Phase 3: Security, Monitoring, & Optimization for Developers

This phase focuses on how developers integrate security, monitoring, and optimization into their applications running on AWS. Building upon the core development services from Phase 2, you will learn to apply best practices that ensure your applications are not just functional, but also secure, observable, and cost-efficient in a cloud environment.

The First Principle is that security, observability, and optimization are inherent qualities of well-designed cloud applications, not afterthoughts. Developers play a crucial role in embedding these qualities directly into their code and deployment practices.

You will learn about applying IAM for application access, using Amazon Cognito for user authentication, monitoring application behavior with Amazon CloudWatch and AWS X-Ray, debugging strategies, and optimizing serverless application performance and cost.

The focus is on comprehending how to implement these cross-cutting concerns from a developer's perspective, which is crucial for the DVA-C02 exam.

Scenario: You've built an application on AWS, but now need to ensure its security, monitor its performance in production, and optimize its running costs.

Reflection Question: How do security, monitoring, and optimization become inherent qualities of your application when you integrate specific AWS services and best practices directly into your code and deployment practices as a developer?

💡 Tip: As a developer, your code directly impacts the security, performance, and cost of your application. Think about these aspects at every stage of development.