Why Study with PlanetCert?
The Latest Questions
Practice questions and exam topics aligned with the current exam objectives.
Detailed Explanations
Go beyond the answer. Master the material with comprehensive learning and professional explanations for every concept.
AI-Powered Insights
Personalized preparation guidance that adapts to your performance and identifies weak spots automatically.
Exam Information
Official specifications published by Amazon
Exam Format
130 min
720
Associate
Registration
$150 USD
Pearson VUE, PSI, or online proctoring
Validity
3 years
Pass the latest version of the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam; Pass the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional exam; Pass any AWS Professional or Specialty certification exam
SAA-C03 Exam Topics and Domains
SAA-C03 is organized into 4 weighted domains. Expect to work with AWS Lambda, AWS Transit Gateway, Amazon S3, Amazon SNS, and more.
1
Design Secure Architectures
30%
Design secure access to AWS resources
IAM Users and Root Users SecurityRole-Based Access ControlMulti-Account Security StrategyResource Policies
- Apply AWS security best practices to IAM users and root users
- Design a flexible authorization model that includes IAM users, groups, roles, and policies
- Design a role-based access control strategy
- Design a security strategy for multiple AWS accounts
- Determine the appropriate use of resource policies for AWS services
- Determine when to federate a directory service with IAM roles
Design secure workloads and applications
VPC Security ArchitectureApplication Security ServicesExternal Network Connections
- Design VPC architectures with security components
- Determine network segmentation strategies
- Integrate AWS services to secure applications
- Secure external network connections to and from the AWS Cloud
Determine appropriate data security controls
Encryption at RestEncryption in TransitData Backup and Recovery
- Align AWS technologies to meet compliance requirements
- Encrypt data at rest
- Encrypt data in transit
- Implement access policies for encryption keys
- Implement data backups and replications
- Implement policies for data access, lifecycle, and protection
- Rotate encryption keys and renew certificates
2
Design Resilient Architectures
26%
Design scalable and loosely coupled architectures
Serverless ArchitecturesContainer OrchestrationMessage Queuing and StreamingLoad Balancing Strategies
- Design event-driven, microservice, and/or multi-tier architectures based on requirements
- Determine scaling strategies for components used in an architecture design
- Determine the AWS services required to achieve loose coupling based on requirements
- Determine when to use containers
- Determine when to use serverless technologies and patterns
- Recommend appropriate compute, storage, networking, and database technologies based on requirements
- Use purpose-built AWS services for workloads
Design highly available and/or fault-tolerant architectures
Multi-AZ and Multi-Region StrategiesDisaster Recovery PatternsAuto Scaling and Self-Healing
- Determine automation strategies to ensure infrastructure integrity
- Determine the AWS services required to provide a highly available and/or fault-tolerant architecture across AWS Regions or Availability Zones
- Identify metrics based on business requirements to deliver a highly available solution
- Implement designs to mitigate single points of failure
- Implement strategies to ensure the durability and availability of data
- Select an appropriate DR strategy to meet business requirements
- Use AWS services that improve the reliability of legacy applications
- Use purpose-built AWS services for workloads
3
Design High-Performing Architectures
24%
Determine high-performing and/or scalable storage solutions
Object Storage OptimizationBlock and File Storage
- Determine storage services and configurations that meet performance demands
- Determine storage services that can scale to accommodate future needs
Design high-performing and elastic compute solutions
EC2 Instance OptimizationServerless Compute
- Decouple workloads so that components can scale independently
- Identify metrics and conditions to perform scaling actions
- Select the appropriate compute options and features to meet business requirements
- Select the appropriate resource type and size to meet business requirements
Determine high-performing database solutions
Relational Database OptimizationNoSQL DatabasesDatabase Caching
- Configure read replicas to meet business requirements
- Design database architectures
- Determine an appropriate database engine
- Determine an appropriate database type
- Integrate caching to meet business requirements
Determine high-performing and/or scalable network architectures
Content DeliveryNetwork Connectivity
- Create a network topology for various architectures
- Determine network configurations that can scale to accommodate future needs
- Determine the appropriate placement of resources to meet business requirements
- Select the appropriate load balancing strategy
Determine high-performing data ingestion and transformation solutions
Data StreamingData Lakes and Analytics
- Build and secure data lakes
- Design data streaming architectures
- Design data transfer solutions
- Implement visualization strategies
- Select appropriate compute options for data processing
- Select appropriate configurations for ingestion
- Transform data between formats
4
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
20%
Design cost-optimized storage solutions
Storage Class OptimizationData Transfer Optimization
- Design appropriate storage strategies
- Determine the correct storage size for a workload
- Determine the lowest cost method of transferring data for a workload to AWS storage
- Determine when storage auto scaling is required
- Manage S3 object lifecycles
- Select the appropriate backup and/or archival solution
- Select the appropriate service for data migration to storage services
- Select the appropriate storage tier
- Select the correct data lifecycle for storage
- Select the most cost-effective storage service for a workload
Design cost-optimized compute solutions
Purchasing OptionsRight-Sizing
- Determine an appropriate load balancing strategy
- Determine appropriate scaling methods and strategies for elastic workloads
- Determine cost-effective AWS compute services with appropriate use cases
- Determine the required availability for different classes of workloads
- Select the appropriate instance family for a workload
- Select the appropriate instance size for a workload
Design cost-optimized database solutions
Database Right-SizingDatabase Migration
- Design appropriate backup and retention policies
- Determine an appropriate database engine
- Determine cost-effective AWS database services with appropriate use cases
- Determine cost-effective AWS database types
- Migrate database schemas and data to different locations and/or different database engines
Design cost-optimized network architectures
Network Cost OptimizationContent Delivery Optimization
- Configure appropriate NAT gateway types for a network
- Configure appropriate network connections
- Configure appropriate network routes to minimize network transfer costs
- Determine strategic needs for content delivery networks and edge caching
- Review existing workloads for network optimizations
- Select an appropriate throttling strategy
- Select the appropriate bandwidth allocation for a network device
How do I earn this certification?
Passing SAA-C03 earns the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate certification. It sits in the Solutions Architect track.
Current Level Exams
- DVA-C02 - AWS Certified Developer - AssociateComplementary developer skills
- SOA-C02 - AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - AssociateOperations and administration focus
Next Level Options
Alternative Paths
- AZ-104 - Microsoft Azure Administrator AssociateMulti-cloud expertise
- Associate-Cloud-Engineer - Google Cloud Associate Cloud EngineerMulti-cloud expertise
- CKA - Certified Kubernetes AdministratorContainer orchestration expertise
- HashiCorp-Terraform-Associate - HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate Infrastructure as Code expertise
Practice with Precision
The PlanetCert Simulator mirrors the real exam environment with authentic questions and timed pressure.
How to study for this exam?
Use the official PlanetCert Practice Test alongside the study plan below to prepare efficiently for SAA-C03.
What's changed on this exam?
Current Status
- ACTIVE
- Last content update: 2024-06-15
- Announcement date: 2022-07-01
Updates
- Amazon Bedrock GA Likely to appear in future exam updates • Release date: 2024-04-01
- AWS Application Composer GA Visual IaC tool may appear in architecture questions • Release date: 2024-03-01
- Amazon DataZone GA Data governance scenarios in exam questions • Release date: 2024-01-01
- AWS Verified Access GA Zero Trust security questions • Release date: 2023-11-01
Who should take this exam?
This exam is typically taken by Solutions Architects and Cloud Engineers.
- At least 1 year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions using AWS services
- Experience using compute, networking, storage, and database AWS services
- Experience with AWS deployment and management services
- Ability to identify and define technical requirements for an AWS-based application
- Ability to identify which AWS services meet a given technical requirement
- Knowledge of recommended best practices for building secure and reliable applications on the AWS platform
- Understanding of the basic architectural principles of building in the AWS Cloud
- Understanding of the AWS global infrastructure
- Understanding of network technologies as they relate to AWS
- Understanding of security features and tools that AWS provides