Dominate Your DevOps Engineer Exam: Top AWS DevOps Tools for the Test (2024)

The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer exam (DOP-C02) is separated into six domains:

• Domain 1: SDLC Automation (22% of scored content)
• Domain 2: Configuration Management and IaC (17% of scored content)
• Domain 3: Resilient Cloud Solutions (15% of scored content)
• Domain 4: Monitoring and Logging (15% of scored content)
• Domain 5: Incident and Event Response (14% of scored content)
• Domain 6: Security and Compliance (17% of scored content)

In this article, you will learn about the Domain 1 DevOps Tools you should know for the certification exam.

The DevOps Engineer uses AWS DevOps tools to bridge the gulf between software development and IT operations.

You probably already know that Amazon breaks up the DevOps responsibilities into six domains.

To pass the DevOps exam, you must know the AWS DevOps tools in each domain.

Domain 1 (Software Development Lifecycle) consists of ten areas of concentration in which you use dozens of tools and services.

In Part 1 of 6 articles, you will learn about the Domain 1 (Software Development Lifecycle) areas of study and AWS tools.

Hi, my name is Carol, and I review career courses to help you take the classes that will earn you the best money in the job market.

When I researched AWS courses to review, I realized that I couldn’t evaluate whether a course was worthwhile unless I understood the tools it covered.

I found it impossible to review the courses without understanding each AWS DevOps domain’s domain, areas of concentration, and tools.

So, I mapped the AWS DevOps domains to their responsibilities, tools, and services. This is Part 1 of 6 articles covering each of the six domains.

AWS DevOps Domain 1 Automates the Software Lifecycle

Continuous Integration, Delivery, and the CI/CD Pipeline dominate the Software Development Lifecycle domain.

The tools automate the source code, build, test, monitor, and delivery processes.

As a DevOps Engineer, you will use these tools to accelerate the software delivery cycle while improving the delivery quality.

Your key responsibilities include storage, testing, deployment, and maintenance of the software product.

We will dive into the features and benefits of these tools and how they can be effectively utilized to optimize the entire SDLC process.

10 Keys to the AWS Software Development Lifecycle

AWS provides ten critical areas of DevOps practices within the first domain.

Knowledge of the tools and services in this domain accounts for 22% of your Professional DevOps certification exam score.

Domain 1 Software Development Lifecycle areas of focus include:

1. Source Code Management
2. Continuous Integration
3. Continuous Delivery/Deployment
4. Infrastructure as Code
5. Testing Automation
6. Build Automation
7. Environment Management
8. Pipeline Orchestration
9. Change Management
10. Monitoring and Logging

1 – Source Code Management

Source Code Management is the management and tracking of code changes.

It includes version control (using services such as Git) to track code changes and code repository management.

Source Code Management tools include AWS CodeCommit and tangentially AWS CodeArtifact.

2- Pipeline Management

Pipeline orchestration manages code from development to building, testing, and deployment.

It is the management of automated pipelines for the software development lifecycle.

Tools include AWS CodePipeline and CodeStar.

3 – Continuous Integration

Continuous Integration combines code from different contributors to compile, test, and inform the stakeholders of the results.

Continuous Integration automates code change tracking, building, and testing.

CI tools include CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeStar, and sometimes CloudFormation, Cloud Development Kit, Lambda, Elastic Kubernet Service, and Elastic Container Service.

4 – Continuous Delivery/Deployment

Continuous Delivery/Deployment is the release process automation to push tested code to production and staging environments.

CD tools include CodePipeline, CodeDeploy, CodeArtifact, and sometimes CloudFormation, Lambda, Elastic Kubernet Service, Elastic Container Service, Elastic Beanstalk, App Runner, Step Functions, and the Serverless Application Model.

5 – Infrastructure as Code

Infrastructure as Code allows the DevOps Engineer to define, provision, and manage infrastructure using code and templates.

IaC tools include CloudFormation, AWS Cloud Development Kit, and sometimes the Serverless Application Model and OpsWorks.

6 – Build Automation

Build Automation is the automatic compilation and package building of newly changed code.

Build Automation tools include Code Pipeline, CodeBuild, and CodeStar.

