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1. AWS Config

  • Overview: Tracks and records AWS resource configurations, monitors changes, and ensures compliance with desired configurations.
  • Key Features:
    • Records resource configuration history and change timelines.
    • Evaluates resources against compliance rules (custom or managed).
    • Integrates with CloudTrail, SNS, and Security Hub for auditing and alerts.
  • Use Cases: Audit compliance (e.g., S3 encryption), track configuration drift, troubleshoot changes.
  • Recent Updates (2024–2025):
    • Enhanced rule evaluation with ML-based insights (October 2024).
    • Security Hub integration for compliance findings (January 2025).
  • Exam Notes:
    • Security: Use for compliance auditing (e.g., CIS Benchmarks).
    • Resilience: Track configuration changes for root cause analysis.
    • Cost: $0.003/100 evaluations; optimize by limiting rules.
  • Key Tip: Compare with Trusted Advisor (best practices) and Security Hub (security findings).

2. AWS Compute Optimizer

  • Overview: Analyzes AWS resource usage to recommend optimal configurations for performance and cost.
  • Key Features:
    • Recommends EC2, EBS, Lambda, and ECS (Fargate) optimizations.
    • Uses ML to analyze CloudWatch metrics and usage patterns.
    • Provides savings estimates with Savings Plans/Reserved Instances.
  • Use Cases: Right-size EC2 instances, optimize Lambda memory, reduce costs.
  • Recent Updates (2024–2025):
    • ECS Fargate support expanded (January 2024).
    • Enhanced ML for cross-Region analysis (October 2024).
  • Exam Notes:
    • Performance: Improve EC2/Lambda efficiency.
    • Cost: Free service; saves costs via right-sizing (e.g., $100/month by downsizing EC2).
    • Resilience: Suggests Multi-AZ configurations.
  • Key Tip: Free to use; opt-in via console. Compare with Trusted Advisor (broader checks).

3. AWS Health Dashboard

  • Overview: Provides personalized visibility into AWS service health, resource performance, and scheduled events.
  • Key Features:
    • Service Health Dashboard: Public status of AWS services.
    • Personal Health Dashboard: Alerts for resource-specific issues (e.g., EC2 outages).
    • Integrates with CloudWatch Events, SNS for notifications.
  • Use Cases: Monitor service disruptions, plan for maintenance, respond to incidents.
  • Recent Updates (2024–2025):
    • Improved proactive notifications for maintenance (March 2024).
    • Security Hub integration for health-related findings (January 2025).
  • Exam Notes:
    • Resilience: Use for incident response and HA planning.
    • Security: Monitor unauthorized changes impacting health.
    • Cost: Free; charges for SNS/CloudWatch notifications (e.g., $0.02/1,000 emails).
  • Key Tip: Personal Health Dashboard is account-specific; Service Health Dashboard is global.

4. AWS License Manager

  • Overview: Centralizes management and tracking of software licenses (e.g., Windows Server, SQL Server) across AWS and on-premises.
  • Key Features:
    • Tracks license usage for BYOL (Bring Your Own License) and AWS-provided licenses.
    • Enforces license rules to prevent overages.
    • Integrates with AWS Organizations, Systems Manager, and Marketplace.
  • Use Cases: Manage Microsoft licenses, ensure compliance, track usage in multi-account setups.
  • Recent Updates (2024–2025):
    • Enhanced BYOL tracking for Marketplace purchases (October 2024).
    • Improved reporting for hybrid environments (March 2024).
  • Exam Notes:
    • Security: Ensure license compliance for audits.
    • Cost: Free; prevents fines from license overages.
    • Resilience: Tracks licenses across Regions for DR.
  • Key Tip: Use with Systems Manager for inventory; compare with Service Catalog for governance.

5. Amazon Managed Grafana

  • Overview: Fully managed service for Grafana, an open-source platform to visualize metrics, logs, and traces.
  • Key Features:
    • Integrates with AWS data sources (CloudWatch, Prometheus, OpenSearch) and third-party sources (e.g., Splunk, Datadog).
    • Supports SSO (IAM Identity Center, SAML), audit logs via CloudTrail.
    • Creates dashboards for cost, performance, and health monitoring.
  • Use Cases: Monitor EKS/ECS containers, visualize AWS Cost and Usage Reports, track application metrics.

  • Recent Updates (2024–2025):

    • VPC endpoint support for private data sources (January 2024).

    • Enhanced cost visualization dashboards (October 2024).

  • Exam Notes:

    • Performance: Visualize real-time metrics for optimization.
    • Security: SSO and CloudTrail for compliance.
    • Cost: $9/editor, $5/viewer per month; 90-day free trial (5 users).
  • Key Tip: Pairs with Managed Service for Prometheus; compare with CloudWatch Dashboards.

6. Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus

  • Overview: Managed Prometheus-compatible service for monitoring containerized workloads at scale.
  • Key Features:
    • Uses PromQL for querying metrics from EKS, ECS, and Kubernetes.
    • Auto-scales ingestion/storage; stores data across three AZs.
    • Integrates with Managed Grafana for visualization.
  • Use Cases: Monitor Kubernetes clusters, track container performance, set alerts.

  • Recent Updates (2024–2025):

    • Improved PromQL query performance (October 2024).

    • Enhanced Grafana integration for alerting (March 2024).

  • Exam Notes:

    • Performance: Scales for large container environments.
    • Resilience: Multi-AZ storage for durability.

    • Cost: Pay-per-use (e.g., $0.10/billion samples queried); free tier available.

  • Key Tip: Use with Managed Grafana; compare with CloudWatch for non-container monitoring.

7. AWS Proton

  • Overview: Platform for platform teams to manage and deploy container and serverless applications with standardized templates.
  • Key Features:
    • Defines environment and service templates (e.g., ECS, Lambda).
    • Enables developers to deploy code via self-service.
    • Integrates with CodePipeline, CloudFormation, and Organizations.
  • Use Cases: Standardize microservices deployments, simplify serverless rollouts.

  • Recent Updates (2024–2025):

    • AWS CDK support via CodeBuild provisioning (January 2024).

    • Enhanced template versioning (October 2024).

    • Exam Notes:
    • Performance: Streamlines developer deployments.
    • Security: Enforces consistent configurations.
    • Cost: Free; charges for underlying resources (e.g., Lambda, ECS).
    • Key Tip: Compare with Service Catalog (IT services) and CloudFormation (IaC).

8. AWS Service Catalog

  • Overview: Enables organizations to create and manage catalogs of approved IT services for AWS deployment.
  • Key Features:
    • Defines portfolios of CloudFormation templates for services (e.g., EC2, RDS).
    • Controls access via IAM and Organizations.
    • Tracks usage and compliance.
  • Use Cases: Govern self-service deployments, ensure compliant architectures, manage multi-tier apps.
  • Recent Updates (2024–2025):
    • Improved integration with AWS Proton for container templates (March 2024).
    • Enhanced compliance reporting with Security Hub (January 2025).
  • Exam Notes:
    • Security: Enforce approved configurations for compliance.
    • Resilience: Standardize HA architectures.
    • Cost: Free; charges for deployed resources (e.g., EC2).
  • Key Tip: Use with Organizations for governance; compare with Proton for developer-focused deployments.

Quick Reference Table

Service Purpose Key Feature Cost Exam Focus
AWS Config Track resource configs Compliance rules, change history $0.003/100 evaluations Security, Resilience
AWS Compute Optimizer Optimize resource usage ML-based EC2/Lambda recommendations Free Cost, Performance
AWS Health Dashboard Monitor service/resource health Personal alerts, SNS integration Free (SNS charges apply) Resilience, Security
AWS License Manager Manage software licenses BYOL tracking, compliance rules Free Security, Cost
Amazon Managed Grafana Visualize metrics/logs Dashboards, SSO, multi-source $9/editor, $5/viewer Performance, Security
Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus Monitor containers PromQL, auto-scaling, Grafana Pay-per-use (e.g., $0.10/billion samples) Performance, Resilience
AWS Proton Standardize app deployments Templates for ECS/Lambda Free (resource charges) Performance, Security
AWS Service Catalog Govern IT services Approved CloudFormation templates Free (resource charges) Security, Resilience