Day 1 – AWS Cloud Journey Begins
Hi, I'm Laxmi Shiwarkar — a DevOps & Cloud Infrastructure enthusiast with 5+ years of hands-on experience in automating deployments, managing Linux systems, and supporting scalable infrastructure. My journey began in infrastructure support, and over time, I’ve grown into roles that bridge development and operations. I write about: 1.AWS & GCP cloud services 2.Jenkins, GitHub Actions & CI/CD pipelines 3.Docker & containerization basics 4.Shell scripting and automation 5.Linux troubleshooting and real-world DevOps challenges I'm here to share what I learn, document practical experiences, and connect with fellow DevOps and cloud professionals. If you're passionate about infrastructure, automation, or learning-by-doing — you’ll feel right at home here.
Today marks the start of my cloud learning journey, and Day 1 was all about exploring the fundamentals of AWS and cloud computing. Here’s a quick summary of what I learned:
AWS Pricing Models
AWS offers different pricing options to fit diverse use cases:
On-Demand – Pay only for what you use, with no long-term commitment. Best for short-term or unpredictable workloads.
Savings Plans/Reserved Instances – Commit to using AWS resources for 1–3 years in exchange for significant cost savings. Great for steady workloads.
Spot Instances – Purchase unused AWS capacity at a discount (up to 90%), ideal for flexible or fault-tolerant workloads.
Dedicated Hosts – Rent entire physical servers for compliance or special licensing requirements.
In short, AWS lets you choose between flexibility vs. cost savings depending on your workload.
On-Premises vs. Cloud vs. Hybrid
On-Premises – All hardware, networking, and software are managed in-house. Provides control but comes with high upfront cost and maintenance.
Cloud – Resources are delivered on-demand by providers like AWS. Scalable, cost-effective, and fast to deploy.
Hybrid Cloud – Mix of both. Businesses keep sensitive workloads on-prem while using the cloud for scalability.
Example: A bank may keep core transaction systems on-premises for security but use the cloud for analytics and customer apps.
IaaS, PaaS, SaaS Explained
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) – Provides virtual servers, storage, and networking. Example: Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine.
PaaS (Platform as a Service) – Provides a platform to build and deploy applications without managing infrastructure. Example: AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Heroku.
SaaS (Software as a Service) – Ready-to-use applications delivered via the cloud. Example: Gmail, Dropbox, Salesforce.
👉 Think of it like this: IaaS = raw materials 🧱, PaaS = a semi-built house 🏠, SaaS = fully furnished apartment 🛋️.
The History of AWS
2002 – AWS launched with basic web services.
2006 – Amazon EC2 and S3 officially launched (true start of cloud as we know it).
2012 – AWS re:Invent conference began.
2015 – AWS revenue hit $7.88B, proving cloud as a business model.
2021+ – AWS remains the global cloud leader, powering startups to enterprises worldwide.
What started as an internal Amazon project is now the world’s most widely adopted cloud platform.
Reflection
Cloud is not just about servers in someone else’s data center—it’s about agility, scalability, and innovation. Day 1 gave me a clear foundation, and I’m excited to dive deeper into hands-on learning ahead.