AWS Glossary
Clear, accurate definitions of every AWS service and concept. From EC2 and S3 to IAM and the Well-Architected Framework — no jargon, just answers.
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AWS Cost Allocation Tags: Organize & Track Cloud Spending
AWS Cost Allocation Tags are key-value pairs to organize and track cloud spending. See how they appear in Cost Explorer and CUR reports. Learn to use them.
AWS Consolidated Billing: How It Works & When to Use It
AWS Consolidated Billing centralizes payment for multiple AWS accounts via AWS Organizations. Simplify billing, track costs, and save with pooled usage. Learn when to use it.
AWS Marketplace: Find, Buy, & Deploy Software
AWS Marketplace is a digital catalog for third-party software on AWS. Simplify procurement, licensing, and billing. Learn how it works and when to use it.
AWS TCO Calculator: How It Works & When to Use It
The AWS TCO Calculator estimated costs for on-premises vs. AWS Cloud. Compare hardware, software, and operational savings. Learn when to choose it.
AWS Pricing Calculator: Estimate Cloud Costs & Budgets
What is the AWS Pricing Calculator? A free tool to estimate AWS service costs and architecture expenses. Plan budgets and compare designs. Learn how it works.
AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR): How It Works & When to Use It
The AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR) is the most comprehensive source of AWS cost and usage data. Get a detailed breakdown of spending for deep analysis. Learn how to enable and use it.
AWS Budgets: Control Costs & Usage
AWS Budgets is a cloud financial management service to set custom cost/usage thresholds for AWS resources. Get alerts before exceeding limits. Learn how to use it.
AWS Cost Explorer: Visualize & Manage Your Cloud Costs
AWS Cost Explorer is a cloud financial management service to visualize, understand, and manage AWS costs and usage. Explore spending patterns and optimize your cloud budget. Learn how it works.
On-Demand Pricing: Pay-as-you-go AWS Flexibility
On-Demand pricing is the default AWS pay-as-you-go model. Pay by the second/hour with no commitments. Learn when to choose this flexible option.
Savings Plans vs Reserved Instances: How to Save
AWS Savings Plans & Reserved Instances offer discounts for usage commitment. Learn the key differences and when to use each for optimal AWS cost savings.
Frequently Asked Questions
QWhat is Amazon EC2?
Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) is AWS's core service for renting virtual servers in the cloud. You pick an instance type (CPU, memory, network), an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) that contains the OS and software, and EC2 launches the server in minutes. You pay per second for compute capacity, with discounts available through Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, or Spot Instances.
QWhat is the difference between S3 and EBS?
Amazon S3 is object storage for files, backups, and static websites — accessed over HTTPS, not mounted as a disk. Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) provides block-level storage volumes that attach to EC2 instances like a hard drive. Use S3 for unstructured data and shared access; use EBS when an application needs a regular filesystem attached to a single EC2 instance.
QWhat is an IAM role vs an IAM user?
An IAM user represents a specific human or service with long-term credentials (password, access keys). An IAM role is an identity with permissions that is assumed temporarily — typically by an AWS service (like EC2 or Lambda) or by federated users. Best practice is to use roles for workloads and IAM Identity Center (SSO) for humans, instead of long-lived user credentials.
QWhich AWS certification should I start with?
Most people start with AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) for a foundational overview, then move to AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) — the most popular associate-level certification. If you already have cloud or development experience, you can skip CLF-C02 and start with SAA-C03 or Developer Associate (DVA-C02) directly.