Weeks
Domains
Questions
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam validates your ability to design and deploy well-architected solutions on AWS. You'll demonstrate knowledge of AWS services and how to architect secure, resilient, high-performing, and cost-optimized systems.
Duration
Questions
Format
Passing Score
Cost
Validity
Key Topics:
Design multi-tier architecture solutions
Design highly available and/or fault-tolerant architectures
Design decoupling mechanisms using AWS services
Choose appropriate resilient storage
Key Services
ELB, Auto Scaling, Route 53, CloudFormation
Study Time
2 weeks
Key Topics:
Identify elastic and scalable compute solutions
Select high-performing and scalable storage solutions
Select high-performing networking solutions
Choose high-performing database solutions
Key Services
EC2, Lambda, EBS, S3, CloudFront
Study Time
2 weeks
Key Topics:
Design secure access to AWS resources
Design secure application tiers
Select appropriate data security options
Key Services
IAM, VPC, Security Groups, KMS, CloudTrail
Study Time
2.5 weeks
Key Topics:
Identify cost-effective storage solutions
Identify cost-effective compute and database services
Design cost-optimized network architectures
Key Services
S3 Storage Classes, Reserved Instances, Spot Instances
Study Time
1.5 weeks
Week 1-2
Complete AWS Cloud Practitioner basics if new to AWS
Study Domain 1: Design Resilient Architectures
Hands-on: Create multi-tier architecture with ELB and Auto Scaling
Practice questions: Domain 1 (50 questions)
Week 3-4
Study Domain 2: Design High-Performing Architectures
Hands-on: EC2 instance types, EBS optimization, CloudFront setup
Practice questions: Domain 2 (50 questions)
Review and reinforce Domain 1 concepts
Week 5-6
Study Domain 3: Design Secure Applications and Architectures
Hands-on: IAM policies, VPC setup, Security Groups configuration
Practice questions: Domain 3 (60 questions)
Security deep dive: KMS, CloudTrail, GuardDuty
Week 7-8
Study Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
Hands-on: S3 storage classes, Reserved Instances analysis
Practice questions: Domain 4 (40 questions)
Full practice exams (3 complete exams)
Review weak areas and final preparation
AWS Well-Architected Framework
AWS Architecture Center
AWS Whitepapers
AWS Documentation
AWS Free Tier Account
AWS Workshops
AWS Solutions Library
AWS Architecture Diagrams
ExamCoachAI Practice Tests
AWS Official Practice Exam
Domain-specific quizzes
Timed mock exams