SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT NOTES
Architecture decisions, explained plainly.
I’m Mark Gingrass. I write about the AWS constraints, tradeoffs, and service boundaries that turn a list of products into a defensible architecture.
AWS CloudFormation for Beginners: Deploying Your First S3 Bucket with YAML
One template, one CLI command, one real S3 bucket — and a first look at why Infrastructure as Code isn't as simple as it sounds
Read the articleAWS EC2 Explained Simply: The Terms You Actually Need to Know
A beginner's walkthrough of AMIs, instance types, regions, security groups, and billing — using a gaming PC as the mental model
Read the articleAWS S3 CLI Basics: List, Delete, and Re-Download Files Like a Pro
Four commands are all you need to manage files in the cloud from your terminal
Read the articleaws s3 rm: The One Command With No Undo Button
A quick look at how S3 file deletion actually works from the CLI — and why I always double-check the path before I hit enter
Read the articleBefore You Follow Along: AWS CLI Permissions, Costs, and Credentials Done Right
Four things I tell every viewer before we touch the terminal — because the shortcuts I take on camera aren't the ones you should take in your own account
Read the articleBefore You Start This AWS Course: Prerequisites, AI Tools, and What Your Account Will Actually Cost
No CS degree required — just a willingness to learn, a computer, and a small budget for AWS
Read the articleCopy, Don't Move: Getting Comfortable with aws s3 cp
A small command with an easy-to-miss superpower — duplicating and renaming a file in one shot
Read the articleEnabling S3 Bucket Versioning with a One-Line Bash Script
How I automated turning on versioning for my S3 bucket using the AWS CLI's s3api command — chmod hiccup and all
Read the articleFixing S3 Upload Permissions the Least-Privilege Way
How I moved a read-only IAM group to a working upload policy, and the two mistakes that got in the way
Read the articleGetting Started with AWS Cloud Shell: Permissions, Commands, and Your First S3 Upload via CLI
A hands-on walkthrough of fixing an IAM permissions error, exploring the Cloud Shell environment, and using aws s3 cp to move a file into a bucket
Read the articleGiving Your IAM Users a View Into Billing (Without Handing Out the Keys)
A quick, deliberate trip into the AWS Root account to flip one setting — and why it's worth doing carefully
Read the articleHow a Request Actually Flows Through AWS (A Beginner's Mental Model)
From typing a URL to seeing your data — what really happens in between
Read the articleHow I Locked Down an IAM User to Read-Only S3 Access (And Proved It Actually Worked)
A practical walkthrough of tightening AWS permissions from full access to least privilege — plus the verification habit that almost went wrong
Read the articleHow I Set Up MFA on an AWS IAM User (Step by Step)
A walkthrough of adding an authenticator app to an IAM account, and why I don't let root or IAM users go without it
Read the articleHow I Share a Private S3 File Without Touching Bucket Permissions
One AWS CLI command, one temporary link, zero cleanup
Read the articleHow to Create Your First AWS Account (Without Getting Burned)
A step-by-step walkthrough for beginners, plus the two things nobody warns you about until it's too late
Read the articleHow to Stop Your EC2 Server From Changing Its IP Address
A hands-on walkthrough of allocating and associating an Elastic IP, plus proof that it survives a stop/restart
Read the articleHow to Upload a File to S3 Using the AWS CLI
A no-nonsense walkthrough of the aws s3 cp command, from syntax to verification
Read the articleIncremental Photo Backups: Why My Script Only Uploads What's New
A quick test with one new photo, a stale count, and a sync call that turned out to be smarter than I expected
Read the articleLaunching and Connecting to Your First AWS EC2 Instance
A step-by-step walkthrough of spinning up a server, securing it, SSHing in, and cleaning up before it costs you anything
Read the articleLaunching Your First EC2 Instance from the AWS Console
A step-by-step walkthrough of spinning up a web server on EC2 — bootstrap script, a broken first page load, and the fix that made it work
Read the articleListing Your S3 Buckets with the AWS CLI: The One-Command Version
A quick, practical look at aws s3 ls — and why it feels so familiar if you've ever used a terminal
Read the articleS3 Doesn't Have a Rename Button — Here's How I Rename Objects Anyway
A practical walkthrough of the aws s3 mv command, plus what's actually happening behind the scenes
Read the articleS3 Doesn't Have Folders — Here's What's Really Going On
A quick AWS CLI walkthrough for listing bucket contents, and the flat-namespace trick behind S3's folder illusion
Read the articleSecurity Groups vs. Network ACLs: The Difference That Changes the Design
Both filter VPC traffic, but they operate at different boundaries and remember traffic differently. Here is how I decide which control belongs in a design.
Read the articleSet Up an AWS Budget Alert Before You Touch Anything Else
A five-minute console walkthrough that can save you from a nasty surprise invoice
Read the articleSharing S3 Photos with a Pre-Signed URL: Building Part 4 of My Bash Scripting Series
Turning a single photo name into a temporary, shareable link with the AWS CLI
Read the articleSigning Into AWS and Setting Up Your First IAM User
A walkthrough of the root login screen, the IAM vs. IAM Identity Center mix-up, and why you shouldn't live in your root account
Read the articleStopping and Restarting an EC2 Instance: What Actually Happens to Your Public IP
A hands-on walk-through of the AWS CLI commands that reveal how EC2's lifecycle and networking really behave
Read the articleThe Restore Script: Closing Out My AWS S3 Backup Series
Writing restorePhotos.sh, testing it against a missing folder, and the security habit I should have modeled from the start
Read the articleWhat I Actually Mean When I Say 'Welcome'
The thinking behind a course that keeps changing, and why I show up on camera to say so myself
Read the articleWhat Is Infrastructure as Code? Explained With a City-Building Analogy
How AWS CloudFormation lets you design your cloud once and deploy it as many times as you need
Read the articleWhy I Switched from Recursive Copy to aws s3 sync (And What Happened When I Messed It Up on Camera)
A hands-on look at how the AWS CLI's sync command decides what to transfer — including the working-directory mistake that taught me more than the demo itself
Read the articleWhy Your EC2 Instance Gets a New Public IP After a Restart
A practical look at AWS's default dynamic IP behavior, and why it eventually pushes you toward Elastic IPs
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