SAE-C01 (Alibaba Cloud Certifications) study plan
SAE-C01 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Cloud Concepts and Architecture
Explain the shared responsibility model and map each layer to the customer vs. provider
Describe core cloud service and deployment models and classify ten real workloads into them
Diagram a multi-tier reference architecture showing compute, storage, and network tiers
Define elasticity, scalability, and high availability and distinguish them with examples
Your checkpoint
A one-page architecture diagram of a multi-tier cloud workload with a labeled legend explaining each component's service model and responsibility owner
Cloud Concepts and Architecture
Compare availability-zone and region-level failure domains and design for each
Explain loose coupling, statelessness, and idempotency as design principles
Identify when to use managed vs. self-managed services for a given requirement
Estimate cost and resilience trade-offs for two candidate architectures
Your checkpoint
A written design decision record comparing two architectures for the same workload, with explicit resilience and cost trade-offs
Security and Compliance
Apply least privilege to construct an IAM policy for a sample application role
Explain encryption at rest and in transit, including key management and rotation concepts
Map common compliance frameworks to technical controls they imply
Describe logging, audit trail, and data retention requirements for regulated data
Your checkpoint
A security control matrix mapping five compliance requirements to concrete technical controls, with a sample least-privilege policy attached
Security and Compliance & Networking
Design network segmentation with public and private subnets and explain each boundary
Configure security groups and network ACL rules for a three-tier app and justify each rule
Explain how identity federation and role assumption reduce long-lived credentials
Identify common misconfiguration risks in storage and network exposure
Your checkpoint
A network segmentation diagram with an accompanying rule table for security groups and NACLs, plus a list of exposure risks mitigated
Deployment and Operations
Compare infrastructure-as-code approaches and describe idempotent provisioning
Explain blue/green and canary deployment strategies and when each is appropriate
Describe rollback, versioning, and artifact promotion across environments
Outline a CI/CD pipeline stage sequence with gates for a sample service
Your checkpoint
A deployment pipeline diagram with stage-by-stage gates, rollback triggers, and a written rationale for the chosen release strategy
Storage and Data Management
Classify storage types by access pattern, durability, and consistency characteristics
Select an appropriate storage tier for five workload scenarios and justify each
Explain lifecycle policies, versioning, and replication for data protection
Describe backup, snapshot, and restore objectives using RPO and RTO
Your checkpoint
A storage decision table for five scenarios listing chosen storage type, tier, protection mechanism, and stated RPO/RTO
Monitoring, Logging, and Troubleshooting & Deployment and Operations
Define metrics, logs, and traces and state what question each answers during an incident
Design alarms and thresholds for availability, latency, and error rate on a sample service
Walk through a structured troubleshooting method from symptom to root cause
Explain how operational runbooks reduce mean time to recovery
Your checkpoint
An observability plan for one service containing key metrics with thresholds, log retention, an alarm table, and a one-page troubleshooting runbook
Cloud Concepts and Architecture & Security and Compliance & Deployment and Operations & Networking & Storage and Data Management & Monitoring, Logging, and Troubleshooting
Synthesize all domains into an end-to-end architecture covering security, network, storage, and operations
Identify and close personal knowledge gaps using a scored self-assessment by domain
Practice scenario-based reasoning under time constraints
Verify each earlier deliverable is complete and internally consistent
Your checkpoint
A consolidated end-to-end architecture document combining all prior deliverables, plus a scored self-assessment identifying the two weakest domains and a remediation plan
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain the shared responsibility model and justify service model choices for three unfamiliar workloads without notes
Week 4: Can construct a least-privilege policy and a segmented network rule set from a written scenario within 20 minutes
Week 6: Can select storage type, tier, and protection mechanism for a new scenario and defend the choice against alternatives
Week 8: Completed a timed mixed-domain practice set and scored at or above the target pass threshold, with a written remediation plan for the two weakest domains