DEV Community: abdullah haroon

A short talk at AWS cloud club event "Cloud Nexus" made me rethink how students are using AI

abdullah haroon — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 05:22:11 +0000

I recently spoke at CloudNexus, an AWS Cloud Club QAU event focused on cloud technologies and AI. It was a short talk, nothing fancy, mainly around Agentic AI and how students are currently using AI tools.
What surprised me wasn’t the questions. It was how confident students were that they were “using AI correctly”. Most of them weren’t.

“I asked them to generate code from ChatGPT”
During discussions, a lot of students openly said they use ChatGPT mainly for code generation. Not for understanding. Not for learning concepts. Just for getting code quickly.
And honestly, I would not blame them for this. It’s very fast. It feels somehow productive. But this is where problems start showing up later during debugging, real projects, or even basic system design conversations or in interviews.

The issue isn’t AI: it’s how we’re using it
One thing I tried to explain during the talk was simple:
Not every AI tool is meant to do the same job.ChatGPT is great. I use it too. But it shines more when you use it for:

understanding concepts
breaking down ideas
writing or structuring content
asking “why” questions

When you try to use it as your main coding engine, you miss context and context matters a lot in real-world development.
Code-focused tools exist for a reason
We talked a bit about tools like Cursor, Amazon Q etc. Thesetools work inside your codebase. They understand files, references, and structure.That’s why they feel more useful for development work.
Not because they are “smarter AI”, but because they are built for developers.

Where Amazon Q fits in
Since this was an AWS-focused event, I also talked about Amazon Q. What I personally find interesting about Amazon Q is that it doesn’t live outside your workflow. It helps inside AWS environments, where cloud engineers actually spend time. It’s less about asking random questions and more about:

cloud-aware guidance
best practices
security-conscious suggestions

That difference matters when you move beyond tutorials.

Explaining Agentic AI in simple terms
To keep things simple, I explained AI in three phases:

Chatbots: you ask, it replies
Copilots: it understands your context
Agents: you give a goal, it figures out the steps Agentic AI is less about prompts and more about delegation.That idea really clicked with students.

Why the cloud becomes unavoidable here
One thing I emphasized was that agent-based systems don’t work in isolation.They need infrastructure, scale and security.

This is where platforms like AWS Bedrock start making sense, not as buzzwords only, but as enablers for building AI systems that actually run in the real world.

What I really wanted students to take away
If I would summarize the talk in one line, it would be this: AI should help you grow, not replace your thinking.

Use ChatGPT to learn.
Use coding copilots to build.
Use cloud AI to scale. And use agents when you’re ready to automate outcomes.

Final thought
Speaking at CloudNexus reminded me that students don’t need more tools.They need better guidance on how to use what already exists. There is a quote I read online saying:

AI isn’t going away.But engineers who understand how and why they use AI will always stand out.

here's the linkedin post for my recent talk:

#cloudnexus #cloudnative #agenticai #awsome #aws | Muhammad Abdullah Haroon | 13 comments

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐭 Daftarkhwan vanguard 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 🙃 I had the chance to represent Cloud Native Islamabad and its ecosystem and share thoughts on emerging technologies and opportunities in Agentic AI and Cloud, with a special focus on how the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) ecosystem (including CNI) is shaping the future of cloud-native engineering. Huge shoutout to Ali Mumtaz for organizing such a well-executed and impactful event Also, appreciation for Sharoon Amin Akhtar for sharing valuable insights on serverless cloud technologies. The panel discussion was equally engaging, featuring DevOps Molvi (Faisal Rehman), Hamza Nasir 🚀 Tameem Ud Din and Yahya Qureshi , great perspectives and practical discussions around DevOps and modern AI technologies. Lastly, thanks to my The Computer Science Society (CSS) AWS Cloud Club IIUI team for accompanying me Junaid Hanif Shah Murad Ali Shehzad Nazir Sardar Huzaifa Muhammad Sayyam Abbasi Shahzaib Ashraf Uzair Akhtar Gondal praying and best wishes to my mentor Saim Safder who didn't join us because of an incident.. Looking forward to more such conversations and collaborations #CloudNexus #CloudNative #AgenticAI #awsome #aws Amazon Web Services (AWS) AWS Developers Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Audra Montenegro Lisa Bagley, CPACC | 13 comments on LinkedIn

linkedin.com

How to Launch Your First EC2 Instance on AWS (with Security Best Practices)

abdullah haroon — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 13:50:35 +0000

By Abdullah Haroon – Student | Cloud Practitioner| AWS Learner

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this guide, you’ll:

Understand what Amazon EC2 is
Launch your first virtual server using AWS Free Tier
Connect to it securely via SSH
Install a basic web server
Apply essential security practices for beginners

What is EC2?

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) is AWS's virtual server service. It allows you to rent virtual machines (VMs) in the cloud where you can run applications, host websites, or learn Linux—all without buying hardware.

Think of it as your own personal server, available globally, just a few clicks away.

Common use cases:

Hosting websites & web apps
Deploying APIs and backend services
Machine learning & data processing
Practicing Linux/DevOps tools

What You Need

A free AWS account — Create one here
A stable internet connection
Basic knowledge of using terminal/command prompt

Step-by-Step guide: Launching Your First EC2 Instance

Step 1: Log in to the AWS Console

Go to https://console.aws.amazon.com/ and sign in.

