The Well-Architected Framework heavily influences the AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA) exam, and this can be your make-or-break. Here’s how to turn its 6 pillars into exam gold.
Why the Well-Architected Framework Dominates the SAA Exam
The AWS SAA exam isn’t just about memorizing services. It’s about designing solutions that are secure, reliable, and cost-effective — which is exactly what the Well-Architected Framework emphasizes.
Key Stats for SAA Candidates:
- 30–50% of questions relate to the 6 pillars.
- Top topics: Security (IAM, encryption), Cost Optimization (Reserved Instances) , Reliability (Multi-AZ).
- Scenarios often ask, “What is the MOST cost-effective/reliable/securable solution?”
This cheat sheet breaks down each Well-Architected Framework pillar for the SAA exam: what you must know, plus real exam-style examples and pro tips.
Let’s dive in :)
📌 Pillar 1: Operational Excellence
Exam Focus: Automation, monitoring, and CI/CD pipelines.
What You MUST know:
Infrastructure as Code (IaC):
- AWS CloudFormation vs. AWS CDK (CloudFormation questions appear prominently in the exam).
- Core YAML components to know: Resources, Parameters, Outputs.
CI/CD Tools:
AWS CodePipeline (orchestration), CodeBuild (build), CodeDeploy (deploy).
Monitoring:
CloudWatch Alarms (e.g., CPU utilization >80%) vs. CloudTrail (audit logs).
Exam Scenario:
“A company wants an automated rollback if deployment fails. Which service should they use?”
Answer: AWS CodeDeploy with deployment configurations.
📌 Pillar 2: Security
Exam Focus: Least privilege, encryption, and compliance.
What You MUST Know:
IAM Best Practices:
- Use roles instead of access keys.
- Policy Conditions (e.g., aws:SourceIp to restrict IP ranges).
Encryption:
- AWS KMS for managing keys (SSE-KMS for S3, RDS).
- SSL/TLS for data in transit (use ACM for free certificates).
Security Tools:
AWS Shield (DDoS protection), GuardDuty (threat detection).
Exam Scenario:
“How to ensure S3 bucket data is encrypted at rest and accessible only from a corporate VPN?”
Answer: Enable SSE-KMS and add a bucket policy with aws:SourceIp condition.
📌 Pillar 3: Reliability
Exam Focus: High availability, fault tolerance, backups.
What You MUST Know:
Multi-AZ vs. Multi-Region:
- Multi-AZ (RDS, EC2) for failover in the same region.
- Multi-Region (S3 Cross-Region Replication) for disaster recovery.
Auto Scaling:
- Scaling policies (target tracking, step scaling).
- Use ALB (Application Load Balancer) to distribute traffic.
Backups:
RDS automated backups vs. snapshots (manual).
Exam Scenario:
“A workload must remain available if an AZ fails. Which architecture is BEST?”
Answer: Deploy EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group across multiple AZs behind an ALB.
📌 Pillar 4: Performance Efficiency
Exam Focus: Right-sizing, caching, and serverless.
What You MUST Know:
Compute Options:
Lambda for event-driven, sporadic workloads.
EC2 Instance Types: General-purpose (M5) vs. Compute-optimized (C5).
Caching:
CloudFront (CDN) for static assets.
ElastiCache (Redis/Memcached) for database query caching.
Storage Tiers:
S3 Standard vs. S3 Intelligent-Tiering (automatic cost savings).
Exam Scenario:
“How to reduce latency for global users accessing a static website?”
Answer: Host the site on S3 and distribute via CloudFront.
📌 Pillar 5: Cost Optimization
Exam Focus: Pricing models, budgeting, and waste reduction.
What You MUST Know:
Pricing Models:
Reserved Instances (up to 72% savings) vs. Savings Plans (flexible).
Spot Instances for fault-tolerant, non-critical workloads.
Cost Tools:
AWS Cost Explorer for forecasting.
AWS Budgets to set spending alerts.
Waste Reduction:
Terminate orphaned EBS volumes .
Use Trusted Advisor’s cost optimization checks.
Exam Scenario:
“Which is MOST cost-effective for a steady-state production database?”
Answer: Reserved Instances (1-year term).
📌 Pillar 6: Sustainability
Note: I don’t recall seeing a direct question on this topic
Exam Focus: Indirectly tested via Cost Optimization & Performance Efficiency.
What You MUST Know:
Energy-Efficient Compute:
Graviton Instances (ARM): 40% better performance per watt than x86.
Serverless (Lambda/Fargate): Scale to zero to avoid idle resource waste.
Storage Optimization:
Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering to auto-archive unused data.
Delete obsolete snapshots and EBS volumes.
Region Selection:
Deploy in AWS’s green regions (e.g., Oregon, Frankfurt) powered by renewable energy.
Exam Scenario ( I don’t recall a question based on this ):
“Which EC2 instance type reduces costs and energy consumption?”
Answer: Graviton instances (e.g., C7g).
🚀 Bonus Exam-Day Pro Tips
Pillar Priority: Security and Cost Optimization are the most tested.
Eliminate Wrong Answers: Cross out options violating pillars (e.g., public S3 buckets).
Multi-AZ > Multi-Region: Unless the question explicitly mentions disaster recovery.
Keywords Matter:
“MOST secure” = IAM roles, encryption, least privilege.
“MOST cost-effective” = Reserved Instances, Spot, serverless.
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