Start at the very beginning: what cloud computing actually means, and why organizations move from on-premises data centers to AWS. Understand the six advantages of cloud, the three cloud models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and deployment models, the AWS global infrastructure of regions and availability zones, and the shared responsibility model. Build the mental map that everything else in the exam builds on.

Meet the services that show up on nearly every exam question. Learn EC2 and the compute family (Lambda, containers, Elastic Beanstalk), storage options (S3, EBS, EFS, Glacier), the managed databases (RDS, DynamoDB, Aurora), and core networking with VPC, Route 53, and CloudFront. Know what each service does, when to choose it, and how they fit together to run real applications.

Security is the largest domain on the exam. Master the shared responsibility model in depth, IAM users, groups, roles and policies, and the principle of least privilege. Cover encryption with KMS, protection services like Shield, WAF, and GuardDuty, plus compliance programs and AWS Artifact. Learn the difference between what AWS secures and what is always your job.

Money questions are easy points once you know the model. Learn the AWS pricing fundamentals (pay-as-you-go, EC2 purchasing options, the free tier), how to estimate and track costs with the Pricing Calculator, Cost Explorer, and Budgets, and how AWS Organizations and consolidated billing work. Understand the support plans and which one fits which need.

Tie it all together. Learn the AWS Well-Architected Framework and its pillars, the Cloud Adoption Framework, and the tools and resources AWS gives you (Trusted Advisor, Personal Health Dashboard, Knowledge Center). Walk through how to read exam questions, manage your time, and the final checklist to book and pass CLF-C02 with confidence.