Introduction
If you’re interviewing for cloud roles, the Top 30 Most Common basic aws interview questions You Should Prepare For focus your study and build confidence fast. These questions cover core services, architecture, security, cost trade-offs, and scenario-based problem solving—the exact areas hiring managers test on for junior to mid-level AWS roles. Read concise answers with interview-ready phrasing, examples, and quick takeaways to practice aloud and refine your explanations before an interview.
What are the Top 30 Most Common basic aws interview questions You Should Prepare For?
Yes — these 30 questions cover fundamental concepts, typical scenario prompts, and common behavioral checks for entry-level AWS interviews.
This curated list groups questions into practical themes: fundamentals, scenarios, architecture/security, cost and service trade-offs, preparation strategies, and advanced topics for senior roles. Each Q&A gives a direct definition, a one-line example or tip, and a closing line you can use in interviews to show clarity and ownership. Use this as a drill sheet: say answers aloud, map them to your resume, and add examples from projects or labs.
Takeaway: Master concise definitions and one-line examples to show you can apply AWS basics in real work.
Technical Fundamentals
Q: What is AWS and what are its primary components like EC2, S3, VPC, IAM?
A: AWS is a cloud services platform offering compute (EC2), storage (S3), networking (VPC), and identity/permission management (IAM) for scalable apps.
Q: What is Amazon EC2 and when would you use it?
A: EC2 provides resizable virtual servers in the cloud for running applications that need full OS-level control or custom software stacks.
Q: What is Amazon S3 and what are common use cases?
A: S3 is object storage for static website assets, backups, and data lakes, offering durability and lifecycle policies for cost control.
Q: How does AWS IAM improve security in cloud environments?
A: IAM centralizes authentication and authorization with least-privilege policies, roles, and temporary credentials for secure access.
Q: What is the difference between stopping and terminating an EC2 instance?
A: Stopping preserves the instance root volume and allows restart; terminating deletes the instance and can remove ephemeral storage.
Q: What is AWS Lambda and when should you use serverless functions?
A: Lambda runs code on demand without servers, ideal for event-driven tasks, microservices, and short-lived workloads with automatic scaling.
Scenario-Based and Intermediate AWS Interview Questions
Q: How do you design a simple CI/CD pipeline using AWS services?
A: Use CodeCommit or GitHub, CodeBuild for builds, CodeDeploy/CodePipeline for orchestration, and CloudWatch for monitoring.
Q: How would you migrate a legacy app to AWS with minimal downtime?
A: Use lift-and-shift with incremental data sync, blue/green deploys, DNS cutover via Route 53, and testing on replicas before final cutover.
Q: How do you monitor and log microservices on AWS?
A: Centralize logs in CloudWatch Logs, use CloudWatch Metrics and X-Ray for tracing, and set alarms for SLO breaches.
Q: What AWS services help deliver low-latency global content?
A: Use Amazon CloudFront CDN with S3 origin and regional edge caches to reduce latency worldwide.
Q: How do you handle high availability and failover with Route 53?
A: Configure health checks, weighted or failover routing policies, and multi-region endpoints to redirect traffic on failure.
Q: When should you choose Lambda over EC2 for compute?
A: Choose Lambda for event-driven, short-duration tasks and EC2 for long-running workloads needing custom OS or drivers.
AWS Architecting, Networking, and Security Questions
Q: What is the AWS Well-Architected Framework?
A: A set of best-practice pillars—operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, and cost optimization—for cloud architectures.
Q: Explain VPC, subnets, security groups, and Network ACLs differences.
A: VPC is a virtual network; subnets segment it; security groups are instance-level stateful filters; NACLs are subnet-level stateless filters.
Q: What are Elastic Load Balancers and their types?
A: ELB includes ALB for HTTP/HTTPS routing, NLB for ultra-low latency TCP, and CLB legacy for basic load distribution.
Q: What is AWS WAF and how does it protect applications?
A: WAF blocks common web attacks with customizable rules and integrates with CloudFront or ALB for edge protection.
Q: How do you enforce cross-account or organizational policies?
A: Use AWS Organizations with Service Control Policies (SCPs) and IAM roles for cross-account access control.
Q: How do you secure S3 buckets and prevent public access by mistake?
A: Apply bucket policies, block public access at account level, enable encryption, and use IAM roles for access.
AWS Services Comparison and Cost Optimization
Q: What is the difference between CloudFormation and Terraform?
A: CloudFormation is AWS-native infrastructure-as-code; Terraform is multi-cloud with a broader provider ecosystem and state management features.
Q: When would you use SNS vs EventBridge?
A: Use SNS for simple pub/sub notifications; use EventBridge for complex event routing, schema discovery, and SaaS event integrations.
Q: How can you reduce EC2 costs during traffic spikes?
