AWS Zero to Hero: Introduction to Cloud and AWS Account Setup

📌 Introduction to Cloud

A decade or two ago, organizations used to buy servers from vendors like IBM or HP, bring them to data centers, connect them with networking equipment, and maintain them themselves. This setup was costly and inefficient — a single server might have 100 GB RAM and 100 CPU cores, but applications often only used a fraction of that.

This led to wastage of resources, prompting the need for a better solution.

💡 Enter Virtualization

Virtualization solved this problem by allowing one physical server to host multiple virtual servers (VMs). Each virtual server could run a separate application. Instead of buying 15 physical servers, you could buy one high-powered server and create 15 VMs on it.

This significantly reduced hardware costs and increased efficiency.

☁️ What is Cloud?

When companies began sharing virtual machines across different locations and made them accessible via the internet, the cloud was born.

If your company internally manages this infrastructure, it’s called a private cloud. But when cloud providers like AWS or Azure offer this to the public, it becomes a public cloud.

🔍 Public Cloud vs Private Cloud

• Private Cloud: Infrastructure maintained within your organization. You manage everything — servers, networking, maintenance, etc.

• Public Cloud: Services provided by third parties (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP). You only pay for what you use and avoid maintenance overhead.

Public cloud is easier to adopt, especially for start-ups and mid-size companies, due to its cost-effectiveness and ease of onboarding.

🌍 Why Public Cloud is So Popular

1. No Maintenance Overhead: AWS manages security, upgrades, patches.

2. Pay-as-you-go: Only pay for resources you use.

3. Global Accessibility: Deploy resources worldwide without managing physical data centers.

4. Developer Friendly: Easy to provision, scale, and automate.

⭐ Why AWS?

• First Mover Advantage: AWS was the first major player in the cloud space.

• Wide Adoption: Many companies started on AWS and stayed.

• Rich Ecosystem: Offers over 200 services, including EC2, S3, RDS, EKS (Kubernetes), and more.

• Job Market Demand: AWS skills are highly sought after.

AWS continuously creates new services based on market demand, making it versatile and powerful for any tech team.

🔄 What About Cloud Repatriation?

Some companies have considered moving back from the public cloud to private/on-premises infrastructure due to concerns like:

• Security

• Cost at scale

But this is rare. Over 95% of companies still prefer public cloud due to its flexibility and global support.

🧪 How to Create a Free AWS Account (Safely)

1. Visit the AWS sign-up page → Click “Create new AWS account.”

2. Enter your email, choose root user, and verify your email address.

3. Set a strong password.

4. Choose account type: Personal (for learning) or Business.

5. Provide a valid phone number and billing address.

6. Add a credit/debit card for verification (AWS charges Rs.2 or $1 for validation — refunded).

7. Once verified, you can access your AWS Free Tier account.

⚠️ Note: AWS does not auto-charge. If you go beyond Free Tier limits, you will be warned before suspension. Use billing alerts for safety.

✅ Final Words

You’ve now learned:

• What cloud computing is

• Difference between public and private cloud

• Why AWS is a leader in this space

• How to create a free account and get started

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