Interview Preparation
Focused interview prep with beginner, intermediate, and scenario-based AWS questions. Keep answers practical and architecture-driven.
Beginner Questions
1. What is AWS and why use it?
Cloud platform providing on-demand compute, storage, database, networking, and managed services.
Cloud platform providing on-demand compute, storage, database, networking, and managed services.
2. Region vs Availability Zone?
Region is geographic; AZ is isolated infrastructure within a region.
Region is geographic; AZ is isolated infrastructure within a region.
3. EC2 vs Lambda?
EC2 is VM-based control; Lambda is event-driven serverless execution.
EC2 is VM-based control; Lambda is event-driven serverless execution.
4. S3 usage?
Object storage for files, backups, logs, static assets.
Object storage for files, backups, logs, static assets.
5. What is IAM?
Identity and access control system for users, roles, and policies.
Identity and access control system for users, roles, and policies.
Intermediate Questions
1. Security Group vs NACL?
SG is stateful/resource-level; NACL is stateless/subnet-level.
SG is stateful/resource-level; NACL is stateless/subnet-level.
2. When choose DynamoDB over RDS?
For massive scale, predictable key access, and low-latency NoSQL workloads.
For massive scale, predictable key access, and low-latency NoSQL workloads.
3. Why use Multi-AZ?
To improve availability and fault tolerance during AZ failure.
To improve availability and fault tolerance during AZ failure.
4. Cost optimization methods?
Rightsizing, savings plans/reserved capacity, lifecycle policies, and unused resource cleanup.
Rightsizing, savings plans/reserved capacity, lifecycle policies, and unused resource cleanup.
5. Azure Blob equivalent in AWS?
Amazon S3.
Amazon S3.
Scenario-based Questions
1. EC2 app is down only in one AZ. What do you do?
Shift traffic via ALB, inspect instance health, and rebalance ASG capacity.
Shift traffic via ALB, inspect instance health, and rebalance ASG capacity.
2. Developer cannot deploy due to AccessDenied. How troubleshoot?
Trace denied action in CloudTrail, review IAM policy/trust policy, check explicit deny controls.
Trace denied action in CloudTrail, review IAM policy/trust policy, check explicit deny controls.
3. Bill doubled unexpectedly. How respond?
Use Cost Explorer by service/tag, identify anomalies, apply immediate containment and long-term FinOps controls.
Use Cost Explorer by service/tag, identify anomalies, apply immediate containment and long-term FinOps controls.
4. Need to migrate Azure VM app to AWS quickly. Approach?
Map VM to EC2, Blob to S3, SQL to RDS/Aurora, and redesign identity/network controls.
Map VM to EC2, Blob to S3, SQL to RDS/Aurora, and redesign identity/network controls.
5. Traffic spikes every evening. What architecture pattern?
ALB + Auto Scaling + caching + managed database with Multi-AZ.
ALB + Auto Scaling + caching + managed database with Multi-AZ.
Quick Answer Framework
- State assumptions first.
- Explain service choice and trade-offs.
- Cover security, HA, and cost explicitly.
- Mention monitoring and rollback.
Summary
Strong interview answers are practical, trade-off aware, and map concepts clearly across Azure and AWS when required.