AWS-SAA

Above Target AWS SAA

Architect with confidence. Pass the exam.

Master AWS Solutions Architecture through real-world scenarios. 42 lessons across 5 learning paths with 3 unique company themes β€” choose your own adventure.

Coming soon
Above Target AWS SAA

The Problem

Most AWS SAA prep is slide decks and documentation dumps. But the exam tests architecture decisions under constraints β€” cost, resilience, performance, security. You need to think like a Solutions Architect, not memorize service names.

What You Get

3 Scenario Themes

Choose your company: CartNova (e-commerce), Meridian (streaming), or Voltage Games (gaming). Same AWS skills, different real-world contexts.

42 Scenario-Based Lessons

Each lesson drops you into a realistic cloud architecture challenge. Design solutions, evaluate trade-offs, master the Well-Architected Framework.

5 Learning Paths

Foundations & Security, Resilience, Performance, Cost Optimization, and ML/Data Engineering β€” covering all 4 SAA-C03 exam domains.

Exam-Real Practice

Every question mirrors the actual SAA-C03 format. Scenario-based, multi-choice, elimination practice.

Curriculum

42 Lessons
5 Learning Paths
3 Themes
~6h Study Time
Path A1

AWS Foundations & Core Security

8 Lessons · ~69 min

AWS Global Infrastructure & Well-Architected Framework
A1L1 Foundations & Security 8 min
AWS Global Infrastructure & Well-Architected Framework
IAM Fundamentals: Users, Groups, Roles & Policies
A1L2 Security 8 min
IAM Fundamentals: Users, Groups, Roles & Policies
IAM Advanced: Organizations, SCPs & Identity Center
A1L3 Security 10 min
IAM Advanced: Organizations, SCPs & Identity Center
VPC Fundamentals: Public/Private Subnets, Security Groups & NACLs
A1L4 Security 10 min
VPC Fundamentals: Public/Private Subnets, Security Groups & NACLs
S3 Fundamentals & Data Security Controls
A1L5 Security 9 min
S3 Fundamentals & Data Security Controls
Encryption at Rest & In Transit: KMS, SSE, TLS
A1L6 Security 8 min
Encryption at Rest & In Transit: KMS, SSE, TLS
Secrets Manager & Systems Manager Parameter Store
A1L7 Security 8 min
Secrets Manager & Systems Manager Parameter Store
CloudTrail, GuardDuty & Security Hub
A1L8 Security 8 min
CloudTrail, GuardDuty & Security Hub
Path A2

Resilient & Scalable Architectures

9 Lessons · ~78 min

Multi-AZ Architecture: EC2, ALB & Availability Zone Design
A2L1 Resilience 10 min
Multi-AZ Architecture: EC2, ALB & Availability Zone Design
RDS High Availability: Multi-AZ vs. Read Replicas
A2L2 Resilience 10 min
RDS High Availability: Multi-AZ vs. Read Replicas
Auto Scaling Groups: Target Tracking, Step Scaling & Scheduled Scaling
A2L3 Resilience 10 min
Auto Scaling Groups: Target Tracking, Step Scaling & Scheduled Scaling
SQS Decoupling: Queues, Dead-Letter Queues & Visibility Timeout
A2L4 Resilience 8 min
SQS Decoupling: Queues, Dead-Letter Queues & Visibility Timeout
Stateless Design & Horizontal Scaling
A2L5 Resilience 8 min
Stateless Design & Horizontal Scaling
Disaster Recovery: RTO, RPO & Multi-Region Strategies
A2L6 Resilience 8 min
Disaster Recovery: RTO, RPO & Multi-Region Strategies
SNS, Fan-out & Event-Driven Architecture
A2L7 Resilience 8 min
SNS, Fan-out & Event-Driven Architecture
Applied Resilience β€” ClearLend's Loan Processing Pipeline
A2L8 Resilience 8 min
Applied Resilience β€” ClearLend's Loan Processing Pipeline
Scenario Lab β€” Multi-Tier HA Application with DR
A2L9 Resilience 8 min
Scenario Lab β€” Multi-Tier HA Application with DR
Path A3

High-Performance Storage, DB & Networking

10 Lessons · ~82 min

CloudFront CDN: Origins, Behaviors, Cache Policies & TTL
A3L1 Performance 8 min
CloudFront CDN: Origins, Behaviors, Cache Policies & TTL
Scenario Lab β€” High-Performance Multi-Tier Data Architecture
A3L10 Performance 8 min
Scenario Lab β€” High-Performance Multi-Tier Data Architecture
ElastiCache: Redis, Cache-Aside Pattern & TTL Strategy
A3L2 Performance 8 min
ElastiCache: Redis, Cache-Aside Pattern & TTL Strategy
OpenSearch Service: Full-Text Search, Relevance & Indexing
A3L3 Performance 8 min
OpenSearch Service: Full-Text Search, Relevance & Indexing
DynamoDB: Partition Keys, Access Patterns & Scaling
A3L4 Performance 8 min
DynamoDB: Partition Keys, Access Patterns & Scaling
Lambda Performance: Memory, Cold Starts & Provisioned Concurrency
A3L5 Performance 8 min
Lambda Performance: Memory, Cold Starts & Provisioned Concurrency
RDS Read Replicas & Aurora: Scaling Reads and Analytics Workloads
A3L6 Performance 10 min
RDS Read Replicas & Aurora: Scaling Reads and Analytics Workloads
S3 Transfer Acceleration & Multipart Upload
A3L7 Performance 8 min
S3 Transfer Acceleration & Multipart Upload
Applied Performance β€” Nina Sato's Global Delivery Architecture
A3L8 Performance 8 min
Applied Performance β€” Nina Sato's Global Delivery Architecture
Data Streaming & Analytics β€” Kinesis & Athena
A3L9 Performance 8 min
Data Streaming & Analytics β€” Kinesis & Athena
Path A4

Cost Optimization & Advanced Security

8 Lessons · ~70 min

EC2 Cost Optimization: Reserved Instances & Savings Plans
A4L1 Cost Optimization 8 min
EC2 Cost Optimization: Reserved Instances & Savings Plans
Ghost Instances β€” When Nobody Knows What Anything Costs
A4L2 Cost Optimization 10 min
Ghost Instances β€” When Nobody Knows What Anything Costs
The Pipeline That Forgot to Save β€” Spot Instances & Interruptions
A4L3 Cost Optimization 9 min
The Pipeline That Forgot to Save β€” Spot Instances & Interruptions
The $34,000 Archive Nobody Asked For
A4L4 Cost Optimization 10 min
The $34,000 Archive Nobody Asked For
The $22,000 Internet Bill β€” Traffic That Never Had to Leave the Building
A4L5 Cost Optimization 8 min
The $22,000 Internet Bill β€” Traffic That Never Had to Leave the Building
The Database Running at 9% β€” When Fear Costs More Than the Cloud
A4L6 Cost Optimization 9 min
The Database Running at 9% β€” When Fear Costs More Than the Cloud
GPU at 3am β€” The $180,000 Training Run Nobody Stopped
A4L7 Cost Optimization 8 min
GPU at 3am β€” The $180,000 Training Run Nobody Stopped
Scenario Lab: Cost-Optimized & Secure Enterprise Architecture β€” CartNova's Series C Architecture Review
A4L8 Domain 4/1 β€” Design Cost-Optimized & Secure Architectures 8 min
Scenario Lab: Cost-Optimized & Secure Enterprise Architecture β€” CartNova's Series C Architecture Review
Path A5

ML/Data Engineering & Exam Simulation

7 Lessons · ~71 min

AWS ML Services for SAA-C03: SageMaker, Rekognition & Comprehend
A5L1 Performance 8 min
AWS ML Services for SAA-C03: SageMaker, Rekognition & Comprehend
Data Engineering: Lake Formation, Glue & EMR
A5L2 Performance 8 min
Data Engineering: Lake Formation, Glue & EMR
Analytics & Search β€” OpenSearch, QuickSight & Kendra
A5L3 Performance 8 min
Analytics & Search β€” OpenSearch, QuickSight & Kendra
Exam Strategy β€” Keyword Recognition & Distractor Elimination
A5L4 All Domains 8 min
Exam Strategy β€” Keyword Recognition & Distractor Elimination
Practice Exam β€” Security & Resilience Focus (Domains 1 & 2)
A5L5 Domain 1 β€” Design Secure Architectures & Domain 2 β€” Design Resilient Architectures 12 min
Practice Exam β€” Security & Resilience Focus (Domains 1 & 2)
Practice Exam β€” Performance & Cost Focus (Domains 3 & 4)
A5L6 Domain 3 β€” Design High-Performing Architectures & Domain 4 β€” Design Cost-Optimized Architectures 12 min
Practice Exam β€” Performance & Cost Focus (Domains 3 & 4)
Full Exam Simulation & Architecture Anti-Patterns
A5L7 All Domains (1-4) 15 min
Full Exam Simulation & Architecture Anti-Patterns
Path A1

