Forem: Elmaur Dehni Namata

From missed flight to mission: building a 24-hour reminder service on AWS

Elmaur Dehni Namata — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 21:19:04 +0000

A few months ago, my mom missed her flight. She’d been swamped all week, errands, and work. She thought the flight was later, got to the airport, it was too late her flight had gone. When she told me, I felt that gut drop of “we could’ve avoided this.”

This wasn’t just about building a reminder service. It was about my journey into DevOps learning AWS resources one by one, connecting them, and seeing how cloud skills can solve everyday problems.

From a missed flight to a working solution, this project shows that even small ideas can become powerful learning experiences.
That one moment turned into this project.

🛠️ stack

Data: Appointments saved in DynamoDB (name, date, time).
Compute: AWS Lambda scans appointments and decides who needs reminders.
Notify: Amazon SNS sends email/SMS notifications.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Create the DynamoDB Table

Table name: Appointment

Primary key: Partition key = Name (String)
Attributes:
- Name: e.g., “Dentist Visit”
- Date: ISO string, e.g., “2025-12-29”

Create the SNS Topic and Subscribe

Topic name: AppointmentReminders (Standard)

Copy the Topic ARN — you’ll need this for Lambda.
Add a subscription:
- Protocol: Email (or SMS)
- Endpoint: Your email address
Confirm the subscription via the AWS email link.

Create the Lambda Function (Node.js)

Runtime:** Node.js 18.x
Handler:** index.handler
File name:** `index.js

Give Lambda the Right IAM Permissions

Attach a minimal inline policy to your Lambda’s execution role:

** choosing the specific action that the resources in DynamoDB will need.

** And for SNS

** After that is done give a to the policy.

** Review and click create.

Add a test item in DynamoDB:

Run Lambda → Test event

Result I tested with a dentist appointment and received an email reminder no more last-minute panics. .

🚀 what I learned

what this project solve Forgetting is easy; systems aren’t.
24-hour timing gives you enough time to prepare.
The missed flight hurt, but it sparked something useful: a small, dependable system that gives you a 24-hour heads up for what matters. You don’t need a huge platform just a table, a function, a topic, and a schedule.

** Cloud skills solving everyday problems.**
This is my Devops/cloud engineering journey.

Launching EC2 with Git Bash: Why SSH Is Preferable to PuTTY.

Elmaur Dehni Namata — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 17:50:44 +0000

SSH let me copy my .pem key and connect instantly, while PuTTY forced me to convert to .ppk every time SSH saved time, reduced friction, and scaled securely.

This project matters because it teaches secure, real‑world cloud skills: launching EC2, using SSH with .pem keys, avoiding PuTTY conversions, and hosting a webpage. It builds automation habits, scales easily, and mirrors workflows businesses rely on daily.

Step by Step on how to SSH into Ubuntu EC2 from Gitbash.

Launch an EC2 Instance
Log in to the AWS Management Console.

Search for EC2 and open the EC2 dashboard.

Click Launch Instance.

Fill in the details:

Name: e.g., elmaurserver.

AMI (Amazon Machine Image): Choose Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS (or Amazon Linux if you prefer).

I choose Ubuntu.

Instance type: Start with t2.micro (free tier eligible).

Key pair: Create a new key pair → name it dehnikeypair → download the .pem file.

Network settings: Allow SSH (port 22) from your IP. Optionally allow HTTP (port 80) if you plan to run a web server.

Click Launch Instance.

Locate Your Public IP.

In the EC2 dashboard, select your instance.

Under Details, copy the Public IPv4 address (example: 18.132.3.224).

Open Git Bash.

Fix permissions:

Connect via SSH.

For Ubuntu:

Update Your Server

Common Mistakes I Hit and Fixes.

No such file or directory on chmod → Use Git Bash path (/c/...), not Windows path (C:...).
Tried to run the .pem file → Never execute the key. Only reference it with -i in ssh.
Permission denied (publickey) → Use the right username (ubuntu for Ubuntu AMI).
IP keeps changing → Use an Elastic Ip.

