Resource

Bookmarks

Mick Jacobsson
October 6, 2020
3 min read

This is the place to access resources from outside of talkncloud. I have created this list of websites, podcasts, repos etc to share with others. This list will change from time to time, if you have any suggestions please get in touch and I’ll update the list.

Note: In no particular order, also, I am not affiliated with any of the external resources.

An excellent resource, you’ll find that AWS staff frequent this sub including the likes of Jeff Barr. Generally a good supportive group with a bunch of good ideas and experience.

I can be found here:https://www.reddit.com/user/talkncloud_mick

Last Week in AWS

I’m pretty sure this is run or managed by Corey Quinn, at least he seems to be the most active person making content. Take a dive into the world of Corey, he’s got a few different bits and pieces out there, I generally take a look at the newsletter and listen to the podcast from time to time. He does a good job of keeping you outdated, he can be a tad critical of AWS but often that can give you another perspective. Corey’s has a strong FinOps / cloud economics background and offers services in that space, so at the very least it provides some insights into keep your AWS bill in check.

Tutorials Dojo

If you’re studying for cloud exams or just trying to check your knowledge. I found that tutorials dojo had the best practice exams. What stands out with this service is the detail explanations, a lot of the learning material out there just have a yes, no result. Tutorials dojo provide links back to relevant information including custom detailed cheat sheets.

AWS Podcast (official)

Be sure to add the official AWS podcast to your list. This has something for everyone, detailed sessions exploring various AWS service but also some really cool interviews e.g. the CTO (Dr. Werner Vogels) was on just recently.

Qwiklabs

What I like about qwiklabs is that you get access to hands on labs, you’ll be given temporary credentials in the cloud to build out the lab. The labs vary in complexity and range from introductory to expert, there is something for everyone. The other bonus is that you don’t need to sign up to a cloud service provider like AWS and worry about billing and those pesky $1-2 charges that you hard to track down. Very cool if you’re just starting out and don’t know whats what.

Qwiklabs - Hands-On Cloud Training

Qwiklabs provides real cloud environments that help developers and IT professionals learn cloud platforms and software, such as Firebase, Kubernetes and more.

Qwiklabs Qwiklabs

AWS Pricing Calculator

Now, pricing, budgets, costs etc is like black magic in cloud. AWS had or have the simple pricing calculator (https://calculator.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html) which is being phased out and replaced with the new version. It’s OK, yeah, not everything is there which can be a little frustrating at times, it’s better than nothing and an improvement over the previous.

AWS Pricing Calculator

AWS Pricing Calculator lets you explore AWS services, and create an estimate for the cost of your use cases on AWS.

AWS Architecture (official)

Before you design anything in AWS be sure to check out the AWS architecture site, there are tones of examples which follow best practice. You’ll find different types of resources with reference architecture, examples, deployment guides as well as additional links to blogs, videos etc. The side doesn’t just reference AWS services but also dives into third party design that you may want to run which is a nice starting point. It’s a pretty under utilised resource.

AWS Training (official)

AWS really upped their game with everyone working remote and released a bunch of free content in the AWS training portal. It’s a pretty great resource, varying levels of expertise available and a bunch of free content that is well presented and easy to follow. I’d recommend this to anyone just starting out but also to keep an eye on it as its changing all the time.