Choose a region (e.g., US East - N. Virginia) at the top-right.

Step 2: Navigate to EC2

Click on Services
Search for EC2 and select it
In the EC2 Dashboard, click Launch instance

Step 3: Configure Your EC2 Instance

Name

Name: MyFirstEC2

AMI (Amazon Machine Image)

Choose: Amazon Linux 2023 (Free tier eligible)

Instance Type

Choose: t2.micro

Key Pair

Create a new key pair: ec2-key-abdullah
Select .pem
Download and store the file securely (you’ll need it to SSH)

Network Settings

Create a new security group
Allow SSH (Port 22) — Source: “My IP”
(Optional) Allow HTTP (Port 80) if installing a web server

Storage

Default 8 GB is fine

Click Launch Instance

Congratulations! Your instance is launching.

Step 4: Access Instance & Copy Public IP

Go to Instances > Running Instances
Wait until instance status is running
Copy the Public IPv4 address

Step 5: Connect to EC2 via SSH

On Linux/macOS:

chmod 400 ec2-key-abdullah.pem
ssh -i ec2-key-abdullah.pem ec2-user@<your-public-ip>

Step 5 (continued): Connect on Windows (Git Bash or WSL)

Same command as above:

chmod 400 abdullah-key.pem
ssh -i abdullah-key.pem ec2-user@<your-public-ip>

Step 6: Install Apache Web Server

Once logged in via SSH:

sudo yum update -y
sudo yum install httpd -y
sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd

Now open your public IP in a browser — you’ll see the Apache test page!

Security Best Practices

Common Mistake	Best Practice
SSH open to all IPs (`0.0.0.0`)	Restrict to My IP only
Sharing `.pem` file with others	Keep it private and secure
Keeping unused instances running	Stop or terminate when not in use
Using root account always	Use IAM roles and least-privilege access

Troubleshooting Tips:

Permission denied (publickey)

chmod 400 abdullah-key.pem

SSH timeout or connection refused

Ensure Port 22 is allowed in your EC2 Security Group
Confirm you're using the correct public IP from the EC2 Console

Webpage not loading

Add a rule in your Security Group to allow HTTP (Port 80)

What You Achieved

You have successfully:

Launched a virtual server (EC2 instance)
Connected via SSH securely
Installed a working Apache web server
Followed essential cloud security steps

You’ve taken your first big step into the AWS Cloud! ☁️

Let’s Connect!

I’m sharing my AWS learning journey through beginner-friendly blogs.

Follow me for more hands-on tutorials and free-tier projects.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/muhammad-abdullah-haroon-b49478271/
Dev Blog: dev.to: abdullah_haroon_092cf10d3

Getting Started with AWS: My Journey into Cloud Computing

abdullah haroon — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 17:22:37 +0000

Why I Chose to Learn AWS?
The world has become dynamic in terms of technology and cloud has become the base of any modern application. The cloud can be found everywhere, whether it is Netflix streaming programs or startups libraries implementing AI models. I found out that I would have to learn how the cloud functions in order to develop modern scalable solutions.

I found Amazon Web Services (AWS) among the leading cloud providers, and it was worthy of attention since:

It offers a massive range of services
It powers real-world applications at scale
It has a generous Free Tier for hands-on practice
It is newbie friendly and has an excellent learning material

My Learning AWS Objectives
Being a student and being interested in development and DevOps, I decided to invest my attention in AWS knowledge and cloud-native projects.

This is what I am going to do:

Learn the core AWS services (EC2, S3, Lambda, IAM, DynamoDB)
Build hands-on projects using the AWS Free Tier
Write and share blogs/tutorials to help others learn
Create a public GitHub portfolio of AWS-based projects

First What I Am Building
I have begun to create easy practical project to practice what I have learnt:

Launch an EC2 instance and host a personal page
Building a REST API using API Gateway, +Lamda + DynamoDB
Announce on CloudFront a S3 hosted static website
Auto backups to S3 with Lambda and EventBridge
Learn about IAM users and policies as well as roles to ensure safely access

These projects are centralized on the major areas such as compute, security, storage, and automation.

Learning AWS (Without Spending a Penny)
Here are the free resources I’m currently using that helped me get started:

Resource	Why I Use It
AWS SkillBuilder	Free official AWS training & learning paths
AWS Free Tier	Practice services like EC2, S3, Lambda at zero cost
freeCodeCamp AWS Series	Simple, beginner-friendly YouTube tutorials
AWS Educate	Extra credits and labs for students
Tutorials Dojo Blog	Easy explanations of tricky services

The reason Why I am Writing These Blogs
Blogging will assist me:

Reinforce what I learn
Share knowledge with others starting out
Document challenges and fixes
Build a portfolio and personal brand

I expect to simplify AWS so that beginners learn it easily, particularly other students who have no formal background in DevOps.

I'll be posting weekly AWS tutorials, cheat sheets, and beginner-friendly walkthroughs. If you’re learning cloud too, feel free to connect — I’d love to collaborate or just exchange ideas.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/muhammad-abdullah-haroon-b49478271/

Blog: dev.to: abdullah_haroon_092cf10d3

Coming Next:

How to Launch Your First EC2 Instance with Security Best Practices

Thanks for reading! Let’s build together ☁️