AWS Core Services
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is the world's largest cloud provider. Learn its most essential services: EC2, S3, RDS, and Lambda.
30 min•By Priygop Team•Last updated: Feb 2026
AWS — The Cloud Giant
Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched in 2006 and now has 200+ services. It powers Netflix, Airbnb, NASA, the CIA, and millions of startups. AWS has data centers in 33 regions worldwide. The AWS Free Tier lets you use many services for free for 12 months — perfect for learning.
Essential AWS Services
- EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) — Virtual servers. Choose OS, CPU, RAM. Pay per hour. Like renting a computer in the cloud
- S3 (Simple Storage Service) — Object storage. Store files, images, videos. 99.999999999% durability. Used by Netflix for video storage
- RDS (Relational Database Service) — Managed databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.). AWS handles backups, updates, scaling
- Lambda — Serverless functions. Run code without servers. Pay only when code runs. Perfect for APIs and automation
- VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) — Your private network in AWS. Control IP addresses, subnets, firewalls
- CloudFront — CDN (Content Delivery Network). Serve content from the nearest location to users worldwide
AWS Services in Action
Example
// How a typical web app uses AWS services
const webAppArchitecture = {
// Users visit your website
users: "Worldwide users",
// CloudFront delivers static files from nearest location
cdn: {
service: "AWS CloudFront",
purpose: "Deliver HTML, CSS, JS, images fast globally",
benefit: "Reduces latency from 500ms to 20ms",
},
// EC2 runs your web server
webServer: {
service: "AWS EC2 (t3.micro)",
purpose: "Run your Node.js/Python/Java application",
cost: "~$0.0104/hour = ~$7.50/month",
},
// S3 stores uploaded files
storage: {
service: "AWS S3",
purpose: "Store user uploads, images, videos",
cost: "$0.023 per GB/month",
},
// RDS manages your database
database: {
service: "AWS RDS (MySQL)",
purpose: "Store user data, orders, products",
benefit: "Automated backups, multi-AZ failover",
},
// Lambda handles background tasks
serverless: {
service: "AWS Lambda",
purpose: "Send emails, resize images, process payments",
cost: "First 1 million requests FREE every month",
},
};
console.log("Your app architecture:");
Object.entries(webAppArchitecture).forEach(([key, val]) => {
if (typeof val === "object" && val.service) {
console.log(` ${key}: ${val.service} — ${val.purpose}`);
}
});