Day 1: Part 2- What is AWS? Steps to create AWS account.

⚝ Introduction

In our previous blog (Introduction to Cloud), We established the groundwork, defining the cloud and its types. Explored the advantages and disadvantages of public and private clouds. Today, we'll take a closer look at one of the leading cloud platforms, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

⚝ What is AWS?

AWS, or Amazon Web Services, is a cloud platform offering a vast array of services, including virtual servers, data storage, databases, networking, analytics, and management tools. With its scalability, cost-effectiveness, reliability, security, and constant innovation, AWS has become the go-to platform for businesses and organizations of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises. Whether you're just starting out or already have a large tech infrastructure, AWS offers a multitude of resources and tools to help you achieve your goals.

⚝ Benefits of using AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a comprehensive and widely used cloud computing platform that offers a multitude of services to individuals, businesses, and organizations. The benefits of using AWS are numerous and contribute to its popularity in the cloud computing industry.

Scalability:
- AWS provides on-demand resources, allowing users to scale their infrastructure up or down based on fluctuating workloads. This scalability is crucial for businesses experiencing growth or changes in demand.
Cost-Efficiency:
- The pay-as-you-go pricing model ensures that users only pay for the resources they consume. This eliminates the need for large upfront investments and allows for efficient budget management.
Flexibility and Variety of Services:
- AWS offers a vast array of services across computing power, storage, databases, machine learning, analytics, networking, security, and more. Users can choose from a wide range of services to meet their specific requirements.
Global Reach:
- AWS has a global network of data centres, allowing users to deploy applications and services in various geographic regions. This global infrastructure enhances performance, and reliability, and provides redundancy.
Security and Compliance:
- AWS employs robust security measures and offers various tools and features to help users secure their applications and data. AWS services comply with numerous industry-specific certifications, meeting strict security and compliance standards.
Reliability and High Availability:
- With a highly redundant and geographically distributed infrastructure, AWS ensures a high availability of services. This is crucial for applications that require constant uptime and reliability.

⚝ Why AWS? Why not Azure or GCP

While AWS is a leading cloud platform, it's not the only option. Two other major contenders dominate the cloud market: Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Choosing the right platform depends on your specific needs and priorities.

Let's explore the key differences between these three giants:

1. Market Share and Maturity:

AWS: Holds the largest market share with a longer operational history, leading to a more mature platform and vast ecosystem of partners and services.
Azure: Close second in market share, leveraging Microsoft's existing enterprise relationships and integration with other Microsoft products.
GCP: Smaller market share but rapidly gaining traction due to its competitive pricing and focus on open-source technologies.

2. Strengths and Focus:

AWS: Offers the broadest range of services and features, excelling in compute, storage, and database solutions.
Azure: Strong focus on security and compliance, making it a favorite for government and regulated industries. Additionally, Azure integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products.
GCP: Leads in containerization and serverless computing, making it ideal for modern application development. GCP also shines in data analytics and machine learning.

3. Pricing and Billing:

AWS: Offers various pricing models, including pay-as-you-go, reserved instances, and spot instances. However, its pricing structure can be complex.
Azure: Provides similar pricing models as AWS but with simpler and more predictable billing.
GCP: Offers the most competitive pricing, particularly for sustained use and committed use discounts.

4. Technical Considerations:

AWS: Utilizes its proprietary technologies, requiring specialized knowledge for deployment and management.
Azure: Leverages a mix of Microsoft and open-source technologies, offering some familiar tools and libraries for developers.
GCP: Heavily relies on open-source technologies and offers a developer-friendly environment with a focus on containerization and Kubernetes.

5. Regional Availability:

AWS: Boasts the largest global footprint with the most data centres worldwide.
Azure: Has a strong presence in major regions but slightly less coverage than AWS.
GCP: Offers fewer data centres compared to AWS and Azure but is expanding rapidly.

**This graph indicates the Cloud Provider Market Share Trend

⚝ Steps to Create an AWS Account

Step 1: First Open your web browser, search for AWS Login Console and click the link.

Step 2: An AWS Login Console page will open now create an AWS account.

Step 3: A new AWS page will open. Now click on Create a new AWS account.

Step 4: To use the feature to log into an AWS Free Tire Account, Provide the user email and AWS account name.

After clicking on "Verify email address" you will receive a verification code at the address you provided.

Next, you must create a password for this account. Finally, click “Continue” to move on to the next stage.

Step 5: We must include all of our contact information in this phase to make it easier for Amazon support personnel to get in touch with us about our AWS Account and any feature references.

Step 6: We must provide the credit/debit card information in this step. There is no reason to panic at this time. AWS won’t deduct any amount unless you pay it on your own. AWS may temporarily keep your identification that they will charge you only 2 Indian rupees.

Step 7: We have to verify our phone number in this phase. As seen in the image below, select “TEXT or Voice call” as the method for receiving your verification number, then complete the captcha by clicking on “Send SMS.”You will be sent to a screen where you must confirm the verification code you have received and click continue to proceed to the following stage.

Step 8: Enter the verification code you received on your mobile device, validate it, and then click Continue to move on to the following stage.

Step 9: Choose the support strategy you want to use. We are setting up an AWS Free Tier Account so select the Basic Support option, which is cost-free and which AWS also suggests for new customers. The Basic Support Plan includes the following: