Posts

CST 489 - Week 7

 Hey everyone, This week, I expanded my understanding of AWS databases, security, governance, migration, pricing, and architectural best practices. I reviewed database services including Amazon RDS and Aurora for relational workloads, DynamoDB for NoSQL applications, Neptune for graph data, and DocumentDB for document-based use cases. I also learned how Amazon ElastiCache improves performance through in-memory caching. A key takeaway was understanding when to choose managed services versus unmanaged deployments on EC2. I explored migration services such as AWS DMS, AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT), Migration Hub, DataSync, and Transfer Family. I reinforced knowledge of the 7 Rs migration strategies and the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF), particularly the importance of change management through the People perspective. On security and governance, I reviewed IAM best practices (principle of least privilege), AWS KMS for encryption key management, AWS Shield for DDoS protection, AW...
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CST 489 - Week 6

 Hey everyone, This week, I reviewed key AWS cloud fundamentals across compute, networking, storage, and disaster recovery. I strengthened my understanding of AWS global infrastructure, including Regions, Availability Zones, and edge locations, and how they support high availability, fault tolerance, and low latency. In compute, I compared EC2, containers (ECS/EKS with Fargate), AWS Lambda (serverless), and AWS Batch, focusing on choosing the right model based on workload needs. For networking, I reviewed VPC components such as subnets, security groups (instance-level), and network ACLs (subnet-level), along with hybrid connectivity options like Site-to-Site VPN and Direct Connect. In storage, I differentiated between: S3 (scalable object storage) EBS (persistent block storage for EC2) EFS and FSx (managed file systems) Instance store (temporary high-performance storage) Storage Gateway (hybrid storage) I also reinforced knowledge of CloudFormation for In...
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CST 489 - Week 5

 Hey everyone, This week, in modules 1 and 2, I deepened my understanding of foundational cloud computing concepts. I reviewed the definition and key benefits of the cloud, including scalability, elasticity, cost efficiency, and global reach. Learning about AWS Global Infrastructure helped me better understand how Regions and Availability Zones support high availability and fault tolerance. I also explored the AWS Shared Responsibility Model, which clarified the distinction between AWS’s responsibility for security of the cloud and the customer’s responsibility for security in the cloud. A major focus of this module was Amazon EC2. I learned about different EC2 instance types and how to select them based on workload requirements. The demonstration on launching an EC2 instance helped me understand the practical steps involved in provisioning resources. Additionally, I reviewed EC2 pricing models and gained insight into cost optimization strategies. I explored Auto Scaling and E...
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CST 489 - Week 4

 Hey everyone, Since I have chosen to take part in the Certificate Track of the capstone project, I have faced some challenges during this week's assignments. This week, I spent time developing my certificate track capstone proposal, which helped me clarify my learning goals and better understand how each certification connects to my long-term career plans. Writing the proposal forced me to think beyond just completing courses and instead focus on the skills, artifacts, and outcomes I want to gain from each certificate. I also spent a significant amount of time trying to figure out how to enroll in the AWS Cloud Practitioner course. Navigating AWS’s training site was more complicated than I expected, and it took some trial and error to understand the different learning paths and options available. Although it was a bit frustrating, the experience helped me become more comfortable with AWS’s ecosystem and reminded me that problem-solving and persistence are essential parts of learni...
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CST 438 - Week 8

 Hey everyone,      One of the most valuable things I learned in this course is the importance of testing and test-driven development. Through unit testing with tools like JUnit and Mockito, I learned how to verify that methods are called correctly and how mocks can isolate components during testing. Writing Selenium tests for React components also showed me how automated testing can catch issues that might not be obvious during manual testing. These concepts helped me understand why testing is critical for building reliable and maintainable software.      Another major takeaway from the course was learning how to build interactive user interfaces using React. Creating components that display data in tables, manage state with hooks like useState , and respond to user actions such as adding or removing items helped me understand how modern front-end applications work. This hands-on experience made concepts like state management, event handling, and com...
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CST 438 - Week 6

 Hey everyone, This week in class, we explored two very different ways of approaching software development: the Agile method and the more traditional Plan-and-Document (Waterfall) method. I’ve heard these terms before, but actually comparing them side-by-side—and thinking about how they play out in real projects—helped everything click. Starting Point: How the Two Mindsets Differ One of the biggest differences I noticed is the mindset behind each approach. Waterfall assumes that we can plan almost everything in advance. It feels like writing a detailed roadmap before even starting the engine. Agile, on the other hand, seems to accept that surprises will happen. Instead of a fixed map, Agile works more like a GPS rerouting along the way. Planning: One Big Plan vs. Many Small Plans In Waterfall, planning happens early and intensely . Before any coding starts, you produce big documents—requirements, design diagrams, timelines. It’s clean and structured, but also kind of intimidati...
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CST 438 - Week 6

 Hey everyone,      This week gave me a chance to dive into several different aspects of software development, from planning to testing to cloud concepts. During the Iteration 3 planning meeting, I gained a clearer understanding of how teams break down work and set realistic goals for a sprint. Watching the system testing video helped me see how the focus shifts from individual components to verifying that the entire system works as a whole. I also spent time reading about React component reuse, which reinforced the value of building modular, reusable pieces that make applications easier to maintain and scale.      I continued deepening my technical skills through Assignment 4 on system testing, where I applied what I learned to create meaningful end-to-end test scenarios. The SAG 25 reading on Compute as a Service expanded my understanding of cloud computing models, especially how virtual machines and containers provide scalable and flexible compute ...
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