AWS CLF-C02 3-Day Intensive

AWS offers four categories of compute. Each trades control for convenience. The exam tests whether you can match the use case to the right category.

2. Containers on AWS

What is a Container?

Containers are a method of operating system virtualization. They package an application's code, configurations, and dependencies into a single object. Unlike virtual machines, containers do not contain a full guest operating system. They share the host OS kernel and run as resource-isolated processes.

Category	Services	You Manage	AWS Manages
Virtual Machines (IaaS)	Amazon EC2	OS, patching, scaling, availability	Hypervisor, host hardware, network
Containers	ECS, EKS, Fargate, ECR	Container images, task definitions	Orchestration, cluster scaling, control plane
Serverless	AWS Lambda	Function code and IAM permissions	Servers, scaling, patching, availability
Platform (PaaS)	AWS Elastic Beanstalk	Application code	Infrastructure, deployment, load balancing, scaling

Containers vs. Virtual Machines: VMs run on a hypervisor with a full guest OS per instance. Containers run on a shared OS kernel via a container engine (such as Docker). Containers are smaller and faster to start.

Docker is the software platform that packages software into containers. You create a container from an image, which is a template that holds everything the software needs to run: libraries, system tools, code, and runtime.

Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS)

Amazon ECS is a highly scalable container management service that supports Docker containers. It orchestrates the running of containers on a cluster and maintains the fleet of nodes that run them.

To run an application on ECS, you create a task definition. This text file describes one or more containers (up to ten) that form your application. It specifies which container image to use, which ports to open, and what data volumes to mount. A task is the instantiation of a task definition within a cluster.

ECS Launch Types:

EC2 launch type — You manage the EC2 instances in the cluster. Provides granular control over instance type, networking, and scaling.
Fargate launch type — AWS manages the cluster infrastructure. You only package your application, specify CPU and memory, and launch. No servers to provision or scale.

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS)

Amazon EKS is a managed Kubernetes service. Kubernetes is open source software for container orchestration that deploys and manages containerized applications at scale.

EKS makes it easy to run Kubernetes on AWS without installing or maintaining your own Kubernetes control plane. It is certified Kubernetes conformant, so applications that run on upstream Kubernetes are compatible with EKS. EKS automatically manages the availability and scalability of cluster nodes, detects unhealthy control plane nodes, and replaces them.

ECS vs. EKS: Both orchestrate Docker containers. Use ECS if you want AWS-native orchestration. Use EKS if you need Kubernetes compatibility, open source tooling, or a multi-cloud strategy.

Amazon Elastic Container Registry (Amazon ECR)

Amazon ECR is a fully managed Docker container registry. It makes it easy to store, manage, and deploy Docker container images. ECR is integrated with both ECS and EKS. Images are encrypted at rest.

3. Serverless with AWS Lambda

AWS Lambda is an event-driven, serverless compute service. You upload your code as a Lambda function and set it to run on a schedule or in response to an event. Your code runs only when triggered. You pay only for the compute time you consume.

Lambda Benefits:

No server provisioning or management
Built-in fault tolerance across multiple Availability Zones
Automatic scaling from a few requests per day to thousands per second
Pay per request and per 100 milliseconds of compute time
Supports multiple languages: Python, Node.js, Java, C#, Go, Ruby, PowerShell

Lambda Event Sources

Lambda functions are triggered by event sources. Common event sources include:

Lambda automatically monitors functions through Amazon CloudWatch and stores logs in CloudWatch Logs.

Lambda Limits

4. Platform as a Service: AWS Elastic Beanstalk

AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a platform as a service (PaaS) that facilitates the quick deployment, scaling, and management of web applications. You upload your code, and Elastic Beanstalk automatically handles deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, automatic scaling, and health monitoring.

Limit	Value
Maximum execution time (timeout)	15 minutes
Maximum memory allocation	10,240 MB
Concurrent executions per Region (soft limit)	1,000
Deployment package size (unzipped)	250 MB

Elastic Beanstalk Key Facts:

Supports Java, .NET, PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, and Docker
No additional charge for Elastic Beanstalk itself; you pay only for the underlying AWS resources
You retain full control over the AWS resources that power your application
Ideal when you want to focus on code, not infrastructure

5. Decision Guide

Use Case	Service	Why
Run code in response to events, pay per execution	AWS Lambda	No servers to manage; millisecond billing
Run Docker containers with AWS managing the cluster	Amazon ECS with Fargate	No EC2 instances to provision or scale
Run Docker containers with full control over the hosts	Amazon ECS with EC2	Granular control over instance type and networking
Use Kubernetes on AWS without managing the control plane	Amazon EKS	Managed Kubernetes, certified conformant
Deploy a web app quickly without managing infrastructure	AWS Elastic Beanstalk	PaaS with auto-deployment, scaling, and monitoring
Store and manage Docker images	Amazon ECR	Fully managed registry integrated with ECS and EKS

Quiz: Serverless and Containers

Select one answer per question. You will receive immediate feedback.

1. A company wants to run Docker containers but does not want to manage the EC2 instances that run them. Which service and launch type should they use?

Amazon ECS with EC2 launch typeAmazon ECS with Fargate launch typeAmazon EKS with EC2 launch typeAWS Lambda

2. A developer needs to run a small Python script whenever a file is uploaded to S3. The script runs for less than 5 seconds. Which is the most cost-effective service?

Amazon EC2 On-Demand instanceAmazon ECS with FargateAWS LambdaAWS Elastic Beanstalk

3. Which AWS service is a fully managed Docker container registry that integrates with ECS and EKS?

Amazon S3AWS CodeCommitAmazon ECRAWS Artifact

4. A company uses Kubernetes on-premises and wants to migrate to AWS without changing their operational tooling. Which service should they use?

Amazon ECSAmazon EKSAWS FargateAWS Elastic Beanstalk

5. What is the maximum execution time (timeout) for a single AWS Lambda function invocation?

5 minutes15 minutes1 hour24 hours

6. A startup wants to quickly deploy a web application without managing servers, load balancers, or scaling. They want to upload their code and have AWS handle the rest. Which service fits best?

Amazon EC2AWS LambdaAWS Elastic BeanstalkAmazon EKS

7. Which statement accurately describes the difference between containers and virtual machines?

Containers contain a full guest operating system; virtual machines do notContainers share the host operating system kernel; virtual machines run on a hypervisor with full guest OSContainers are always larger than virtual machinesContainers cannot run on EC2 instances

8. A company needs to orchestrate Docker containers and wants AWS to manage the control plane automatically. They also want Kubernetes compatibility. Which service should they choose?

Amazon ECS with FargateAmazon EKSAWS Elastic BeanstalkAWS Lambda

Progress: 0/8 correct (0%). Answer all questions to see the final recommendation.

Ask your teacher: Ask your agent about anything unclear: Lambda event sources, ECS task definitions, or when to choose Fargate over EC2.

Primary Source: AWS Academy Module 6: Compute.

Lesson 0003: Serverless and Containers

1. The Compute Spectrum