A: Use Auto Scaling with spot or reserved instances, right-size instances, and consider Lambda/Fargate for burstable workloads.
Q: What are trade-offs between Fargate, ECS on EC2, and EKS?
A: Fargate reduces infra ops for serverless containers, ECS on EC2 gives cost control, EKS offers Kubernetes portability and ecosystem.
Q: How would you architect cost-effective high-throughput logging?
A: Aggregate logs to S3 with lifecycle rules, use CloudWatch Logs with subscription filters, and batch export to analytics to reduce per-request cost.
Q: How do you choose between S3 storage classes for cost optimization?
A: Use Standard for frequent access, Intelligent-Tiering or Infrequent Access for variable patterns, and Glacier for archival.
AWS Interview Preparation Strategies and Common Questions
Q: Are certifications necessary to crack AWS interviews?
A: Certifications help validate knowledge but practical experience and clear explanations of projects matter more to many hiring teams.
Q: How should a fresher prepare for AWS questions on EC2, S3, Lambda?
A: Learn core concepts, run hands-on labs, link answers to simple project examples, and practice crisp explanations of trade-offs.
Q: What behavioral questions relate to AWS roles and how to answer them?
A: Expect questions on incident response and teamwork—use STAR or CAR to explain your role, actions, and outcomes.
Q: What skills do AWS interviewers prioritize for junior cloud engineers?
A: Problem-solving, understanding of core services, networking basics, security awareness, and willingness to learn and document decisions.
Q: What questions are trending in AWS interviews in 2025?
A: Cloud cost management, observability, microservice deployment patterns, and secure multi-account architectures continue to be common.
AWS Interview Questions for Experienced and Senior Roles
Q: Explain Lambda cold starts and strategies to mitigate them.
A: Cold starts occur when a function is initialized; mitigate with provisioned concurrency, smaller package sizes, or warming strategies.
Q: How do you implement hybrid DNS between AWS and on-premises?
A: Use Route 53 Resolver endpoints, conditional forwarding, and VPN/Direct Connect for secure cross-network resolution.
Q: What is the difference between SQS and SNS and when to use each?
A: SNS is push-based pub/sub for notifications; SQS is pull-based queuing for decoupling and message durability.
Q: How would you manage multi-region account restrictions and data residency?
A: Apply SCPs, encryption keys scoped per region, and replicate data selectively while documenting compliance controls.
Q: How to design a resilient multi-AZ architecture for stateful applications?
A: Use distributed storage (RDS Multi-AZ or Aurora Global DB), cross-AZ load balancing, and automated failover with health checks.
Q: How do you approach debugging a production latency spike in AWS?
A: Correlate CloudWatch metrics, X-Ray traces, and load balancer logs, isolate the failing component, and roll back or scale as needed.
How to practice the Top 30 Most Common basic aws interview questions You Should Prepare For
Practice by speaking answers aloud, mapping each question to a project or lab, and simulating interview pressure with timed drills. Use concise definitions, follow with a one-sentence example, and close with an outcome or metric when possible; that structure shows application over rote memory. Supplement hands-on labs from curated resources and record yourself to iterate on clarity and pacing.
Takeaway: Active recall plus demoable examples turns theory into interview-ready responses.
How Verve AI Interview Copilot Can Help You With This
Verve AI Interview Copilot gives real-time, context-aware prompts to structure answers using STAR/CAR for behavioral items and logical step-by-step reasoning for technical problems. It adapts feedback to your job level, suggests concise one-liners for core services like EC2, S3, VPC, and helps rehearse scenario-based designs with follow-up questions to deepen responses. Use Verve AI Interview Copilot during mock runs to tighten phrasing and reduce filler while tracking common weak spots. For on-the-job interview prep, Verve AI Interview Copilot helps you convert knowledge into clear, interview-ready answers.
What Are the Most Common Questions About This Topic
Q: Can Verve AI help with behavioral interviews?
A: Yes. It applies STAR and CAR frameworks to guide real-time answers.
Q: How long should AWS interview answers be?
A: Aim for 45–90 seconds for definitions and 90–180 seconds for scenario explanations.
Q: Is hands-on experience required for junior AWS roles?
A: Practical labs or projects strongly increase interview success beyond just theoretical study.
Q: Where can I find updated AWS question banks?
A: Community-maintained lists and platforms like InterviewBit and SoftwareTestingHelp keep question banks current.
Q: How many AWS topics should I master for entry-level roles?
A: Focus on compute, storage, networking, IAM, and a basic grasp of serverless and cost models.
Conclusion
Preparing the Top 30 Most Common basic aws interview questions You Should Prepare For gives you structure, clarity, and confidence to answer both fundamentals and real-world scenarios. Practice concise definitions, link answers to hands-on examples, and rehearse behavioral stories to convey impact. Try Verve AI Interview Copilot to feel confident and prepared for every interview.
