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AWS: Amazon DynamoDB: Building NoSQL Database-Driven Applications

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Learn how to build scalable applications using Amazon DynamoDB.

4 weeks
2–5 hours per week
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule
This course is archived

About this course

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This course introduces you to NoSQL databases and the challenges they solve. Expert instructors will dive deep into Amazon DynamoDB topics such as recovery, SDKs, partition keys, security and encryption, global tables, stateless applications, streams, and best practices.

DynamoDB is a key-value and document database that delivers single-digit millisecond performance at any scale. It's a fully managed, multiregion, multimaster database with built-in security, backup and restore, and in-memory caching for internet-scale applications. DynamoDB can handle more than 10 trillion requests per day and support peaks of more than 20 million requests per second.

This course uses a combination of video-based lectures delivered by Amazon Web Services expert technical trainers, demonstrations, and hands-on lab exercises, that you run in your own AWS account to enable you to build, deploy and manage your own DynamoDB-powered application.

At a glance

  • Institution: AWS
  • Subject: Computer Science
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Prerequisites:
    • Prior application development experience
    • Experience with the AWS Management Console
    • Recommended: AWS Developer Professional Series (Building on AWS, Deploying on AWS, Optimizing on AWS)
  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Backup And Restore, Document-Oriented Databases, NoSQL, Amazon Web Services, Demonstration Skills, Encryption, Amazon DynamoDB, Scalability, Lecturing

What you'll learn

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  • How NoSQL databases differ from relational databases and the challenges they solve
  • How to provision, manage and interact with a DynamoDB table
  • How to secure your DynamoDB database
  • How to use partition keys and scaling options to ensure optimal performance

Week 1: Relational and NoSQL Databases

  • SQL, NoSQL and DynamoDB
    • Relational databases and the problems that need solving
    • How most NoSQL databases work
    • Introduction to DynamoDB
    • How DynamoDB works and how it's different than other NoSQL databases
    • Basic DynamoDB code operations

Week 2: Recovery, SDK Exploration, Monitoring and Partitioning

  • Recovery and SDKs
    • Backing up and restoring a DynamoDB table
    • DynamoDB API Working with datasets
  • Monitoring
    • Monitoring DynamoDB
  • Partition keys
    • Partition keys and their impact on performance

Week 3: Security and State

  • Working with DynamoDB Security
    • Encryption and Compliance
    • Access controls - Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) end points
  • State
    • Global tables
    • Stateless applications
    • Streams
  • Acceleration
    • DynamoDB Accelerator

Week 4: Diving deep and best practices

  • Query Optimization
    • Optimistic Locking
    • LSI and GSI
    • DynamoDB API - writing better queries
  • Schema Design
    • Single table
    • DynamoDB transactions and versioning

Frequently Asked Questions

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Q. Are there any prerequisites for this course?
A. We recommend having at least one year of software development experience, and a basic understanding of AWS services and the AWS console, either through previous experience or the AWS Professional Developer Series on edX.

Q. Is it a requirement that I complete the AWS Professional Developer Series on edX before taking this course?
A. No this is not a requirement. However, this course assumes some understanding of several AWS services and the AWS console. If you do not have this experience, it may be beneficial for you to take at least one course from the AWS Professional Developer Series.

Q. Are there any costs associated with this course?
A. Learners can register for the course in an Audit track or Verified Certificate track. The Audit track is free, but has restrictions. The Verified Certificate track costs $99 and provides full access to course content for the duration. Please visitedx.orgfor more information.

In addition to course registration costs, this course provides optional hands-on exercises which may have an associated charge in your AWS account. Please familiarize yourself with the AWS Free Tier ataws.amazon.com/free/.

Please note that the AWS Free Tier also has a limit on the amount of resources that you can consume before you begin accruing charges. If you perform these hands-on exercises, there is a chance you may incur charges on your AWS account. Please visit the AWS Free Tier page for more information.

Q. How much time will this course require?
A. If following the weekly schedule, learners should plan to spend 2-5 hours per week on this course. However, learners may complete the course at their own pace.

Q. Will I receive a certificate for this course?
A. Learners enrolled in the Verified Certificate path will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the course.

Q. What is the grading policy for this course?
A. All learners may take weekly quizzes, which are not graded and allow unlimited retries.

Learners in the Verified Certificate track are able to take the final course assessment in the course. Passing the final assessment is required to obtain the Verified Certificate.

Learners in the Audit track will not have access to the final assessment, and will not be able to earn a certificate.

Q. How are discussions used in this course?
A. This course has discussion groups aligned to each week of the course. We encourage learners to ask questions or offer suggestions and feedback. AWS Instructors will monitor the discussion groups to answer questions specific to the exercises and topics covered in the course.

Q. When will course content be available?
A. All course content will be available when the course opens on June 4, 2019. Since AWS frequently publishes service updates and new features/functionality, there may be a need to update the course content during its lifetime. If course content is updated, a notice will be placed on the course home page.

Q. Will this course help me prepare for an AWS Certification?
A. Earning an AWS Certification typically requires both knowledge and experience. While this course, if taken in isolation, will provide you with baseline information about NoSQL databases and Amazon DynamoDB, it likely will not equip you to earn an AWS Certification. For more information about AWS Certifications, including recommended training and experience requirements, visitaws.amazon.com/certification.

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