Conclusion.

Why I Preferred SSH Over PuTTY
PuTTY is popular on Windows, but here’s why I preferred SSH in Git Bash:

No extra conversions — .pem works directly; PuTTY requires .ppk.
Fits naturally into my Git workflow.
Scriptable and automation-friendly.
Industry standard across Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Consistent experience across platforms.
Security: Strong key‑based authentication, no passwords.
Automation: SSH integrates with CI/CD pipelines and config management tools.
Collaboration: Developers use SSH keys with GitHub/GitLab for secure code pushes.
Resilience: Elastic IPs + SSH allow fast recovery during outages.
Scalability: Manage fleets of servers with scripts, not GUIs.

I Built my First static website using Amazon S3 and infinityfree.

Elmaur Dehni Namata — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 23:00:47 +0000

Hi Devs.
I built this project because I wanted a simple way to keep all my images and files in one place, without relying on third-party platforms. I also wanted to understand how static websites actually work, how to host them, connect a domain, and make them live. Using Amazon S3 gave me hands-on experience with real tools, and now I can use what I’ve learned for future projects, portfolios, or sharing resources online.

I recently built my first static website using Amazon S3 and connected it to a free domain from InfinityFree all without spending a penny. If you're looking to host a simple HTML site and make it live globally, this guide is for you.

I will walk you through on what services I used and how I did it.

Tools and Services Used.

-Amazon S3
-Infinityfree
-HTML

STEP 1

Create my own website

You can edit this on either Notepad or on VS code known as visual studio code and I made some changes. Here you can edit and type whatever you wanted.

Save it as index.html

STEP 2

Hosting the Website on Amazon S3.

-Go to AWS Console

-Search for S3 and click Create Bucket.

-Name it (e.g., mycoolsite) or any Name of your choice.

-Uncheck Block all public access.

-Upload your index.html file.

save as index.html

-Go to Properties > Static Website Hosting.

Enable it.
Click create.

What this does it I created an Amazon S3 bucket in AWS management console and upload my website in the bucket I created which is saved as index.html.

STEP 3

** Get a free Domain from infinityfree.

This offer a free domain name.

-Go to InfinityFree (Any browser of your choice).

-Sign up and create a free hosting account

-Choose a free subdomain (e.g., yourname.infinityfreeapp.com)

-Wait for it to become Active (check in your dashboard

Done! Your Website Is Live.

https://elmaurprojectsite.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/index.html

A static website hosted on Amazon S3

A free domain from InfinityFree.

From AWS Cloud Practitioner Essential to Real-world Impact. How my Learning Translate into Business Value.

Elmaur Dehni Namata — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 19:26:16 +0000

I recently completed the AWS Cloud Practitioner Essential course through AWS Skill Builder, and it has opened my eyes to how cloud technology can truly reshape business strategy. During the learning process, I learned about some mind-blowing tools that in today's economy businesses need to do more with less and that's exactly where cloud makes the difference.

Cloud Computing isn't just servers somewhere else. It's a strategic tool for reducing cost, increasing agility, and driving innovation. This applied to all business levels.

Here are some of the key things I learned.

1. Owning infrastructure to Renting What you Need. instead of CapEx(capital expenses), companies use OpEx(operational expenses) pay only for what you use.

2. Global infrastructure Built for Resilience. With the use of AWS Regions, Availability Zones and Edge Locations. This designs high Availability by default something that would cost millions to replicate traditionally.

3. AWS Services like EC2(Elastic Compute Cloud), S3(simple storage service), RDS( Relational Database Service), Lambda(serverless compute) and CloudFront(CDN).Just to list some few. This wasn't just naming services it was training me to think in terms of solution.

4. Shared Responsibility Models. Here AWS secure resources of the Cloud this include handling of physical security such as hardware and networking. while the Customer secure resources in the Cloud such as data configurations, encryption and control access policies.

Looking forward in practising my knowledge in building mini projects with the various services and tools that AWS offers.

AWS isn't about servers it's about possibilities.