CCP (Other exams) study plan

Define the NIST-style cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and map three example workloads to each

Diagram the shared responsibility model boundary for IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS on one page

List and explain the essential characteristics of cloud computing (on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, measured service)

Compare vertical vs horizontal scaling and identify which one each of five sample scenarios requires

Distinguish high availability, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery, and match each to an appropriate architecture pattern

Explain regions, availability zones, and edge locations and how placement choices affect resilience and latency

Compare tightly coupled vs loosely coupled architectures and identify decoupling mechanisms (queues, load balancers)

Describe the trade-offs of multi-tier and microservices designs in cloud environments

Apply the shared responsibility model to identify who secures what across compute, network, and data layers

Define identity and access management concepts: users, groups, roles, policies, least privilege, and federation

Explain encryption at rest and in transit, key management, and certificate handling at a conceptual level

Identify common cloud threats (misconfiguration, credential compromise, insecure APIs) and the controls that mitigate each

Summarize major compliance frameworks (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR) and what each demands of a cloud consumer

Describe logging, monitoring, and audit-trail requirements for demonstrating compliance

Explain the purpose of vulnerability scanning, patching cadence, and incident response runbooks

Contrast blue/green, canary, and rolling deployment strategies and their rollback implications

Define infrastructure as code and describe how version control and review workflows apply to cloud provisioning

Outline a CI/CD pipeline from commit to production including automated testing gates

Explain observability pillars (metrics, logs, traces) and select appropriate signals for three sample failure scenarios

Describe backup, snapshot, and restore-testing practices and how RPO/RTO drive them

Explain VPC/VNet design: subnets, route tables, gateways, and public vs private segmentation

Differentiate security groups (stateful) from network ACLs (stateless) and apply each correctly to a sample topology

Describe load balancer types and when to use layer 4 vs layer 7

Explain DNS, CDN, and hybrid connectivity options (VPN vs dedicated interconnect) and their trade-offs

Compare object, block, and file storage on durability, access pattern, and cost, and select the right type for four scenarios

Explain storage lifecycle/tiering policies and how they reduce cost without violating retention needs

Define data classification, retention, and deletion practices that satisfy governance requirements

Identify the main cloud cost drivers and describe tagging, budgets, and rightsizing as governance controls

Complete two full-length timed practice exams and record per-domain scores

Re-review every missed item and write a one-line rule for each recurring error pattern

Reconstruct the shared responsibility model, VPC design, and cost-governance controls from memory without notes

Build a final one-page cross-domain cheat sheet linking architecture, security, and cost decisions