AWS Foundations & Core Security

8 Lessons · ~78 min

AWS Global Infrastructure & Well-Architected Framework
A1L1 Foundations & Security 8 min
AWS Global Infrastructure & Well-Architected Framework
IAM Fundamentals: Users, Groups, Roles & Policies
A1L2 Security 10 min
IAM Fundamentals: Users, Groups, Roles & Policies
IAM Advanced: Organizations, SCPs & Identity Center
A1L3 Security 10 min
IAM Advanced: Organizations, SCPs & Identity Center
VPC Fundamentals: Public/Private Subnets, Security Groups & NACLs
A1L4 Security 10 min
VPC Fundamentals: Public/Private Subnets, Security Groups & NACLs
S3 Fundamentals: Buckets, Policies, Storage Classes & Lifecycle
A1L5 Security 10 min
S3 Fundamentals: Buckets, Policies, Storage Classes & Lifecycle
Encryption at Rest & In Transit: KMS, SSE, TLS
A1L6 Security 10 min
Encryption at Rest & In Transit: KMS, SSE, TLS
Secrets Manager & Systems Manager Parameter Store
A1L7 Security 10 min
Secrets Manager & Systems Manager Parameter Store
CloudTrail, GuardDuty & Security Hub
A1L8 Security 10 min
CloudTrail, GuardDuty & Security Hub
Path A2

Resilient & Scalable Architectures

9 Lessons · ~78 min

Multi-AZ Architecture: EC2, ALB & Availability Zone Design
A2L1 Resilience 10 min
Multi-AZ Architecture: EC2, ALB & Availability Zone Design
RDS High Availability: Multi-AZ vs. Read Replicas
A2L2 Resilience 10 min
RDS High Availability: Multi-AZ vs. Read Replicas
Auto Scaling Groups: Target Tracking, Step Scaling & Scheduled Scaling
A2L3 Resilience 10 min
Auto Scaling Groups: Target Tracking, Step Scaling & Scheduled Scaling
SQS Decoupling: Queues, Dead-Letter Queues & Visibility Timeout
A2L4 Resilience 8 min
SQS Decoupling: Queues, Dead-Letter Queues & Visibility Timeout
Stateless Design & Horizontal Scaling
A2L5 Resilience 8 min
Stateless Design & Horizontal Scaling
Disaster Recovery: RTO, RPO & Multi-Region Strategies
A2L6 Resilience 8 min
Disaster Recovery: RTO, RPO & Multi-Region Strategies
SNS, Fan-out & Event-Driven Architecture
A2L7 Resilience 8 min
SNS, Fan-out & Event-Driven Architecture
Applied Resilience β€” Lagos Airlines' Booking Pipeline
A2L8 Resilience 8 min
Applied Resilience β€” Lagos Airlines' Booking Pipeline
Scenario Lab β€” Multi-Tier HA Application with DR
A2L9 Resilience 8 min
Scenario Lab β€” Multi-Tier HA Application with DR
Path A3

High-Performance Storage, DB & Networking

10 Lessons · ~82 min

CloudFront CDN: Origins, Behaviors, Cache Policies & TTL
A3L1 Performance 8 min
CloudFront CDN: Origins, Behaviors, Cache Policies & TTL
Scenario Lab β€” High-Performance Multi-Tier Data Architecture
A3L10 Performance 8 min
Scenario Lab β€” High-Performance Multi-Tier Data Architecture
ElastiCache: Redis, Cache-Aside Pattern & TTL Strategy
A3L2 Performance 8 min
ElastiCache: Redis, Cache-Aside Pattern & TTL Strategy
OpenSearch Service: Full-Text Search, Relevance & Indexing
A3L3 Performance 8 min
OpenSearch Service: Full-Text Search, Relevance & Indexing
DynamoDB: Partition Keys, Access Patterns & Scaling
A3L4 Performance 8 min
DynamoDB: Partition Keys, Access Patterns & Scaling
Lambda Performance: Memory, Cold Starts & Provisioned Concurrency
A3L5 Performance 8 min
Lambda Performance: Memory, Cold Starts & Provisioned Concurrency
RDS Read Replicas & Aurora: Scaling Reads and Analytics Workloads
A3L6 Performance 10 min
RDS Read Replicas & Aurora: Scaling Reads and Analytics Workloads
S3 Transfer Acceleration & Multipart Upload
A3L7 Performance 8 min
S3 Transfer Acceleration & Multipart Upload
Global Accelerator & Network Performance
A3L8 Performance 8 min
Global Accelerator & Network Performance
Data Streaming & Analytics β€” Kinesis & Athena
A3L9 Performance 8 min
Data Streaming & Analytics β€” Kinesis & Athena
Path A4

