This week has covered five tools: SSM (Run Command, Session Manager, Patch Manager), State Manager + Inventory, AppConfig, Parameter Store, Secrets Manager. Each solves one dimension of operations: fleet command execution, stateful compliance, feature rollout, configuration storage, secret lifecycle.
Real incidents demand integration across all five. A fintech company's checkout flow is down. Payment processing degraded. CEO demands root cause. Same scenario, different tools, different questions: Which tool would you reach for? Why? What's the sequence?
Before scenarios, organize Week 9's mental model: