Course · Intermediate

AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate

Learn to deploy, monitor, secure, network and recover workloads on AWS the way the CloudOps Engineer – Associate exam expects, by working in the console and the AWS CLI on CloudWatch, Systems Manager, Auto Scaling, CloudFormation, VPC and Route 53, then reasoning through exam-style questions.

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55 itemsLast updated October 2026

aws-cloudops-engineer / at a glance

  • 13modules
  • 30lessons
  • 13labs and projects
  • 644practice questions

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Enrolling is free. Module 1 is open to everyone; enrolling unlocks the rest, saves your progress and scores to your account, and lets you carry on from any device.

  • 30 lessons, 13 labs and projects, and 644 practice questions
  • Each lesson opens when you pass the questions on the one before it
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The CloudOps Engineer – Associate exam checks that you can run workloads on AWS and keep them healthy. It gives you a scenario from an operator’s day, an alarm that never fires, an instance that cannot reach the internet, a restore that misses its recovery target, and asks which change fixes it. This course teaches that judgement by having you do the work in the console and with the AWS CLI.

Each module explains how a group of services behaves from the operator’s side, draws the architecture, then has you build and break it in a safe account. Every lesson and lab ends with ten exam-style questions, and the course closes with a capstone and a full-length, 65-question practice exam weighted like the real one.

The exam’s five domains, and where the course covers them:

Domain Modules
Monitoring, logging, analysis, remediation and performance optimization 2, 3, 4
Reliability and business continuity 5, 6
Deployment, provisioning and automation 3, 7, 8
Security and compliance 9, 10
Networking and content delivery 11, 12

AWS renamed this certification from SysOps Administrator to CloudOps Engineer when SOA-C03 replaced SOA-C02. People who earned the SysOps title keep it. AWS changes services and exams over time, so before you book, read the current exam guide linked above; if it has changed, tell us and we will update the course.

This edition

What's new as of October 2026

  • Built for the SOA-C03 exam, guide version 1.1 (June 2026), which replaced SOA-C02 when AWS renamed the SysOps Administrator certification to CloudOps Engineer
  • The skills SOA-C03 added: the CloudWatch agent for EC2, ECS and EKS, CloudFormation and CDK stacks, Region and service selections for compliance, and CloudWatch network monitoring
  • AI-assisted operations: AWS DevOps Agent (generally available March 2026) and Kiro, and monitoring for AI workloads that use Amazon Bedrock
  • Amazon S3 Files (April 2026) alongside EFS and FSx as a shared storage choice
  • Amazon Linux 2 reached end of support in June 2026, so the labs build on Amazon Linux 2023
  • Systems Manager Incident Manager and Change Manager are closed to new customers, so the course teaches the Systems Manager tools you can still start with
  • CloudWatch cross-account observability for dashboards, logs and metrics across accounts and Regions
  • A capstone that operates a workload end to end, and a 65-question practice exam the length of the real one

Prepares you for

AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer – Associate (SOA-C03)

Every module maps to the domains in AWS's published exam guide.

You book and take the exam yourself with AWS. We do not run exams or sell exam vouchers. Pontelon is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized training partner of AWS. Practice questions are our own, written against the published exam guide, never leaked exam content. Certification names are trademarks of their owners.

Outcomes

By the end, you can

  • Build monitoring with CloudWatch metrics, composite alarms, logs, dashboards and CloudTrail, and route alerts through SNS and EventBridge
  • Automate remediation with Systems Manager Automation runbooks, Lambda and event-driven rules
  • Tune EC2, EBS, S3, shared storage and RDS from performance data
  • Scale and protect availability with Auto Scaling, load balancing, caching, Multi-AZ and health checks
  • Back up, restore and recover workloads to meet an RPO and an RTO, with AWS Backup and the four disaster recovery strategies
  • Provision repeatably with AMIs, CloudFormation, StackSets and CDK, and diagnose a failed deployment
  • Control access across accounts with IAM, Organizations, service control policies, IAM Identity Center and Config
  • Protect data with KMS, ACM and Secrets Manager, and act on GuardDuty, Security Hub and Inspector findings
  • Build, connect and troubleshoot VPCs, DNS and content delivery from flow logs and the Reachability Analyzer
  • Read a CloudOps Engineer question, spot the detail that decides it, and rule out the distractors

Syllabus

Modules, lessons and labs

Work through them in order: each one builds on the last, and each module ends with a checkpoint. Module 1 (2 items) is open to everyone. After that, sign in and pass each lesson's questions (70% or better) to unlock the next one. Your progress is saved to your account.

  1. Module 1

    Getting started

    How the course and the exam work, and a sandbox account with the CLI ready and a budget alert set.

    1. Course orientation: the exam, the CloudOps Engineer name and how to studyLesson · 10 questions
    2. Lab: a sandbox account that cannot surprise youLab · 10 questions

  2. Module 2

    Monitoring and logging

    CloudWatch metrics, alarms, logs and dashboards, the CloudWatch agent, CloudTrail, and notifications.

    1. CloudWatch metrics, alarms and dashboardsLesson · 10 questions
    2. CloudWatch Logs: metric filters, Logs Insights and AthenaLesson · 10 questions
    3. The CloudWatch agent, CloudTrail and notificationsLesson · 10 questions
    4. Lab: monitor an instance with metrics, logs and an alarmLab · 10 questions
    5. Module 2 checkpoint: monitoring and loggingModule checkpoint · 15 questions

  3. Module 3

    Incident response and automation

    Routing events with EventBridge, Systems Manager Automation runbooks, and AI-assisted operations.

    1. EventBridge: route, enrich and deliver eventsLesson · 10 questions
    2. Automating remediation with Systems Manager, Lambda and Step FunctionsLesson · 10 questions
    3. AI-assisted operations: Kiro, AWS DevOps Agent and monitoring AI workloadsLesson · 10 questions
    4. Lab: an alarm that triggers an automated responseLab · 10 questions
    5. Module 3 checkpoint: incident response and automationModule checkpoint · 13 questions

  4. Module 4

    Performance optimization

    Reading performance data to tune compute, EBS, S3, shared storage and databases.

    1. Compute and EBS performanceLesson · 10 questions
    2. S3 performance and shared storage: EFS, FSx and S3 FilesLesson · 10 questions
    3. Database performance: RDS Performance Insights and RDS ProxyLesson · 10 questions
    4. Lab: find the limit of a gp2 volume and move it to gp3Lab · 10 questions
    5. Module 4 checkpoint: performance optimizationModule checkpoint · 13 questions

  5. Module 5

    Scalability and elasticity

    Auto Scaling, caching, and scaling managed databases.

    1. Auto Scaling groups and scaling policiesLesson · 10 questions
    2. Caching and scaling managed databasesLesson · 10 questions
    3. Lab: scale an Auto Scaling group from an alarmLab · 10 questions
    4. Module 5 checkpoint: scalability and elasticityModule checkpoint · 13 questions

  6. Module 6

    Availability, backup and recovery

    Load balancers and health checks, Multi-AZ design, AWS Backup, restores, and disaster recovery strategies.

    1. Load balancers and health checks (ELB and Route 53)Lesson · 10 questions
    2. Fault-tolerant design and Multi-AZLesson · 10 questions
    3. Backups, AWS Backup, restores and versioningLesson · 10 questions
    4. Disaster recovery strategies, RTO and RPOLesson · 10 questions
    5. Lab: back up and restore a databaseLab · 10 questions
    6. Module 6 checkpoint: availability, backup and recoveryModule checkpoint · 14 questions

  7. Module 7

    Provisioning and infrastructure as code

    Machine and container images, CloudFormation, StackSets, CDK, and fixing a failed deployment.

    1. Machine images, container images and EC2 Image BuilderLesson · 10 questions
    2. CloudFormation in operations: stacks, change sets, drift and errorsLesson · 10 questions
    3. CDK, StackSets, RAM and third-party toolsLesson · 10 questions
    4. Lab: deploy, break and repair a stackLab · 10 questions
    5. Module 7 checkpoint: provisioningModule checkpoint · 14 questions

  8. Module 8

    Systems Manager and operations

    Running a fleet with Systems Manager, and the Linux commands an operator reaches for.

    1. Systems Manager: managing a fleetLesson · 10 questions
    2. Linux operations on EC2 for CloudOpsLesson · 10 questions
    3. Lab: patch and inspect instances without logging inLab · 10 questions
    4. Module 8 checkpoint: Systems Manager and operationsModule checkpoint · 12 questions

  9. Module 9

    Identity, access and compliance

    IAM, troubleshooting access, multi-account control with Organizations and SCPs, and continuous compliance.

    1. IAM for operators: features and troubleshooting accessLesson · 10 questions
    2. Organizations, SCPs, IAM Identity Center, Trusted Advisor and ConfigLesson · 10 questions
    3. Lab: find out why access was deniedLab · 10 questions
    4. Module 9 checkpoint: identity, access and complianceModule checkpoint · 13 questions

  10. Module 10

    Protecting data and infrastructure

    Encryption at rest and in transit, secrets, data classification, and acting on security findings.

    1. Encryption with KMS and ACM, and secretsLesson · 10 questions
    2. Data classification and security findingsLesson · 10 questions
    3. Lab: encrypt data and store a secretLab · 10 questions
    4. Module 10 checkpoint: protecting data and infrastructureModule checkpoint · 14 questions

  11. Module 11

    VPC and private connectivity

    Building a VPC, connecting privately, protecting the network, and keeping its cost down.

    1. Building a VPC and connecting it privatelyLesson · 10 questions
    2. Protecting the network and keeping its cost downLesson · 10 questions
    3. Lab: a private VPC with endpointsLab · 10 questions
    4. Module 11 checkpoint: VPC and private connectivityModule checkpoint · 13 questions

  12. Module 12

    DNS, delivery and troubleshooting

    Route 53, CloudFront and Global Accelerator, and finding a network fault from logs and tools.

    1. Route 53, DNS and ResolverLesson · 10 questions
    2. CloudFront, Global Accelerator and caching problemsLesson · 10 questions
    3. Troubleshooting network connectivityLesson · 10 questions
    4. Lab: find a network fault with flow logs and the Reachability AnalyzerLab · 10 questions
    5. Module 12 checkpoint: DNS, delivery and troubleshootingModule checkpoint · 15 questions

  13. Module 13

    Capstone and exam

    Operate a workload end to end, then sit a full-length practice exam.

    1. Capstone: operate a workload end to endCapstone project · 10 questions
    2. Practice exam: 65 questionsModule checkpoint · 65 questions

Want it taught live, or to your team?

The course is free: module 1 to anyone, the rest once you enroll. We also run it with an instructor, for a cohort or against your own systems. Ask us for the format and price.

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