tool that provides a consistent interface for interacting with AWS services from the command line. It allows developers and system administrators to manage their AWS resources and automate workflows using simple commands.

Key Concepts for the Exam

Installation and Configuration

Before using AWS CLI, you need to install and configure it on your local machine or within an AWS environment.

• Installation: AWS CLI can be installed on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Configuration: Use the `aws configure` command to set up your credentials, region, and output format. These settings are stored in the `~/.aws` directory.

Basic Commands

AWS CLI allows you to perform a wide range of operations across different AWS services.

• Listing Resources: Use commands like `aws ec2 describe-instances` or `aws s3 ls` to list your resources.
• Creating Resources: Create resources using commands like `aws ec2 run-instances` or `aws s3 mb s3://your-bucket-name`.
• Managing Resources: Start, stop, or terminate instances using commands like `aws ec2 start-instances`, `aws ec2 stop-instances`, or `aws ec2 terminate-instances`.

Scripting and Automation

AWS CLI is a powerful tool for scripting and automating AWS tasks.

• Bash Scripts: Incorporate AWS CLI commands into shell scripts to automate common tasks, such as backups, deployments, or resource management.
• JSON Output: Use JSON output to parse command responses and integrate them with other scripts or tools.

Advanced Features

For advanced use cases, AWS CLI provides features like profiles, pagination, and parameter files.

• Profiles: Use named profiles to manage multiple sets of credentials and settings. Switch between profiles using the `--profile` flag.
• Pagination: Handle large data sets with the built-in pagination, ensuring that all results are retrieved even if they span multiple pages.
• Parameter Files: Pass large or complex parameters using JSON or YAML parameter files to streamline CLI commands.

Common Exam Scenarios

• Setting up and configuring AWS CLI on a new environment.
• Automating infrastructure deployments using AWS CLI scripts.
• Managing and querying AWS resources using CLI commands.
• Switching between different AWS accounts using named profiles in AWS CLI.

Exam Tips

• Ensure you are familiar with the basic and advanced features of AWS CLI.
• Practice using AWS CLI to manage and automate AWS resources.
• Understand how to configure AWS CLI for different environments and use cases.
• Know how to handle large data sets with pagination and use parameter files for complex configurations.