AWS Console and DynamoDB setup - Mini Project: Build & Apply

AWS Console and DynamoDB setup

📖 Scenario: You are starting a new project that needs a fast and scalable database. You will use AWS DynamoDB, a cloud database service, to store your data. First, you will set up the basic table structure in the AWS Console.

🎯 Goal: Build a DynamoDB table configuration with a primary key and a secondary index to prepare for storing user data efficiently.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a DynamoDB table named Users with a primary key called UserID of type string.

Add a secondary index named EmailIndex with Email as the partition key of type string.

Set the read and write capacity units to 5 for both the table and the index.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

DynamoDB is widely used for applications that need fast, scalable, and flexible NoSQL databases, such as user profiles, session stores, and real-time data.

💼 Career

Understanding how to configure DynamoDB tables is essential for cloud engineers, backend developers, and DevOps professionals working with AWS infrastructure.

1

Create the DynamoDB table structure

Create a DynamoDB table configuration dictionary named table_config with the table name Users and a primary key attribute named UserID of type S (string).

DynamoDB

# Define the table_config dictionary with TableName and KeySchema
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Remember, the primary key uses KeySchema with KeyType set to HASH and the attribute type is S for string.

2

Add a secondary index configuration

Add a GlobalSecondaryIndexes entry to table_config with an index named EmailIndex. Use Email as the partition key of type S (string).

DynamoDB

table_config = {
    'TableName': 'Users',
    'KeySchema': [
        {'AttributeName': 'UserID', 'KeyType': 'HASH'}
    ],
    'AttributeDefinitions': [
        {'AttributeName': 'UserID', 'AttributeType': 'S'}
    ],
    # Add GlobalSecondaryIndexes here
    
    # Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Remember to add Email to AttributeDefinitions and define the GlobalSecondaryIndexes list with the index details.

3

Set provisioned throughput for the table

Add a ProvisionedThroughput entry to table_config with ReadCapacityUnits and WriteCapacityUnits both set to 5.

DynamoDB

table_config = {
    'TableName': 'Users',
    'KeySchema': [
        {'AttributeName': 'UserID', 'KeyType': 'HASH'}
    ],
    'AttributeDefinitions': [
        {'AttributeName': 'UserID', 'AttributeType': 'S'},
        {'AttributeName': 'Email', 'AttributeType': 'S'}
    ],
    'GlobalSecondaryIndexes': [
        {
            'IndexName': 'EmailIndex',
            'KeySchema': [
                {'AttributeName': 'Email', 'KeyType': 'HASH'}
            ],
            'Projection': {
                'ProjectionType': 'ALL'
            },
            'ProvisionedThroughput': {
                'ReadCapacityUnits': 5,
                'WriteCapacityUnits': 5
            }
        }
    ],
    # Add ProvisionedThroughput for the table here
    
    # Your code here
}

Need a hint?

The table's ProvisionedThroughput must be set outside the indexes with read and write units of 5.

4

Complete the DynamoDB table configuration

Ensure the table_config dictionary includes TableName, KeySchema, AttributeDefinitions, GlobalSecondaryIndexes, and ProvisionedThroughput with the exact values specified in previous steps.

DynamoDB

table_config = {
    'TableName': 'Users',
    'KeySchema': [
        {'AttributeName': 'UserID', 'KeyType': 'HASH'}
    ],
    'AttributeDefinitions': [
        {'AttributeName': 'UserID', 'AttributeType': 'S'},
        {'AttributeName': 'Email', 'AttributeType': 'S'}
    ],
    'GlobalSecondaryIndexes': [
        {
            'IndexName': 'EmailIndex',
            'KeySchema': [
                {'AttributeName': 'Email', 'KeyType': 'HASH'}
            ],
            'Projection': {
                'ProjectionType': 'ALL'
            },
            'ProvisionedThroughput': {
                'ReadCapacityUnits': 5,
                'WriteCapacityUnits': 5
            }
        }
    ],
    'ProvisionedThroughput': {
        'ReadCapacityUnits': 5,
        'WriteCapacityUnits': 5
    }
}

# Your code here to finalize or confirm the configuration

Need a hint?

Review the entire table_config dictionary to ensure all parts are included and correctly set.