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AWS Cookbook
This practical guide provides over 70 self-contained recipes to help you creatively solve common AWS challenges you'll encounter on your cloud journey. If you're comfortable with rudimentary scripting and general cloud concepts, this cookbook provides what you need to address foundational tasks and create high-level capabilities.
Authors John Culkin and Mike Zazon share real-world examples that incorporate best practices. Each recipe includes a diagram to visualize the components. Code is provided so that you can safely execute in an AWS account to ensure solutions work as described. From there, you can customize the code to help construct an application or fix an existing problem. Each recipe also includes a discussion to provide context, explain the approach, and challenge you to explore the possibilities further.
Go beyond theory and learn the details you need to successfully build on AWS. The recipes help you:
Redact personal identifiable information (PII) from text using Amazon Comprehend
Automate password rotation for Amazon RDS databases
Use VPC Reachability Analyzer to verify and troubleshoot network paths
Lock down Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets
Analyze AWS Identity and Access Management policies
Autoscale a containerized service
Authors John Culkin and Mike Zazon share real-world examples that incorporate best practices. Each recipe includes a diagram to visualize the components. Code is provided so that you can safely execute in an AWS account to ensure solutions work as described. From there, you can customize the code to help construct an application or fix an existing problem. Each recipe also includes a discussion to provide context, explain the approach, and challenge you to explore the possibilities further.
Go beyond theory and learn the details you need to successfully build on AWS. The recipes help you:
Redact personal identifiable information (PII) from text using Amazon Comprehend
Automate password rotation for Amazon RDS databases
Use VPC Reachability Analyzer to verify and troubleshoot network paths
Lock down Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets
Analyze AWS Identity and Access Management policies
Autoscale a containerized service
356 pages, Paperback
First published December 2, 2021
42 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 18, 2022
I didn't plan to read it initially, but I've briefly skimmed through - only to find some recipes that have appeared so useful that they have caught my immediate attention. Why so? What was so special about them?
1. They represented some patterns - good practices and useful application of atomic services
2. They were CLI-based (not web console-based): good for scripting, automation, everyday use in general
3. Web console has many non-obvious defaults - you "click" one thing, but 2 more come "in package"; CLI is much more explicit - it helps you build a better understanding of what's actually happening there
4. You can find here many "auxiliary" (supporting) services that are usually used as an addition to other ones, but aren't many popular, so many do not even know about their existence. Good example: IAM Policy Simulator, VPC Reachability Analyzer, S3 Storage Lens.
TBH not all of the recipes were so interesting, but as the book follows the cookbook structure, you don't have it read it carefully end-to-end. Any other drawbacks? In fact, yes - quite a serious one: the actual solution description is typically very scarce. The recipe tells you WHAT to do, but not WHY to do it (that exact activity - how does it contribute to the overall goal). In many cases, it's quite easy to figure it out, but someone with more limited AWS experience may struggle with intricacies of IAM or VPC (e.g. why to create this role, why this execution role needs that policy, why did we just split the security group, etc.).
Btw. please keep in mind that IaC is not used in the book. The approach here is fully imperative, not declarative. It's not a bad thing - just do not reach for this book if you want to learn IaC (CF or CDK).
In the end, I find "AWS Cookbook" really useful. But please keep in mind I didn't pay for it (literally) - it was included in my OReilly subscription. Well deserved 3.7-4.0 stars.
1. They represented some patterns - good practices and useful application of atomic services
2. They were CLI-based (not web console-based): good for scripting, automation, everyday use in general
3. Web console has many non-obvious defaults - you "click" one thing, but 2 more come "in package"; CLI is much more explicit - it helps you build a better understanding of what's actually happening there
4. You can find here many "auxiliary" (supporting) services that are usually used as an addition to other ones, but aren't many popular, so many do not even know about their existence. Good example: IAM Policy Simulator, VPC Reachability Analyzer, S3 Storage Lens.
TBH not all of the recipes were so interesting, but as the book follows the cookbook structure, you don't have it read it carefully end-to-end. Any other drawbacks? In fact, yes - quite a serious one: the actual solution description is typically very scarce. The recipe tells you WHAT to do, but not WHY to do it (that exact activity - how does it contribute to the overall goal). In many cases, it's quite easy to figure it out, but someone with more limited AWS experience may struggle with intricacies of IAM or VPC (e.g. why to create this role, why this execution role needs that policy, why did we just split the security group, etc.).
Btw. please keep in mind that IaC is not used in the book. The approach here is fully imperative, not declarative. It's not a bad thing - just do not reach for this book if you want to learn IaC (CF or CDK).
In the end, I find "AWS Cookbook" really useful. But please keep in mind I didn't pay for it (literally) - it was included in my OReilly subscription. Well deserved 3.7-4.0 stars.
February 28, 2023
It's a good start to getting used to AWS services. The author uses a simple yet straightforward approach to solve common possible issues.
The book is structured with a problem proposal and its solution, which can be tested easily on the AWS environment. If it is followed along, it provides good hands-on options.
The book is structured with a problem proposal and its solution, which can be tested easily on the AWS environment. If it is followed along, it provides good hands-on options.
April 20, 2022
I’ve had this book for 3 months now and continue to go back for additional pointers on certain chapters. I am fairly new to this type of work, but still feel like this can be for the experts.
Very well written and easy to follow recipes.
Very well written and easy to follow recipes.
April 22, 2022
Very easy to read book with lots of real world best practices. I’ve work in the IT field for 18 years and my company is currently going through the Cloud Transformation journey. Definitely will be leveraging the best practices laid out in the cookbook to help guide us through this journey.
December 6, 2021
This is a cookbook in the sense of 'what to type in to do X' instead of 'how to do X'.
April 20, 2022
This book was incredibly helpful !
November 24, 2024
This book provides an excellent collection of introductory recipes to help you get started with AWS on your personal account.
It’s also a valuable resource for preparing for the Solutions Architect Associate exam.
The recipes focus on using the AWS CLI and SDKs rather than the console, offering a hands-on approach that’s ideal for automation and real-world application.
With an introduction by Jeff Barr, this guide stands out as both practical and insightful.
I know I’ll return to it whenever I need assistance with a specific AWS solution.
It’s also a valuable resource for preparing for the Solutions Architect Associate exam.
The recipes focus on using the AWS CLI and SDKs rather than the console, offering a hands-on approach that’s ideal for automation and real-world application.
With an introduction by Jeff Barr, this guide stands out as both practical and insightful.
I know I’ll return to it whenever I need assistance with a specific AWS solution.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews