Today I'm releasing a full YouTube course that's the perfect starting point for AWS and DevOps journey: AWS EC2 Fundamentals! In this course we get into the bread and butter of AWS by learning all about its server-making service EC2, aka Elastic Cloud Compute. We'll do so by creating setting up a Node.js based application, automating and scripting its launch, and learning all of the nuts and bolts along the way. Servers are the main character featured in any modern infrastructure so it's a great place to start your AWS journey.

This course is meant for anyone - whether you're brand new, experienced in AWS, or coming from a different cloud provider. Why? Because if you work with AWS at all, you will absolutely run into EC2...so it's an essential component, not just of custom infrastructures, but of other AWS services as well.

What's in the Course?

In this course, we start with the history of AWS EC2 and its general concepts to set up that foundation. Then we do a technical project to explore the details of EC2 in a real-world way by setting up multiple instances (through both a quick glance and a more detailed run-through). We'll also set up a Node.js based application on EC2 and make it available for public use over the web. Finally, we'll build out a script and process that, at the end, will let you automate launching an EC2 instance with any Node.js based code base on GitHub.

Learning EC2 in this hands-on fashion lets you deepen your understanding by doing instead of just listening to someone read back documentation and definitions to you. Instead, we'll see what all of the terminology, settings, and options are in first person as we build out the aforementioned project. This means you'll also have something at the end that's live on the web so you can show people what you know.

Though I know it's not the most engaging topic, we'll also go into the business value of AWS EC2, both for yourself and your projects AND for your employer. Pushing for technological change isn't as simple as rattling off all of the technology features since those often do nothing for someone outside of our field.

Why should I take this?

Again, the fundamental unit of almost any infrastructure is going to be the server. If EC2 is how this gets done, if the "cloud" is taking over, and if AWS is the main star in this show...then knowing this topic can only help. It'll equip you to learn more advanced topics in cloud infrastructure, build independent projects without using PaaS services, and help demystify getting a simple application up on AWS (which can be unusually intimidating).

Admittedly, when I first got into the world of tech, I deferred diving into this topic. There's just so many streamlined solutions out there, why bother with learning something more manual and DIY? Well, I suppose you have to go through the pain of watching things like a PaaS go out of business, get acquired, or be a general pain in the a**.

There's also the benefits that this gives you in development. "It works on my machine" is a great meme, but dealing with it is a time suck. Well, why does it work on your machine? More than likely because you understand the ins-and-outs of it so well. Well, bringing that understanding to EC2, the most popular cloud server option out there, will make that statement far less present.

"And what about for people in operations?"

Hopefully the benefits are even more self-evident for folks in operations. I know that looking at a topic like "migrating to the cloud" is synonymous with analysis paralysis for those of you out there in traditional on-premise infrastructure. This series will give you a nice first step into this large, icy pool that can seem bottomless.

How do I watch the series?

You can check out the full series over at YouTube:

The AWS EC2 Fundamentals Course on YouTube