Curriculum Overview: AWS Support Plans
AWS Support plans
Curriculum Overview: AWS Support Plans
This curriculum provides a comprehensive breakdown of the AWS Support ecosystem, designed to help Cloud Practitioners identify the correct support tier based on workload criticality, response time requirements, and budgetary constraints.
Prerequisites
Before engaging with this module, students should have a foundational understanding of:
- The AWS Free Tier: Knowledge of how basic accounts are provisioned.
- Cloud Computing Basics: Understanding of high availability and system uptime.
- Shared Responsibility Model: Awareness that AWS Support assists with the "of" the cloud portion of the model.
Module Breakdown
| Module | Focus Area | Difficulty | Key Components |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Free Tier | Basic Support | Intro | Billing support, 7 core Trusted Advisor checks. |
| 2. Non-Production | Developer Support | Intro | Business hours email access, architectural guidance. |
| 3. Production | Business Support | Intermediate | 24/7 tech support, full Trusted Advisor, 1-hour response. |
| 4. Business Critical | Enterprise On-Ramp | Advanced | 30-minute response, Pool of TAMs, IEM included. |
| 5. Mission Critical | Enterprise Support | Advanced | 15-minute response, Dedicated TAM, Concierge service. |
Module Objectives per Module
Module 1: Basic Support (The Foundation)
- Understand that Basic Support is included for all AWS customers at no cost.
- Identify the role of the AWS Health Dashboard for service alerts.
- Utilize 7 core Trusted Advisor checks (security and service limits).
Module 2: Developer Support (Experimentation)
- Define the use case for "non-production" workloads.
- Understand response times: < 24 business hours for general guidance and < 12 business hours for system impaired.
Module 3: Business Support (Production)
- Learn to identify "Production System Down" scenarios requiring < 1 hour response.
- Explore Infrastructure Event Management (IEM) as an add-on for planned launches.
- Master the use of the full set of Trusted Advisor checks.
Module 4 & 5: Enterprise Tiers (Scale & Mission Critical)
- Distinguish between Enterprise On-Ramp (Pool of TAMs) and Enterprise (Dedicated TAM).
- Understand the AWS Concierge Support Team for billing and account expertise.
- Evaluate the value of Infrastructure Event Management (IEM) when included in the plan.
Selection Logic & Decision Flow
To determine the correct plan, use the following decision tree:
Real-World Application & Examples
[!TIP] Choosing a plan is about balancing the Cost of Downtime vs. the Cost of the Support Plan.
Practical Examples
| Scenario | Recommended Plan | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| A student learning S3 for a class project. | Basic | No cost; only documentation and forums are needed. |
| A startup building a prototype not yet live to users. | Developer | Low cost ($29/mo); provides email access to engineers for troubleshooting. |
| An e-commerce site with $50k/day in sales. | Business | Requires 24/7 phone support; 1-hour response if the site goes down. |
| A global bank running core transactions on AWS. | Enterprise | Requires a Technical Account Manager (TAM) for proactive architectural reviews and 15-minute response times. |
Support Level Hierarchy
Below is a visual representation of the service level escalation and cost intensity:
Success Metrics
To demonstrate mastery of this curriculum, the student must be able to:
- Differentiate Response Times: Correctly identify that Enterprise offers a 15-minute response for business-critical systems.
- Identify TAM Roles: Explain that the Technical Account Manager (TAM) is only available at the Enterprise levels (On-Ramp/Full).
- Trusted Advisor Access: Know that the Full Trusted Advisor suite is unlocked starting at the Business tier.
- Cost Calculation: Identify that paid plans are the greater of a flat fee or a percentage of monthly usage (e.g., Enterprise On-Ramp is $5,500 or 10%).
[!IMPORTANT] For the Exam: Remember that Basic only covers billing/account issues and 7 core checks. Any technical support for services requires at least the Developer plan.