Add new AWS exercises and questions

SSIA :)

exercises/aws/README.md

@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@
 | Elastic IP | EC2, Networking | [Exercise](elastic_ip.md) | [Solution](solutions/elastic_ip.md) | Easy |
 | Placement Groups Creation | EC2, Placement Groups | [Exercise](placement_groups.md) | [Solution](solutions/placement_groups.md) | Easy |
 | Elastic Network Interfaces | EC2, ENI | [Exercise](elastic_network_interfaces.md) | [Solution](solutions/elastic_network_interfaces.md) | Easy |
+| Hibernate an Instance | EC2 | [Exercise](hibernate_instance.md) | [Solution](solutions/hibernate_instance.md) | Easy |
+| Volume Creation | EC2, EBS | [Exercise](ebs_volume_creation.md) | [Solution](solutions/ebs_volume_creation.md) | Easy |
+| Snapshots | EC2, EBS | [Exercise](snapshots.md) | [Solution](solutions/snapshots.md) | Easy |
+| Create an AMI | EC2, AMI | [Exercise](create_ami.md) | [Solution](solutions/create_ami.md) | Easy |
 
 #### AWS - Lambda
 
@@ -239,6 +243,14 @@ True. As opposed to IAM for example, which is a global service, EC2 is a regiona
 * Security groups
 </b></details>
 
+<details>
+<summary>What would you use for customizing EC2 instances? As in software installation, OS configuration, etc.</summary><br><b>
+
+AMI. With AMI (Amazon Machine Image) you can customize EC2 instances by specifying which software to install, what OS changes should be applied, etc.
+</b></details>
+
+##### AWS EC2 - AMI
+
 <details>
 <summary>What is AMI?</summary><br><b>
 
@@ -247,11 +259,27 @@ Read more [here](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/AMIs.html)
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
-<summary>What are the different source for AMIs?</summary><br><b>
+<summary>What are the different sources for AMIs?</summary><br><b>
 
 * Personal AMIs - AMIs you create
-* AWS Marketplace for AMIs - Paid AMIs usually with bundled with licensed software
-* Community AMIs - Free
+* AWS Marketplace for AMIs - AMIs made by others, mostly sold for some price
+* Public AMIs - Provided by AWS
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>True or False? AMI are built for specific region</summary><br><b>
+
+True (but they can be copied from one region to another).
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>Describe in high-level the process of creating AMIs</summary><br><b>
+
+1. Start an EC2 instance
+2. Customized the EC2 instance (install packages, change OS configuration, etc.)
+3. Stop the instance (for avoiding data integrity issues)
+4. Create EBS snapshot and build an AMI
+5. To verify and test the AMI, launch an instance from the AMI
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
@@ -311,19 +339,19 @@ Storage Optimized:
 EBS
 </b></details>
 
-##### AWS EC2 - EBS
+##### AWS EC2 - Storage
 
 <details>
-<summary>What is EBS?</summary><br><b>
+<summary>Explain what is Amazon EBS</summary><br><b>
 
-"provides block level storage volumes for use with EC2 instances. EBS volumes behave like raw, unformatted block devices."
-More on EBS [here](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/AmazonEBS.html)
+[AWS Docs](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/AmazonEBS.html): "provides block level storage volumes for use with EC2 instances. EBS volumes behave like raw, unformatted block devices."
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
-<summary>What happens to EC2 disk (EBS) when the instance is terminated?</summary><br><b>
+<summary>What happens to EBS volumes when the instance is terminated?</summary><br><b>
 
-All the related EBS volumes are removed and data is lost.
+By deafult, the root volume is marked for deletion, while other volumes will still remain.<br>
+You can control what will happen to every volume upon termination.
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
@@ -332,6 +360,103 @@ All the related EBS volumes are removed and data is lost.
 Disk is intact and can be used when the instance starts.
 </b></details>
 
+<details>
+<summary>True or False? EBS volumes are locked to a specific availability zone</summary><br><b>
+
+True
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>Explain EBS Snapshots</summary><br><b>
+
+EBS snapshots used for making a backup of the EBS volume at point of time.
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>What are the use cases for using EBS snapshots?</summary><br><b>
+
+* Backups of the data
+* Moving the data between AZs
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>Is it possible to attach the same EBS volume to multiple EC2 instances?</summary><br><b>
+
+Yes, with multi-attach it's possible to attach a single EBS volume to multiple instances.
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>True or False? EBS is a network drive hence, it requires network connectivity</summary><br><b>
+
+True
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>How to move EBS volumes between availability zones?</summary><br><b>
+
+Using snapshots.
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>What EBS volume types are there?</summary><br><b>
+
+* HDD (st 1, sc 1): Low cost HDD volumes
+* SSD
+  * io1, io2: Highest performance SSD
+  * gp2, gp3: General purpose SSD
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>If you need an EBS volume for low latency workloads, which volume type would you use?</summary><br><b>
+
+SSD - io1, io2
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>If you need an EBS volume for workloads that require good performance but the cost is also an important aspect for you, which volume type would you use?</summary><br><b>
+
+SSD - gp2, gp3
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>If you need an EBS volume for high-throughput, which volume type would you use?</summary><br><b>
+
+SSD - io1, io2
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>If you need an EBS volume for infrequently data access, which volume type would you use?</summary><br><b>
+
+HDD - sc1
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>Which EBS volume types can be used as boot volumes for EC2 instances?</summary><br><b>
+
+SSD: gp2, gp3, io1, io2
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>If you would like to have an hardware disk attached to your EC2 instead of a network one (EBS). What would you use?</summary><br><b>
+
+EC2 Instance Store.
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>Explain EC2 Instance Store. Why would someone choose to use it over other options?</summary><br><b>
+
+EC2 instance store provides better I/O performances when compared to EBS.<br>
+It is mostly used for cache and temporary data purposes.
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>Are there any disadvantages in using instance store over EBS?</summary><br><b>
+
+Yes, the data on instance store is lost when they are stopped.
+</b></details>
+
+##### AWS EC2 - Pricing Models
+
 <details>
 <summary>What EC2 pricing models are there?</summary><br><b>
 
@@ -518,9 +643,9 @@ To terminate such instances, you must cancel the Spot instance request first.
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
-<summary>What are Spot Flees?</summary><br><b>
+<summary>What are Spot Fleets?</summary><br><b>
 
-Set of Spot instance and if you want, also on-demand instances.
+Set of Spot instances and if you would like, also on-demand instances.
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
@@ -538,7 +663,7 @@ A private IP and a public IP.
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
-<summary>What happens when you hibernate an EC2 instance?</summary><br><b>
+<summary>Explain EC2 hibernate</summary><br><b>
 
 [AWS Docs](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/Hibernate.html: "Hibernation saves the contents from the instance memory (RAM) to your Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) root volume."
 </b></details>
@@ -549,6 +674,48 @@ A private IP and a public IP.
 True. This is because the operating system isn't restarted or stopped.
 </b></details>
 
+<details>
+<summary>What are some use cases for using EC2 hibernate option?</summary><br><b>
+
+* Save RAM state
+* Service with long time initialization
+* Keep long-running processes
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>What are some limitations of EC2 hibernate option?</summary><br><b>
+
+* Instance RAM size is limited
+* Root volume must be encrypted EBS
+* Hibernation time is limited
+* Doesn't supports all instances types
+* No support for bare metal. Only On-Demand and Reserved instances
+* Doesn't supports all AMIs
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>Explain what is EC2 Nitro</summary><br><b>
+
+* Next generation EC2 instances using new virtualization technology
+* Better EBS: 64,000 EBS IOPS
+* Better networking: HPC, IPv6
+* Better security
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>What CPU customization is available with EC2?</summary><br><b>
+
+* Modifying number of CPU cores (useful for high RAM and low CPU applications)
+* Modifying number of threads per cure (useful for HPC workloads)
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>Explain EC2 Capacity Reservations</summary><br><b>
+
+* Allows you to ensure you have EC2 capacity when you need it
+* Usually combined with Reserved Instances and Saving Plans to achieve cost saving
+</b></details>
+
 #### AWS - Lambda
 
 <details>
@@ -1138,6 +1305,12 @@ True
 False. Only one internet gateway can be attached to a single VPC.
 </b></details>
 
