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Cloud Operations

AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate

Validates ability to manage and operate AWS systems. Covers monitoring, scaling, automation, and troubleshooting of AWS infrastructure.

Provider

Amazon Web Services

Level

Associate

Duration

2–3 months

Cost

$150

Passing Score

72%

Validity

3 years

Salary Impact

+$12,000–$18,000 avg

Prerequisites

AWS Solutions Architect Associate

AWS hands-on operations experience

Networking fundamentals

Exam Format

65 multiple-choice questions, 180 minutes, $150 USD

Exam Topics & Weights

Monitor, log, and audit

22%

Security and compliance

16%

Resource provisioning and management

20%

Automation and optimization

22%

High availability and disaster recovery

20%

8-Week Study Plan

Weeks 1-2

Focus: CloudWatch, CloudTrail, and monitoring

CloudWatch documentation

CloudTrail setup

Log aggregation

Weeks 3-4

Focus: Auto Scaling and load balancing

EC2 Auto Scaling

ELB and ALB

Scaling policies

Weeks 5-6

Focus: Systems Manager and OpsWorks

Systems Manager documentation

Patch Manager

Automation documents

Weeks 7-8

Focus: Security, compliance, and disaster recovery

IAM best practices

AWS Config

Backup and recovery

Exam Tips & Strategies

CloudWatch metrics and alarms are heavily tested—know them well

Auto Scaling policies and lifecycle hooks are important

Systems Manager is increasingly important in 2026

IAM roles for EC2 instances are frequently tested

Cost monitoring and budgeting questions appear regularly

Hands-on with EC2, RDS, and load balancers is essential

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