by Michael Wittig Dec. 31, 2018
With more and more developers and companies making use of AWS, it couldn't hurt to become an expert.
If you are just starting to use AWS today, you might think it's
going to be hard to catch up. How can you become an AWS expert? How can
you know everything about AWS? I asked myself the same questions some
time ago. Let me share my answer on how to become an AWS expert.
My Story
I have used AWS for more than five years. Working with my
clients of all sizes and industries challenges my AWS knowledge every
day. I also maintain several AWS open-source projects that I try to keep up-to-date with the ever-improving AWS platform.
Let me show you my tips on staying up-to-date with AWS and
adapting to new things. Here are three examples of the most exciting and
surprising things I learned about AWS this year:
- Network Load Balancers
- Amazon Linux 2
- Amazon Cloud Directory
Network Load Balancers
When I started using AWS, there was one option to load
balance HTTP and raw TCP traffic — what is now called a Classic Load
Balancer. Since then, the portfolio of load balancers has expanded. You
can now also choose the Application Load Balancer to distribute HTTP(S)
traffic (including HTTP2 and WebSockets) or the Network Load Balancer,
which operates on layer 4 to load balance TCP traffic.
When reading the Network Load Balancer announcement, I found
myself interested in this shiny new thing. And that's the first
important part of learning something new: If you are interested in the
topic, it's much easier to learn.
Tip #1: Pick the topics that are interesting
When I'm interested in a topic, I dive into the documentation
and read it from top to bottom. It can take a few hours to finish
reading before you can start using the new service or feature. However,
you then know about all the concepts, best practices, and pitfalls,
which saves you time in the long run.
Tip #2: Reading the documentation is a good investment
Can I remember everything that I read? No. For example, there is one documented limitation
to keep in mind when using the Network Load Balancer: Internal load
balancers do not support hair-pinning or loopback. I read about it and
still ran into it. Sometimes, I have to learn the hard way as well.
Amazon Linux 2
Amazon Linux 2
is the successor of Amazon Linux. Both distributions come with a superb
AWS integration, a secure default configuration, and regular security
updates. You can open AWS Support tickets if you run into any problems.
So, what's new with Amazon Linux 2? You get long-term support
for five years and you can now run a copy of Amazon Linux 2 on your
local machine or on premises. The most significant changes are the
replacement of SysVinit with systemd and a new way to install additional software, also known as the extras library.
The systemd init system was all new to me. I decided that it was time to change that and I remembered a session from the local AWS User Group in my city
about systemd that I had missed. Luckily, I knew the speaker well. I
asked Thorsten a few questions to get an idea about the topics I should
learn about to understand how systemd works.
There is always someone who knows what you want to learn. You have to find that person. I encourage you to connect with your local AWS community.
Tip #3: It's easier to learn if you have a network of people to ask questions of and get inspired by
Amazon Cloud Directory
One of my projects this year was all about hierarchical
data. I was looking for a way to store this kind of data in AWS, and I
discovered Amazon Cloud Directory.
Cloud Directory was all new to me and seemed difficult to learn about. I
read all of the documentation. Still, it was painful and I wanted to
give up a few times. That's normal. That's why I reward myself from time
to time (for example, read one more hour of docs and then go for a
walk).
Tip #4: Learning a new thing is hard at first. Keep going.
Cloud Directory is a fully managed, hierarchical data store
on AWS. Hierarchical data is connected using parent-child relationships.
Let me give you an example. Imagine a chat system with teams and
channels. The following figure shows a Cloud Directory data model for
the imaginary chat system.
When you have a good understanding of a topic, it's time to
master it by using it. You also learn so much while explaining a concept
to someone else. That's why I wrote a blog post, A neglected serverless data store: Cloud Directory.
Tip #5: Apply your knowledge. Share your knowledge. Teach others.
Summary
Becoming an AWS expert is a journey without a final
destination. There is always more to learn. AWS is a huge platform with
100+ services and countless capabilities. The offerings are constantly
changing.
I want to encourage you to become an AWS expert. Why not
start with one of the new services released at re:Invent this year? Pick
the one that is most interesting for you. Read the documentation. Ask
questions of others. Be inspired by others. Apply your knowledge. Share
with a blog post or a talk to your local AWS user group. Isn't this what
an expert does?
Source: https://dzone.com/articles/how-to-become-an-aws-expert