+<details>
+<summary>You've restarted your EC2 instance and the public IP has changed. How would you deal with it so it won't happen?</summary><br><b>
+
+Use Elastic IP which provides you a fixed IP address.
+</b></details>
+
 <details>
 <summary>What is an Elastic IP address?</summary><br><b>
 
@@ -1184,9 +1357,9 @@ Allows you to connect your corporate network to AWS network.
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
-<summary>True or False? When you need a fixed public IP for your instance, you should use an Elastic IP</summary><br><b>
+<summary>What would you use if you need a fixed public IP for your EC2 instance?</summary><br><b>
 
-True
+Elastic IP
 </b></details>
 
 ##### AWS EC2 - ENI
@@ -1533,7 +1706,7 @@ Read more about it [here](https://aws.amazon.com/sns)
 #### AWS Billing & Support
 
 <details>
-<summary>What is AWS Organizations?</summary><br><b>
+<summary>What is "AWS Organizations"?</summary><br><b>
 
 AWS definition: "AWS Organizations helps you centrally govern your environment as you grow and scale your workloads on AWS."
 More on Organizations [here](https://aws.amazon.com/organizations)
@@ -1558,11 +1731,13 @@ More on AWS pricing model [here](https://aws.amazon.com/pricing)
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
-<summary>How one should estimate AWS costs when for example comparing to on-premise solutions?</summary><br><b>
+<summary>How do you estimate AWS costs?</summary><br><b>
 
 * TCO calculator
 * AWS simple calculator
 * Cost Explorer
+* AWS Budgets
+* Cost Allocation Tags
 </b></details>
 
 <details>
@@ -1808,3 +1983,25 @@ AWS definition: "Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) is a fully managed message qu
 
 Learn more about it [here](https://aws.amazon.com/sqs)
 </b></details>
+
+#### AWS - Production
+
+<details>
+<summary>Describe in high-level how to upgrade a system on AWS with (near) zero downtime</summary><br><b>
+
+One way is through launching a new instance. In more detail:
+
+1. Launch a new instance
+2. Install all the updates and applications
+3. Test the instance
+4. If all tests passed successfully, you can start using the new instance and perform the switch with the old one, in one of various ways:
+  1. Go to route53 and update the record with the IP of the new instance
+  2. If you are using an Elastic IP then move it to the new instance
+  ...
+</b></details>
+
+<details>
+<summary>When you launch EC2 instances, it takes them time to boot due to commands you run with user data. How to improve instances boot time?</summary><br><b>
+
+Consider creating customized AMI with the commands from user data already executed there. This will allow you launch instance instantly.
+</b></details>

exercises/aws/create_ami.md

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+## EC2 - Create an AMI
+
+### Requirements
+
+One running EC2 instance
+
+### Objectives
+
+1. Make some changes in the operating system of your instance (create files, modify files, ...)
+2. Create an AMI image from running EC2 instance
+3. Launch a new instance using the custom AMI you've created

exercises/aws/ebs_volume_creation.md

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+## AWS EC2 - EBS Volume Creation
+
+### Requirements
+
+One EC2 instance that you can get rid of :)
+
+### Objectives
+
+1. Create a volume in the same AZ as your instance, with the following properties:
+  1. gp2 volume type
+  2. 4 GiB size
+2. Once created, attach it to your EC2 instance
+3. Remove your EC2 instance. What happened to the EBS volumes attached to the EC2 instance?

exercises/aws/hibernate_instance.md

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+## AWS EC2 - Hibernate an Instance
+
+### Objectives
+
+1. Create an instance that supports hibernation
+2. Hibernate the instance
+3. Start the instance
+4. What way is there to prove that instance was hibernated from OS perspective?

exercises/aws/solutions/create_ami.md

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+## EC2 - Create an AMI
+
+### Requirements
+
+One running EC2 instance
+
+### Objectives
+
+1. Make some changes in the operating system of your instance (create files, modify files, ...)
+2. Create an AMI image from running EC2 instance
+3. Launch a new instance using the custom AMI you've created
+
+### Solution
+
+1. Connect to your EC2 instance (ssh, console, ...)
+2. Make some changes in the operating system
+3. Go to EC2 service
+4. Right click on the instance where you made some changes -> Image and templates ->  Create image
+5. Give the image a name and click on "Create image"
+6. Launch new instance and choose the image you've just created