7 – Testing Automation

Testing Automation is the automatic unit, integration, and load testing of code changes.

Tools include CodePipeline, CodeBuild, X-Ray, and sometimes Lambda and Device Farm.

8 – Environment Management

Environment Management manages, provisions, and tracks development, testing, staging, and production environments.

Tools include EC2 ImageBuilder, CloudFormation, CodeStar, AWS Config, Elastic Container Service, Elastic Beanstalk and OpsWorks, and possibly Service Catalog, AWS Organizations, Systems Manager Parameter Store, VPC and Research Groups.

9 – Change Management

Change Management tracks code reviews and deployment approvals.

Change Management tools include CodeCommit, CodePipeline, AWS Config, Systems Manager Change Calendar, CloudTrail, Service Catalog, and AWS Organizations.

10 – Monitoring and Logging

Monitoring and Logging tracks infrastructure and deployment activities.

Tools include AWS Config, CloudWatch, X-Ray, CloudTrail, GuardDuty, Elastic Search Service with Kibana, AWS Systems Manager, S3 Access Logging, VPC Flow Logs and Lambda Insights.

Essential AWS DevOps Tools for the Software Development Lifecycle

AWS provides tools focusing on the automation of the Software Development Lifecycle.

Other AWS tools are merely borrowed for automating the software process but are used across the AWS domains.

AWS CodeBuild, for example, is very much a Continuous Integration and Delivery pipeline tool.

On the other hand, Lambda provides serverless functionality to the CI/CD environment but is heavily used outside of Domain 1.

Here are most AWS Domain 1 tools and descriptions of their use in the AWS Software Development Lifecycle.

App Runner

App Runner builds, deploys, and runs containerized web applications and APIs in a serverless environment.

It handles the CI/CD provisioning, scaling, and operating the service backend.

AWS Config

AWS Config gives the DevOps Engineer a programmatic insight into resource configurations to maintain security, compliance, and operational excellence.

The DevOps Engineer uses AWS Config to ensure the AWS environment adheres to best practices.

It continuously monitors and records AWS resource configurations and automates compliance auditing.

AWS Config:

• Tracks resource configuration changes over time for visibility and audibility.
• Evaluates configurations against desired baselines and best practices
• Receives alerts about changes that could impact security and compliance
• Automates remediation actions on non-compliant resources
• Performs configuration analysis to optimize costs and efficiency

Cloud Development Kit and CloudFormation

The AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) is a software development framework that allows the DevOps Engineer to define cloud infrastructure in code and provision it through AWS CloudFormation.

CloudFormation and Cloud Development Kit are Infrastructure as Code tools that use JSON or YAML templates to define the code’s journey through Integration and Delivery.

For example, for a web application, AWS CDK can provision S3 buckets for application storage and operation. Cloudformation IaC templates instruct the system to test, deploy, and monitor the operating application.

Or the DevOps Engineer might use CloudFormation and CDK to spin up CI/CD test environments and deploy CD infrastructure changes.

CloudFormation:

• Defines infrastructure as code through YAML or JSON templates
• Manages the entire lifecycle of stacks from creation to updates to deletion
• Rolls out changes to resources in a controlled, repeatable fashion
• Integrates with CI/CD pipelines to implement infrastructure changes

CloudTrail

AWS CloudTrail is a web service that enables the DevOps Engineer to track user activity and API usage. The purpose is to assess the security and operational status of AWS accounts.

 Key capabilities include:

• Defines a trail that captures API calls made to the account as log files
• Delivers log files to CloudWatch Logs or S3 for monitoring, analysis, and audit
• Integrates with CloudWatch Events to trigger notifications and workflows
• Enables governance, compliance, and risk auditing of account activity

CloudWatch

Amazon CloudWatch is a monitoring service that allows the DevOps Engineer to analyze key AWS metrics to optimize application performance and availability.

CloudWatch:

• Defines custom metrics, logs, and alarms to track performance
• Captures system and application data in real time to monitor availability
• Analyzes log data to identify issues and improve efficiency
• Triggers automatic actions like scaling based on defined rules

CodeArtifact

CodeArtifact enables the DevOps Engineer to securely store, manage, and share software packages and artifacts.

CodeArtifact:

• Defines repositories to host language-specific packages like npm, PyPi, and Maven
• Manages permissions, lifecycle policies, and assets for software artifacts
• Integrates with build and release processes to publish packages
• Provides auditing of artifact usage and changes

CodeBuild

AWS CodeBuild compiles, tests, and produces software packages ready to deploy with a CI/CD pipeline. AWS CodeBuild is a fully automated tool within the CI/CD arena.

Key capabilities include:

• Compiles source code
• Runs tests
• Integrates with source control and workflow tools
• Scales on-demand to meet build requirements 
• Logs and monitors build processes for auditing

CodeCommit

AWS CodeCommit enables the DevOps Engineer to host fully managed Git repositories.

CodeCommit:

• Defines private Git repositories to store application source code
• Integrates with IDEs and build tools for robust workflows
• Implements access control, branching, and lifecycle management
• Enables collaboration for development teams

CodeDeploy

AWS CodeDeploy allows the DevOps Engineer to implement automated, consistent deployments across environments.

It deploys applications to EC2, AWS Lambda, and on-premises servers.

AWS CodeDeploy is a fully managed service that makes deploying applications easier and rolling back those that should not have been deployed.

CodeDeploy:

• Deploys code changes automatically based on release workflows
• Implements various deployment strategies like blue/green and canary
• Integrates with CI/CD tools to implement rapid, reliable delivery
• Manages the full application release process, including rollback

CodePipeline

AWS CodePipeline is a continuous feedback loop designed to reduce time to market but improve application quality.

The DevOps Engineer uses AWS CodePipeline to model, visualize, and automate code build and testing steps.

CodePipeline:

• Defines the CI/CD pipeline as a workflow with sequential stages
• Automates the steps from build to test to deployment
• Integrates easily with GitHub, CodeCommit, Jenkins, and other tools
• Provides logs, alerts, and dashboards to monitor releases

CodeStar

AWS CodeStar provides a unified interface for setting up an entire CI/CD pipeline, including source code repositories, build, and deployment.

The DevOps Engineer uses AWS CodeStar to create, manage, and work on AWS software development projects. AWS CodeStar enables pipeline management from a single interface.

CodeStar will be discontinued in 2024.

Device Farm

AWS Device Farm automates web and mobile application testing in various browsers and mobile device types.

It integrates with IDEs and continuous integration environments to speed up testing tasks.

EC2 ImageBuilder

AWS EC2 Image Builder automates creating, managing, and deploying customized, secure, and up-to-date virtual machine images for Amazon EC2 and on-premises environments.

The DevOps Engineer uses EC2 Image Builder to streamline the building of virtual machine images, ensuring they are always updated, compliant and pre-configured with the necessary software and settings.

By integrating EC2 Image Builder into the CI/CD pipeline, DevOps Engineers can ensure that the underlying infrastructure is consistently updated, secure, and optimized for the application’s needs as code is developed, tested, and deployed.

EC2 Image Builder:

• Automates image creation, simplifying defining and creating images through a pipeline.
• Integrates into existing CI/CD pipelines, allowing for repeatable automation.
• Generates image recipes that can be version-controlled and shared, promoting consistency and collaboration across development teams.

Elastic Beanstalk

AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a fully managed service that simplifies deploying and scaling web applications and services.

It ensures that applications are built, tested, deployed, managed, and scaled in the cloud environment.

AWS Elastic Beanstalk provides a bridge between the development and operational aspects of the SDLC.

Elastic Beanstalk:

• Provides templates for capacity provisioning, load balancing, scaling and application health monitoring.
• Access a simple descriptor file that tells Elastic Beanstalk how to manage the application.
• Provides separate URLs for testing environments.
• Provisions capacity, balances loads, auto-scales and monitors the applications it deploys.

Elastic Container Service and Elastic Kubernetes Service

ECS (Elastic Container Service) and EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) are not CI/CD tools. However, the DevOps Engineer might use ECS and EKS when building, testing, and deploying containerized application images.

Elasticsearch Service with Kibana

AWS Elasticsearch Service with Kibana is a managed service that makes it easy to deploy, operate, and scale Elasticsearch clusters in the AWS Cloud. Kibana provides a visualization tool to interact with the Elasticsearch data.

GuardDuty

AWS GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious or unauthorized behavior to help protect AWS accounts and workloads.

Lambda and Lambda Insights

Lambda is not a CI/CD tool, but the DevOps Engineer might use Lamba to integrate serverless applications into the CI/CD Pipeline.

AWS Lambda is a serverless service that supports automatic deployments using a set of deployment preferences.

“Serverless” does not mean there is no server but that the details of the server are encapsulated and hidden.

These can be set up to gradually shift traffic to new versions, enabling Canary and Blue/Green deployments for serverless applications.

OpsWorks

AWS OpsWorks is a configuration management service that uses Chef and Puppet to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of applications and services on the AWS infrastructure.

AWS Organizations

AWS Organizations is a service that allows businesses to manage and govern multiple AWS accounts centrally. This enables consolidated billing, access controls, and policy-based management across AWS accounts.

Resource Groups

AWS Resource Groups is a service that allows users to group AWS resources based on their tags or configurations, making it easier to manage and automate tasks on large numbers of resources simultaneously.

S3 Server Access Logging

S3 Server Access Logging is a feature of Amazon S3 that provides detailed records for requests made to an S3 bucket.

It enables users to track access requests, monitor bucket usage, and enhance security by analyzing traffic patterns and identifying potential threats.

Serverless Application Model

AWS SAM (Serverless Application Model) is a framework that simplifies building, packaging, and deploying serverless applications.

It integrates with other AWS services to automate the deployment process.

Service Catalog

AWS Service Catalog is a service that allows organizations to create and manage catalogs of IT services and resources that are approved for use on AWS.

It helps organizations ensure consistent governance and compliance, streamline provisioning, and manage costs by standardizing the deployment of AWS resources.

Step Functions

AWS Step Functions coordinate multiple AWS services into serverless workflows that can handle deployment tasks in complex scenarios.

AWS Systems Manager (including Change Calendar and Parameter Store)

AWS Systems Manager is a service that provides a unified interface for managing and monitoring AWS resources and on-premises systems.

It offers tools for configuration, automation, patching, state management, and operational insights across an organization’s AWS environment and infrastructure.

VPC

AWS VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) is a service that allows users to provision a logically isolated section of the AWS Cloud, where they can launch AWS resources in a defined virtual network.

It controls the virtual networking environment, including IP address range, subnet creation, and route table configurations.

X-Ray

AWS X-Ray is a service that provides insights into the behavior of applications, helping developers analyze and debug distributed applications in production.

It visualizes and traces requests made to your application, showing performance bottlenecks, latencies, and the root cause of issues.

Table: AWS Tools Used in Domain 1 (Software Development Lifecycle)
AWS Tool	Role in DevOps Domanin 1 Software Development Lifecycle
CodeCommit	Source Code, Change
CodePipeline	CI, CD, Build, Test, Pipeline, Change
CodeBuild	CI, Build, Test
CodeDeploy	CD
CodeArtifact	Source Code, CD
EC2 ImageBuilder	Environment
CloudFormation	CI, CD, IaC, Environment
Cloud Development Kit	CI, IaC
CodeStar	CI, Build, Pipeline
AWS Config	Change, Environment, Monitor
CloudWatch	Monitor
X-Ray	Test, Monitor
Lambda	CI, CD, Test
Elastic Kubernetes Service	CI, CD
Elastic Container Service	CI, CD
Elastic Beanstalk	CD, Environment
App Runner	CD
Step Functions	CD
Serverless Application Model	CD, IaC
OpsWorks	IaC, Environment
Device Farm	Test
Systems Manager Change Calendar	Change
CloudTrail	Change, Monitor
Service Catalog	Change, Environment
Organizations	Change, Environment
Systems Manager Parameter Store	Environment
VPC	Environment
Resource Groups	Environment
GuardDuty	Monitor
Elasticsearch Service with Kibana	Monitor
Systems Manager	Monitor
S3 Server Access Logging	Monitor
VPC Flow Logs	Monitor
Lambda Insights	Monitor