Cost Optimization & Advanced Security

8 Lessons · ~64 min

EC2 Purchasing Models: On-Demand, Reserved, Spot & Savings Plans
A4L1 Cost Optimization 8 min
EC2 Purchasing Models: On-Demand, Reserved, Spot & Savings Plans
Cost-Optimized Storage: S3 Tiers, Lifecycle & EBS Right-Sizing
A4L2 Cost Optimization 8 min
Cost-Optimized Storage: S3 Tiers, Lifecycle & EBS Right-Sizing
Cost-Optimized Databases & Serverless vs Always-On
A4L3 Cost Optimization 8 min
Cost-Optimized Databases & Serverless vs Always-On
Network Cost Optimization β€” NAT Gateway vs VPC Endpoints
A4L4 Cost Optimization 8 min
Network Cost Optimization β€” NAT Gateway vs VPC Endpoints
Advanced Threat Protection: WAF, Shield & DDoS Mitigation
A4L5 Domain 1 -- Design Secure Architectures 8 min
Advanced Threat Protection: WAF, Shield & DDoS Mitigation
Application Security: Cognito, Secrets Manager & Macie
A4L6 Domain 1 -- Design Secure Architectures 8 min
Application Security: Cognito, Secrets Manager & Macie
Observability β€” CloudWatch, X-Ray & Systems Manager
A4L7 Domain 3/1 β€” Design High-Performing & Secure Architectures 8 min
Observability β€” CloudWatch, X-Ray & Systems Manager
Applied Enterprise Architecture β€” Lagos Airlines' Cost-Optimized & Secure Booking Platform
A4L8 Domain 4/1 β€” Design Cost-Optimized & Secure Architectures 8 min
Applied Enterprise Architecture β€” Lagos Airlines' Cost-Optimized & Secure Booking Platform
Path A5

ML/Data Engineering & Exam Simulation

7 Lessons · ~71 min

AWS ML Services for SAA-C03: SageMaker, Rekognition & Comprehend
A5L1 Performance 8 min
AWS ML Services for SAA-C03: SageMaker, Rekognition & Comprehend
Data Engineering: Lake Formation, Glue & EMR
A5L2 Performance 8 min
Data Engineering: Lake Formation, Glue & EMR
Analytics & Search β€” OpenSearch, QuickSight & Kendra
A5L3 Performance 8 min
Analytics & Search β€” OpenSearch, QuickSight & Kendra
Exam Strategy β€” Keyword Recognition & Distractor Elimination
A5L4 All Domains 8 min
Exam Strategy β€” Keyword Recognition & Distractor Elimination
Practice Exam β€” Security & Resilience Focus (Domains 1 & 2)
A5L5 Domain 1 β€” Design Secure Architectures & Domain 2 β€” Design Resilient Architectures 12 min
Practice Exam β€” Security & Resilience Focus (Domains 1 & 2)
Practice Exam β€” Performance & Cost Focus (Domains 3 & 4)
A5L6 Domain 3 β€” Design High-Performing Architectures & Domain 4 β€” Design Cost-Optimized Architectures 12 min
Practice Exam β€” Performance & Cost Focus (Domains 3 & 4)
Full Exam Simulation & Architecture Anti-Patterns
A5L7 All Domains (1-4) 15 min
Full Exam Simulation & Architecture Anti-Patterns
Path A1

AWS Foundations & Core Security

8 Lessons · ~64 min

AWS Global Infrastructure & Well-Architected Framework
A1L1 Security 8 min
AWS Global Infrastructure & Well-Architected Framework
IAM Fundamentals: Users, Roles, Policies & Least Privilege
A1L2 Security 8 min
IAM Fundamentals: Users, Roles, Policies & Least Privilege
IAM Advanced: Permission Boundaries, SCPs, Identity Center & Cognito
A1L3 Security 8 min
IAM Advanced: Permission Boundaries, SCPs, Identity Center & Cognito
VPC Fundamentals: Subnets, Security Groups & NACLs
A1L4 Security 8 min
VPC Fundamentals: Subnets, Security Groups & NACLs
S3 Fundamentals: Buckets, Access Control, Versioning & Storage Classes
A1L5 Security 8 min
S3 Fundamentals: Buckets, Access Control, Versioning & Storage Classes
Encryption at Rest & In Transit: KMS, SSE, TLS
A1L6 Security 8 min
Encryption at Rest & In Transit: KMS, SSE, TLS
Secrets Manager & Systems Manager Parameter Store
A1L7 Security 8 min
Secrets Manager & Systems Manager Parameter Store
CloudTrail, GuardDuty & Security Hub
A1L8 Security 8 min
CloudTrail, GuardDuty & Security Hub
Path A2

Resilient & Scalable Architectures

8 Lessons · ~70 min

Multi-AZ Architecture: EC2, ALB & Availability Zone Design
A2L1 Resilience 10 min
Multi-AZ Architecture: EC2, ALB & Availability Zone Design
RDS High Availability: Multi-AZ vs. Read Replicas
A2L2 Resilience 10 min
RDS High Availability: Multi-AZ vs. Read Replicas
Auto Scaling Groups: Target Tracking, Step Scaling & Scheduled Scaling
A2L3 Resilience 10 min
Auto Scaling Groups: Target Tracking, Step Scaling & Scheduled Scaling
SQS Decoupling: Queues, Dead-Letter Queues & Visibility Timeout
A2L4 Resilience 8 min
SQS Decoupling: Queues, Dead-Letter Queues & Visibility Timeout
Stateless Design & Horizontal Scaling
A2L5 Resilience 8 min
Stateless Design & Horizontal Scaling
A2L6
A2L6 Resilience 8 min
Disaster Recovery β€” RPO, RTO & the 4 DR Tiers
A2L7
A2L7 Resilience 8 min
SNS, Event-Driven Architecture & Operational Notifications
A2L8
A2L8 Resilience 8 min
Resilience Integration β€” Putting It All Together
Path A3

High-Performance Storage, DB & Networking

8 Lessons · ~70 min

A3L1
A3L1 Performance 8 min
CloudFront CDN & Global Content Delivery
A3L2
A3L2 Performance 10 min
ElastiCache (Redis) β€” Caching for Low-Latency Performance
A3L3
A3L3 Performance 8 min
Amazon OpenSearch Service β€” Full-Text Search & Log Analytics
A3L4
A3L4 Performance 8 min
DynamoDB β€” DAX, Global Tables, Streams & Capacity Modes
A3L5
A3L5 Performance 8 min
Lambda Performance β€” Cold Starts, Concurrency & Optimization
A3L6
A3L6 Performance 12 min
RDS & Aurora β€” Read Replicas, Analytics Offloading & Aurora Serverless
A3L7
A3L7 Performance 8 min
S3 Transfer Acceleration, Multipart Upload & Global Data Transfer
A3L8
A3L8 Performance 8 min
AWS Global Accelerator & Global Network Performance
Path A4

Cost Optimization & Advanced Security

7 Lessons · ~62 min

A4L1
A4L1 Cost Optimization 8 min
EC2 Purchasing Models β€” Savings Plans, Reserved Instances & Spot
A4L2
A4L2 Cost Optimization 8 min
Cost Visibility β€” Tagging Strategy, AWS Budgets & Cost Explorer
A4L3
A4L3 Cost Optimization 8 min
Spot Instances β€” Fault-Tolerant Batch Workloads at 90% Discount
A4L4
A4L4 Cost Optimization 8 min
S3 Storage Classes, Lifecycle Policies & Intelligent-Tiering
A4L5
A4L5 Cost Optimization 12 min
VPC Endpoints & Network Cost Optimization
A4L6
A4L6 Cost Optimization 8 min
Right-Sizing β€” Compute Optimizer, DynamoDB Capacity & Serverless Economics
A4L7
A4L7 Cost Optimization 10 min
Cost Optimization Capstone β€” ML Workloads, Observability & The Full Cost Strategy

Pricing

Free Path A1 β€” 8 lessons
Monthly $15.99/mo
Lifetime $99.99

FAQ

Path A1 (AWS Foundations & Core Security) β€” 8 lessons β€” is completely free. No credit card required.

Each theme tells a different story: CartNova is an e-commerce startup, Meridian is a streaming platform, and Voltage Games is a gaming company. All three cover the same AWS concepts and exam topics.

Yes. All content is aligned with the SAA-C03 exam blueprint (current version). Covers all 4 domains: Security, Resilience, Performance, and Cost Optimization.

Basic cloud familiarity helps, but Path A1 starts from foundations. The app teaches from core concepts through exam-level architecture decisions.

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