AWS Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield AWS facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which cloud design principle helps ensure fault tolerance and high availability? → Designing for failure with redundancy
2. What is the maximum execution timeout for an AWS Lambda function? → 15 minutes
3. AWS D1.1 prohibits tack welds from being incorporated into final welds unless they: → Meet the WPS requirements and are visually accepted before being incorporated
4. Why is version control important in IaC? → To ensure transparency and rollback capabilities
5. What AWS technology offers quick, simple, and secure file transfers between your client and your Amazon S3 bucket over long distances? → Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
6. Which type of fire extinguisher is appropriate for a welding-related electrical fire? → Class C (CO2 or dry chemical — non-conductive)
7. How does AWS IAM enhance security in cloud environments? → Manages user permissions and access policies
8. What is the most important professional competency for AWS DevOps certification in monitoring and logging? → Deep knowledge combined with practical application skills
9. Which SQS feature allows a consumer to retrieve up to 10 messages in a single API call, reducing the number of empty responses when the queue is sparse? → Long polling with WaitTimeSeconds up to 20
10. What is the default behavior of S3 Block Public Access for newly created buckets? → Public access is blocked
11. What is the name of the service that enables server-free code execution? → AWS Lambda
12. Which service keeps track of all actions made through the AWS Management Console, AWS SDKs, command-line tools, and other AWS services? → AWS CloudTrail
13. Which destructive test evaluates the ductility and soundness of a weld by bending a specimen? → Guided bend test
14. What is the recommended method to test for gas leaks on an oxy-fuel system after setup? → Apply a leak-detection solution or soapy water to all fittings and observe for bubbles
15. What is a benefit of blue/green deployment? → It ensures zero downtime during deployment
16. Which AWS service enables you to run scripts on EC2 instances at launch to configure software or perform setup tasks? → EC2 User Data
17. How does the AWS DevOps body of knowledge relate to daily professional practice? → It provides the foundational framework that guides decision-making and standard practices
18. What is the primary purpose of visual weld inspection? → Detect surface defects
19. In SAW, the interpass temperature limit specified in a WPS is critical primarily to: → Control heat input and maintain the required mechanical properties and HAZ characteristics
20. Which type of AWS Elastic Load Balancer is best suited for routing HTTP and HTTPS traffic based on content? → Application Load Balancer (ALB)
21. Which Amazon SageMaker feature helps build highly accurate training datasets by supporting data labeling workflows? → Amazon SageMaker Ground Truth
22. What is the maximum number of Read Replicas supported by Amazon RDS for MySQL? → 5
23. How many copies of your data does Amazon Aurora maintain across Availability Zones? → Six copies across three AZs
24. Which AWS service is a content delivery network (CDN) that caches content at edge locations? → Amazon CloudFront
25. A Welder Performance Qualification (WPQ) test demonstrates that the welder: → Can produce a sound weld following a qualified WPS
26. What term describes the groove melted into the base metal adjacent to the weld toe, which reduces the cross-section of the base metal? → Undercut
27. A developer needs to grant a Lambda function access to an S3 bucket. What is the MOST secure approach? → Attach an IAM execution role with the least privilege S3 permissions
28. A bucket policy must allow cross-account access to objects for a specific AWS account. Which Principal format is correct? → Principal: {AWS: 'arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root'}
29. What is the purpose of grounding welding equipment? → Prevent electrical shock
30. Which feature speeds up uploads to S3 by routing traffic through CloudFront edge locations? → S3 Transfer Acceleration