AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Certification Update
The next important update for AWS certification exams is about the happen for one of the most popular certification exams of AWS. The AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate certification exam would go through a significant update in 2020. The beta period for the new exam version would start on November 4, 2019, and would last till November 29, 2019. Candidates have the option to take the previous version (SAA-C01) through March 22, 2020, or the new version (SAA-C02) beginning on March 23, 2020.
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C02) examination is intended for individuals who perform in a Solutions Architect role. This exam validates an examinee’s ability to effectively demonstrate knowledge of how to architect and deploy secure and robust applications on AWS technologies.
It validates an examinee’s ability to:
- Define a solution using architectural design principles based on customer requirements.
- Provide implementation guidance based on best practices to an organization throughout the lifecycle of a project.
Recommended AWS Knowledge
- One year of hands-on experience designing available, cost-effective, fault-tolerant, and scalable distributed systems on AWS.
- Hands-on experience using compute, networking, storage, and database AWS services.
- Hands-on experience with AWS deployment and management services.
- Ability to identify and define technical requirements for an AWS-based application.
- Ability to identify which AWS services meet a given technical requirement.
- Knowledge of recommended best practices for building secure and reliable applications on the AWS platform.
- An understanding of the basic architectural principles of building in the AWS Cloud.
- An understanding of the AWS global infrastructure.
- An understanding of network technologies as they relate to AWS.
- An understanding of security features and tools that AWS provides and how they relate to traditional services.
The update in this AWS certification exam is also responsible for introducing new requirements to qualify the examination. Candidates should also remember that they could register and appear for the current exam version till the new updated version’s release in March 2020. Let us take a closer look at the changes which you can find in the new updated version.
Instead of five domains, candidates would have to deal with four domains.
Domain 1: Design Resilient Architectures – 30%
- 1.1 Design a multi-tier architecture solution
- 1.2 Design highly available and/or fault-tolerant architectures
- 1.3 Design decoupling mechanisms using AWS services
- 1.4 Choose appropriate resilient storage
Domain 2: Design High-Performing Architectures – 28%
- 2.1 Identify elastic and scalable compute solutions for a workload
- 2.2 Selecthigh-performing and scalable storage solutions for a workload
- 2.3 Select high-performing networking solutions for a workload
- 2.4 Choose high-performing database solutions for a workload
Domain 3: Design Secure Applications and Architectures – 24%
- 3.1 Design secure access to AWS resources 3.2 Design secure application tiers
- 3.3 Select appropriate data security options
Domain 4: Design Cost-Optimized Architectures – 18%
- 4.1 Identify cost-effective storage solutions
- 4.2 Identify cost-effective compute and database services
- 4.3 Design cost-optimized network architectures
The fifth domain in the current exam version dealing with the definition of operationally excellent architectures would retire.
Take a look at the following table, highlighting comparisons between the current version and the new version of the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate certification exam.
| Current Exam Version | Updated Exam Version |
|---|---|
| Designing Resilient Architectures (34%) | Designing Resilient Architectures (30%) |
| Defining Performant Architectures (24%) | Designing high-performing architectures (28%) |
| Specifying Secure Applications and architectures (26%) | Designing secure applications and architectures (24%) |
| Designing cost-optimized architectures (10%) | Designing Cost-optimized architectures (18%) |
| Defining operationally excellent architectures (6%) |
The changes in the new updated AWS certification exam for Solutions Architect Associate certification are evident in the second and third domains. A closer look at the underlying exam topics in each domain can provide further clarity to aspiring candidates.
Candidates have the option to take the previous version (SAA-C01) through March 22, 2020, or the new version (SAA-C02) beginning on March 23, 2020. Candidates can prepare with optional resources such as an updated practice test as well as a learning path and comprehensive ramp-up guide for the architect role.
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