Cloud CLI Command Comparison: AWS vs GCP vs Azure¶

A comprehensive side-by-side comparison of equivalent commands across AWS CLI, gcloud, and Azure CLI for cloud certification preparation.

Table of Contents¶

Configuration & Authentication
Compute (Virtual Machines)
Storage
Networking
Identity & Access Management
Databases
Container Services
Serverless Functions
Load Balancing
Monitoring & Logging
Resource Management

Configuration & Authentication¶

Initial Setup¶

Task	AWS CLI	GCP gcloud	Azure CLI
Login/Authenticate	`aws configure`	`gcloud init` `gcloud auth login`	`az login`
Set Default Region	`aws configure set region us-east-1`	`gcloud config set compute/region us-central1`	`az config set defaults.location=eastus`
Set Default Zone	N/A (region-based)	`gcloud config set compute/zone us-central1-a`	N/A (region-based)
View Current Config	`aws configure list`	`gcloud config list`	`az account show`
List Profiles/Accounts	`aws configure list-profiles`	`gcloud auth list`	`az account list`
Switch Profile/Project	`aws configure --profile prod`	`gcloud config set project my-project`	`az account set --subscription "My Sub"`
Get Account ID	`aws sts get-caller-identity`	`gcloud config get-value project`	`az account show --query id`

Output Formats¶

Format	AWS CLI	GCP gcloud	Azure CLI
JSON	`--output json`	`--format=json`	`--output json`
Table	`--output table`	`--format=table`	`--output table`
Text	`--output text`	`--format=value(field)`	`--output tsv`
YAML	`--output yaml`	`--format=yaml`	`--output yaml`

Compute (Virtual Machines)¶

Instance/VM Management¶

Task	AWS CLI	GCP gcloud	Azure CLI
List All Instances	`aws ec2 describe-instances`	`gcloud compute instances list`	`az vm list`
List Running Instances	`aws ec2 describe-instances --filters "Name=instance-state-name,Values=running"`	`gcloud compute instances list --filter="status:RUNNING"`	`az vm list --query "[?powerState=='VM running']"`
Create Instance	`aws ec2 run-instances --image-id ami-xxx --instance-type t3.micro`	`gcloud compute instances create vm1 --machine-type=e2-micro --image-family=debian-11`	`az vm create --name vm1 --image UbuntuLTS --size Standard_B1s`
Start Instance	`aws ec2 start-instances --instance-ids i-xxx`	`gcloud compute instances start vm1`	`az vm start --name vm1`
Stop Instance	`aws ec2 stop-instances --instance-ids i-xxx`	`gcloud compute instances stop vm1`	`az vm stop --name vm1`
Restart Instance	`aws ec2 reboot-instances --instance-ids i-xxx`	`gcloud compute instances reset vm1`	`az vm restart --name vm1`
Delete Instance	`aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids i-xxx`	`gcloud compute instances delete vm1`	`az vm delete --name vm1`
Get Instance Details	`aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids i-xxx`	`gcloud compute instances describe vm1`	`az vm show --name vm1`

SSH and Remote Access¶

Task	AWS CLI	GCP gcloud	Azure CLI
SSH to Instance	`ssh -i key.pem user@ip-address`	`gcloud compute ssh vm1`	`az vm ssh --name vm1` (if Azure AD configured) or `ssh user@ip-address`
Get Instance IP	`aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids i-xxx --query 'Reservations[0].Instances[0].PublicIpAddress'`	`gcloud compute instances describe vm1 --format='get(networkInterfaces[0].accessConfigs[0].natIP)'`	`az vm list-ip-addresses --name vm1`
Execute Remote Command	Use SSM or SSH	`gcloud compute ssh vm1 --command="ls -la"`	`az vm run-command invoke --name vm1 --command-id RunShellScript --scripts "ls -la"`

Instance Sizing¶

Task	AWS CLI	GCP gcloud	Azure CLI
List Available Sizes	`aws ec2 describe-instance-types`	`gcloud compute machine-types list`	`az vm list-sizes --location eastus`
Resize Instance	`aws ec2 modify-instance-attribute --instance-id i-xxx --instance-type "{\"Value\":\"t3.medium\"}"` (requires stop)	`gcloud compute instances set-machine-type vm1 --machine-type=e2-medium` (requires stop)	`az vm resize --name vm1 --size Standard_DS2_v2` (requires stop)

Images and Snapshots¶

Task	AWS CLI	GCP gcloud	Azure CLI
List Images	`aws ec2 describe-images --owners self`	`gcloud compute images list`	`az image list`
Create Image	`aws ec2 create-image --instance-id i-xxx --name "MyImage"`	`gcloud compute images create my-image --source-disk=disk1`	`az image create --name myImage --source vm1`
Delete Image	`aws ec2 deregister-image --image-id ami-xxx`	`gcloud compute images delete my-image`	`az image delete --name myImage`
Create Snapshot	`aws ec2 create-snapshot --volume-id vol-xxx`	`gcloud compute disks snapshot disk1 --snapshot-names=snap1`	`az snapshot create --name snap1 --source disk1`

Storage¶

Object Storage (Buckets/Containers)¶

Task	AWS S3	GCP Cloud Storage	Azure Blob Storage
List Buckets	`aws s3 ls`	`gsutil ls`	`az storage account list`
Create Bucket	`aws s3 mb s3://my-bucket`	`gsutil mb gs://my-bucket`	`az storage account create --name mystorageacct` `az storage container create --name mycontainer`
Delete Bucket	`aws s3 rb s3://my-bucket`	`gsutil rb gs://my-bucket`	`az storage container delete --name mycontainer`
Upload File	`aws s3 cp file.txt s3://my-bucket/`	`gsutil cp file.txt gs://my-bucket/`	`az storage blob upload --container mycontainer --file file.txt --name file.txt`
Download File	`aws s3 cp s3://my-bucket/file.txt .`	`gsutil cp gs://my-bucket/file.txt .`	`az storage blob download --container mycontainer --name file.txt --file file.txt`
Upload Directory	`aws s3 cp mydir s3://my-bucket/mydir --recursive`	`gsutil cp -r mydir gs://my-bucket/`	`az storage blob upload-batch --destination mycontainer --source mydir`
Sync Directory	`aws s3 sync mydir s3://my-bucket/mydir`	`gsutil rsync -r mydir gs://my-bucket/mydir`	`az storage blob sync --container mycontainer --source mydir`
List Objects	`aws s3 ls s3://my-bucket/`	`gsutil ls gs://my-bucket/`	`az storage blob list --container mycontainer`
Delete Object	`aws s3 rm s3://my-bucket/file.txt`	`gsutil rm gs://my-bucket/file.txt`	`az storage blob delete --container mycontainer --name file.txt`
Make Public	`aws s3api put-bucket-acl --bucket my-bucket --acl public-read`	`gsutil iam ch allUsers:objectViewer gs://my-bucket`	`az storage container set-permission --name mycontainer --public-access blob`
Generate Pre-signed URL	`aws s3 presign s3://my-bucket/file.txt --expires-in 3600`	`gsutil signurl -d 1h key.json gs://my-bucket/file.txt`	`az storage blob generate-sas --container mycontainer --name file.txt --expiry 2024-12-31 --permissions r`

Block Storage (Disks/Volumes)¶

Task	AWS EBS	GCP Persistent Disk	Azure Managed Disks
List Volumes	`aws ec2 describe-volumes`	`gcloud compute disks list`	`az disk list`
Create Volume	`aws ec2 create-volume --size 100 --availability-zone us-east-1a --volume-type gp3`	`gcloud compute disks create disk1 --size=100GB --type=pd-standard`	`az disk create --name disk1 --size-gb 100 --sku Standard_LRS`
Attach Volume	`aws ec2 attach-volume --volume-id vol-xxx --instance-id i-xxx --device /dev/sdf`	`gcloud compute instances attach-disk vm1 --disk=disk1`	`az vm disk attach --vm-name vm1 --name disk1`
Detach Volume	`aws ec2 detach-volume --volume-id vol-xxx`	`gcloud compute instances detach-disk vm1 --disk=disk1`	`az vm disk detach --vm-name vm1 --name disk1`
Delete Volume	`aws ec2 delete-volume --volume-id vol-xxx`	`gcloud compute disks delete disk1`	`az disk delete --name disk1`
Resize Volume	`aws ec2 modify-volume --volume-id vol-xxx --size 200`	`gcloud compute disks resize disk1 --size=200GB`	`az disk update --name disk1 --size-gb 200`

Networking¶

Virtual Networks¶

Task	AWS VPC	GCP VPC	Azure VNet
List Networks	`aws ec2 describe-vpcs`	`gcloud compute networks list`	`az network vnet list`
Create Network	`aws ec2 create-vpc --cidr-block 10.0.0.0/16`	`gcloud compute networks create vpc1 --subnet-mode=custom`	`az network vnet create --name vnet1 --address-prefix 10.0.0.0/16`
Delete Network	`aws ec2 delete-vpc --vpc-id vpc-xxx`	`gcloud compute networks delete vpc1`	`az network vnet delete --name vnet1`
Create Subnet	`aws ec2 create-subnet --vpc-id vpc-xxx --cidr-block 10.0.1.0/24`	`gcloud compute networks subnets create subnet1 --network=vpc1 --region=us-central1 --range=10.0.1.0/24`	`az network vnet subnet create --vnet-name vnet1 --name subnet1 --address-prefix 10.0.1.0/24`
List Subnets	`aws ec2 describe-subnets`	`gcloud compute networks subnets list`	`az network vnet subnet list --vnet-name vnet1`

Firewall/Security Groups¶

Task	AWS Security Groups	GCP Firewall Rules	Azure NSG
List Rules	`aws ec2 describe-security-groups`	`gcloud compute firewall-rules list`	`az network nsg list`
Create Firewall/NSG	Security groups created with rules	N/A (rules added directly to VPC)	`az network nsg create --name nsg1`
Allow SSH (Port 22)	`aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress --group-id sg-xxx --protocol tcp --port 22 --cidr 0.0.0.0/0`	`gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-ssh --allow=tcp:22 --source-ranges=0.0.0.0/0`	`az network nsg rule create --nsg-name nsg1 --name allow-ssh --priority 1000 --destination-port-ranges 22 --access Allow --protocol Tcp`
Allow HTTP (Port 80)	`aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress --group-id sg-xxx --protocol tcp --port 80 --cidr 0.0.0.0/0`	`gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-http --allow=tcp:80 --source-ranges=0.0.0.0/0 --target-tags=http-server`	`az network nsg rule create --nsg-name nsg1 --name allow-http --priority 1001 --destination-port-ranges 80 --access Allow --protocol Tcp`
Delete Rule	`aws ec2 revoke-security-group-ingress --group-id sg-xxx --protocol tcp --port 22 --cidr 0.0.0.0/0`	`gcloud compute firewall-rules delete allow-ssh`	`az network nsg rule delete --nsg-name nsg1 --name allow-ssh`

Public IP Addresses¶

Task	AWS Elastic IP	GCP External IP	Azure Public IP
List Public IPs	`aws ec2 describe-addresses`	`gcloud compute addresses list`	`az network public-ip list`
Allocate IP	`aws ec2 allocate-address --domain vpc`	`gcloud compute addresses create ip1 --region=us-central1`	`az network public-ip create --name ip1`
Associate IP	`aws ec2 associate-address --instance-id i-xxx --allocation-id eipalloc-xxx`	`gcloud compute instances add-access-config vm1 --access-config-name="External NAT" --address=<IP>`	`az network nic ip-config update --nic-name nic1 --name ipconfig1 --public-ip-address ip1`
Release IP	`aws ec2 release-address --allocation-id eipalloc-xxx`	`gcloud compute addresses delete ip1`	`az network public-ip delete --name ip1`

VPN¶

Task	AWS VPN	GCP Cloud VPN	Azure VPN Gateway
Create VPN Gateway	`aws ec2 create-vpn-gateway --type ipsec.1`	`gcloud compute target-vpn-gateways create vpn-gateway1 --network=vpc1`	`az network vnet-gateway create --name vpn-gateway1 --gateway-type Vpn`
List VPN Gateways	`aws ec2 describe-vpn-gateways`	`gcloud compute target-vpn-gateways list`	`az network vnet-gateway list`

Identity & Access Management¶

Users¶

Task	AWS IAM	GCP IAM	Azure AD
List Users	`aws iam list-users`	`gcloud projects get-iam-policy PROJECT_ID` (shows bindings)	`az ad user list`
Create User	`aws iam create-user --user-name john`	N/A (use Google Workspace)	`az ad user create --display-name "John Doe" --user-principal-name john@example.com --password Pass123!`
Delete User	`aws iam delete-user --user-name john`	N/A	`az ad user delete --id john@example.com`
List Access Keys	`aws iam list-access-keys --user-name john`	`gcloud iam service-accounts keys list --iam-account=sa@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com`	N/A (uses Azure AD tokens)
Create Access Key	`aws iam create-access-key --user-name john`	`gcloud iam service-accounts keys create key.json --iam-account=sa@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com`	`az ad sp create-for-rbac --name myApp`

Groups¶

Task	AWS IAM	GCP IAM	Azure AD
List Groups	`aws iam list-groups`	N/A (use Google Groups)	`az ad group list`
Create Group	`aws iam create-group --group-name developers`	N/A	`az ad group create --display-name developers --mail-nickname developers`
Add User to Group	`aws iam add-user-to-group --user-name john --group-name developers`	N/A	`az ad group member add --group developers --member-id <user-id>`

Roles and Policies¶

Task	AWS IAM	GCP IAM	Azure RBAC
List Roles	`aws iam list-roles`	`gcloud iam roles list`	`az role definition list`
Attach Policy to User	`aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name john --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonS3ReadOnlyAccess`	`gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID --member=user:john@example.com --role=roles/storage.objectViewer`	`az role assignment create --assignee john@example.com --role "Storage Blob Data Reader"`
Detach Policy	`aws iam detach-user-policy --user-name john --policy-arn <policy-arn>`	`gcloud projects remove-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID --member=user:john@example.com --role=roles/storage.objectViewer`	`az role assignment delete --assignee john@example.com --role "Storage Blob Data Reader"`
Create Custom Role	`aws iam create-role --role-name MyRole --assume-role-policy-document file://trust.json`	`gcloud iam roles create myRole --project=PROJECT_ID --permissions=compute.instances.get,compute.instances.list`	`az role definition create --role-definition role.json`

Service Accounts¶

Task	AWS IAM Role	GCP Service Account	Azure Service Principal
List Service Accounts	`aws iam list-roles`	`gcloud iam service-accounts list`	`az ad sp list`
Create Service Account	`aws iam create-role --role-name MyRole --assume-role-policy-document file://trust.json`	`gcloud iam service-accounts create sa-name --display-name="My Service Account"`	`az ad sp create-for-rbac --name myServicePrincipal`
Grant Permissions	`aws iam attach-role-policy --role-name MyRole --policy-arn <policy-arn>`	`gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID --member=serviceAccount:sa@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com --role=roles/editor`	`az role assignment create --assignee <sp-id> --role Contributor`
Create Key	N/A (uses AssumeRole)	`gcloud iam service-accounts keys create key.json --iam-account=sa@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com`	`az ad sp credential reset --id <sp-id>`
Delete Service Account	`aws iam delete-role --role-name MyRole`	`gcloud iam service-accounts delete sa@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com`	`az ad sp delete --id <sp-id>`

Databases¶

Relational Databases¶

Task	AWS RDS	GCP Cloud SQL	Azure SQL Database
List DB Instances	`aws rds describe-db-instances`	`gcloud sql instances list`	`az sql server list`
Create DB Instance	`aws rds create-db-instance --db-instance-identifier mydb --db-instance-class db.t3.micro --engine mysql --master-username admin --master-user-password Pass123!`	`gcloud sql instances create mydb --database-version=MYSQL_8_0 --tier=db-n1-standard-1 --region=us-central1`	`az sql server create --name myserver --admin-user admin --admin-password Pass123!` `az sql db create --server myserver --name mydb`
Delete DB Instance	`aws rds delete-db-instance --db-instance-identifier mydb --skip-final-snapshot`	`gcloud sql instances delete mydb`	`az sql db delete --server myserver --name mydb` `az sql server delete --name myserver`
Start DB Instance	`aws rds start-db-instance --db-instance-identifier mydb`	`gcloud sql instances patch mydb --activation-policy=ALWAYS`	N/A (always running)
Stop DB Instance	`aws rds stop-db-instance --db-instance-identifier mydb`	`gcloud sql instances patch mydb --activation-policy=NEVER`	N/A (pause/resume available for some tiers)
Create Snapshot	`aws rds create-db-snapshot --db-instance-identifier mydb --db-snapshot-identifier snap1`	`gcloud sql backups create --instance=mydb`	`az sql db copy --server myserver --name mydb --dest-name mydb-copy` (copy as backup)
List Snapshots	`aws rds describe-db-snapshots`	`gcloud sql backups list --instance=mydb`	`az sql db list --server myserver`

NoSQL Databases¶

Task	AWS DynamoDB	GCP Firestore/Datastore	Azure Cosmos DB
List Tables	`aws dynamodb list-tables`	N/A (use Firestore console/API)	`az cosmosdb list`
Create Table	`aws dynamodb create-table --table-name mytable --attribute-definitions AttributeName=Id,AttributeType=S --key-schema AttributeName=Id,KeyType=HASH`	N/A (schema-less)	`az cosmosdb create --name mycosmosdb`
Put Item	`aws dynamodb put-item --table-name mytable --item '{"Id":{"S":"123"}}'`	N/A (use client libraries)	N/A (use client libraries)
Get Item	`aws dynamodb get-item --table-name mytable --key '{"Id":{"S":"123"}}'`	N/A	N/A
Delete Table	`aws dynamodb delete-table --table-name mytable`	N/A	`az cosmosdb delete --name mycosmosdb`

Container Services¶

Container Registries¶

Task	AWS ECR	GCP Container Registry	Azure Container Registry
List Registries	`aws ecr describe-repositories`	`gcloud container images list`	`az acr list`
Create Registry	`aws ecr create-repository --repository-name myrepo`	Automatic (push to `gcr.io/PROJECT_ID/IMAGE`)	`az acr create --name myregistry --sku Basic`
Login to Registry	`aws ecr get-login-password \\| docker login --username AWS --password-stdin <account>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com`	`gcloud auth configure-docker`	`az acr login --name myregistry`
Push Image	`docker push <account>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com/myrepo:tag`	`docker push gcr.io/PROJECT_ID/myimage:tag`	`docker push myregistry.azurecr.io/myimage:tag`
List Images	`aws ecr list-images --repository-name myrepo`	`gcloud container images list --repository=gcr.io/PROJECT_ID`	`az acr repository list --name myregistry`
Delete Registry	`aws ecr delete-repository --repository-name myrepo --force`	`gcloud container images delete gcr.io/PROJECT_ID/myimage:tag`	`az acr delete --name myregistry`

Kubernetes Services¶

Task	AWS EKS	GCP GKE	Azure AKS
List Clusters	`aws eks list-clusters`	`gcloud container clusters list`	`az aks list`
Create Cluster	`aws eks create-cluster --name mycluster --role-arn <role-arn> --resources-vpc-config subnetIds=<subnet-ids>`	`gcloud container clusters create mycluster --num-nodes=3`	`az aks create --name mycluster --node-count 3 --generate-ssh-keys`
Get Credentials	`aws eks update-kubeconfig --name mycluster`	`gcloud container clusters get-credentials mycluster`	`az aks get-credentials --name mycluster`
Scale Cluster	`aws eks update-nodegroup-config --cluster-name mycluster --nodegroup-name <nodegroup> --scaling-config desiredSize=5`	`gcloud container clusters resize mycluster --num-nodes=5`	`az aks scale --name mycluster --node-count 5`
Delete Cluster	`aws eks delete-cluster --name mycluster`	`gcloud container clusters delete mycluster`	`az aks delete --name mycluster`

Serverless Functions¶

Function Management¶

Task	AWS Lambda	GCP Cloud Functions	Azure Functions
List Functions	`aws lambda list-functions`	`gcloud functions list`	`az functionapp list`
Create Function	`aws lambda create-function --function-name myfunc --runtime python3.9 --role <role-arn> --handler lambda_function.lambda_handler --zip-file fileb://function.zip`	`gcloud functions deploy myfunc --runtime=python39 --trigger-http --entry-point=hello_world --source=.`	`az functionapp create --name myfuncapp --storage-account mystorage --consumption-plan-location eastus --runtime python --runtime-version 3.9`
Update Function Code	`aws lambda update-function-code --function-name myfunc --zip-file fileb://function.zip`	`gcloud functions deploy myfunc --source=.`	`az functionapp deployment source config-zip --name myfuncapp --src function.zip`
Invoke Function	`aws lambda invoke --function-name myfunc --payload '{"key":"value"}' response.json`	`gcloud functions call myfunc --data='{"key":"value"}'`	`az functionapp function invoke --name myfuncapp --function-name myfunc`
Get Logs	`aws logs tail /aws/lambda/myfunc --follow`	`gcloud functions logs read myfunc`	`az functionapp log tail --name myfuncapp`
Delete Function	`aws lambda delete-function --function-name myfunc`	`gcloud functions delete myfunc`	`az functionapp delete --name myfuncapp`

Environment Variables¶

Task	AWS Lambda	GCP Cloud Functions	Azure Functions
Set Environment Variable	`aws lambda update-function-configuration --function-name myfunc --environment "Variables={KEY1=value1}"`	`gcloud functions deploy myfunc --set-env-vars=KEY1=value1`	`az functionapp config appsettings set --name myfuncapp --settings KEY1=value1`
List Environment Variables	`aws lambda get-function-configuration --function-name myfunc --query Environment`	`gcloud functions describe myfunc --format="value(environmentVariables)"`	`az functionapp config appsettings list --name myfuncapp`

Load Balancing¶

Load Balancer Creation¶

Task	AWS ELB/ALB	GCP Cloud Load Balancing	Azure Load Balancer
List Load Balancers	`aws elbv2 describe-load-balancers`	`gcloud compute forwarding-rules list`	`az network lb list`
Create Load Balancer	`aws elbv2 create-load-balancer --name mylb --subnets <subnet-ids> --security-groups <sg-ids>`	`gcloud compute forwarding-rules create lb-rule --global --target-http-proxy=http-lb-proxy --ports=80`	`az network lb create --name mylb --sku Standard --vnet-name vnet1 --subnet subnet1`
Create Target Group	`aws elbv2 create-target-group --name mytargets --protocol HTTP --port 80 --vpc-id vpc-xxx`	`gcloud compute backend-services create backend-svc --protocol=HTTP --health-checks=health-check`	`az network lb address-pool create --lb-name mylb --name mypool`
Register Targets	`aws elbv2 register-targets --target-group-arn <arn> --targets Id=i-xxx Id=i-yyy`	`gcloud compute backend-services add-backend backend-svc --instance-group=mygroup --instance-group-zone=us-central1-a`	`az network nic ip-config address-pool add --nic-name nic1 --ip-config-name ipconfig1 --lb-name mylb --address-pool mypool`
Delete Load Balancer	`aws elbv2 delete-load-balancer --load-balancer-arn <arn>`	`gcloud compute forwarding-rules delete lb-rule`	`az network lb delete --name mylb`

Monitoring & Logging¶

Logs¶

Task	AWS CloudWatch Logs	GCP Cloud Logging	Azure Monitor Logs
List Log Groups	`aws logs describe-log-groups`	`gcloud logging logs list`	`az monitor log-analytics workspace list`
Create Log Group	`aws logs create-log-group --log-group-name /app/myapp`	Automatic	`az monitor log-analytics workspace create --name myworkspace`
View Logs	`aws logs tail /app/myapp --follow`	`gcloud logging read "resource.type=gce_instance" --limit=10`	`az monitor log-analytics query --workspace myworkspace --analytics-query "AzureActivity \\| limit 10"`
Filter Logs	`aws logs filter-log-events --log-group-name /app/myapp --filter-pattern "ERROR"`	`gcloud logging read "severity>=ERROR" --limit=10`	`az monitor log-analytics query --workspace myworkspace --analytics-query "AzureActivity \\| where Level=='Error'"`
Delete Log Group	`aws logs delete-log-group --log-group-name /app/myapp`	`gcloud logging logs delete LOG_NAME`	`az monitor log-analytics workspace delete --name myworkspace`

Metrics¶

Task	AWS CloudWatch	GCP Cloud Monitoring	Azure Monitor
List Metrics	`aws cloudwatch list-metrics`	`gcloud monitoring metrics-descriptors list`	`az monitor metrics list-definitions --resource <resource-id>`
Get Metric Data	`aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics --namespace AWS/EC2 --metric-name CPUUtilization --dimensions Name=InstanceId,Value=i-xxx --start-time 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z --end-time 2024-01-02T00:00:00Z --period 3600 --statistics Average`	`gcloud monitoring time-series list --filter='metric.type="compute.googleapis.com/instance/cpu/utilization"'`	`az monitor metrics list --resource <resource-id> --metric "Percentage CPU"`
Put Custom Metric	`aws cloudwatch put-metric-data --namespace MyApp --metric-name PageViews --value 100`	`gcloud monitoring time-series create --project=PROJECT_ID` (requires JSON payload)	`az monitor metrics` (use Azure Monitor REST API)

Alerts¶

Task	AWS CloudWatch Alarms	GCP Cloud Monitoring Alerts	Azure Monitor Alerts
List Alarms	`aws cloudwatch describe-alarms`	`gcloud alpha monitoring policies list`	`az monitor metrics alert list`
Create Alarm	`aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm --alarm-name high-cpu --metric-name CPUUtilization --namespace AWS/EC2 --statistic Average --period 300 --threshold 80 --comparison-operator GreaterThanThreshold`	`gcloud alpha monitoring policies create --policy-from-file=policy.yaml`	`az monitor metrics alert create --name high-cpu --resource <resource-id> --condition "avg Percentage CPU > 80"`
Delete Alarm	`aws cloudwatch delete-alarms --alarm-names high-cpu`	`gcloud alpha monitoring policies delete POLICY_NAME`	`az monitor metrics alert delete --name high-cpu`

Resource Management¶

Resource Groups/Projects¶

Task	AWS	GCP	Azure
List Projects/Subscriptions	`aws organizations list-accounts`	`gcloud projects list`	`az account list`
Create Resource Group	N/A (resources organized by tags)	`gcloud projects create PROJECT_ID --name="My Project"`	`az group create --name myResourceGroup --location eastus`
Delete Resource Group	N/A	`gcloud projects delete PROJECT_ID`	`az group delete --name myResourceGroup`
List Resources	`aws resourcegroupstaggingapi get-resources`	`gcloud asset search-all-resources`	`az resource list --resource-group myResourceGroup`

Tagging/Labeling¶

Task	AWS Tags	GCP Labels	Azure Tags
Add Tags to Resource	`aws ec2 create-tags --resources i-xxx --tags Key=Environment,Value=Production`	`gcloud compute instances add-labels vm1 --labels=environment=production`	`az resource tag --tags Environment=Production --resource-group myResourceGroup --name vm1 --resource-type Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines`
List Resources by Tag	`aws resourcegroupstaggingapi get-resources --tag-filters Key=Environment,Values=Production`	`gcloud compute instances list --filter="labels.environment=production"`	`az resource list --tag Environment=Production`
Remove Tags	`aws ec2 delete-tags --resources i-xxx --tags Key=Environment`	`gcloud compute instances remove-labels vm1 --labels=environment`	`az resource tag --tags "" --resource-group myResourceGroup --name vm1 --resource-type Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines`

Cost Management¶

Task	AWS	GCP	Azure
Get Cost Report	`aws ce get-cost-and-usage --time-period Start=2024-01-01,End=2024-01-31 --granularity MONTHLY --metrics BlendedCost`	`gcloud billing accounts list` (billing export to BigQuery recommended)	`az consumption usage list --start-date 2024-01-01 --end-date 2024-01-31`
Create Budget	`aws budgets create-budget --account-id <account-id> --budget file://budget.json`	`gcloud billing budgets create --billing-account=<account-id> --display-name="My Budget" --budget-amount=1000`	`az consumption budget create --budget-name myBudget --amount 1000 --category cost`

Regions and Availability¶

Task	AWS	GCP	Azure
List Regions	`aws ec2 describe-regions`	`gcloud compute regions list`	`az account list-locations`
List Availability Zones	`aws ec2 describe-availability-zones`	`gcloud compute zones list`	N/A (uses regions)

Quick Reference: Service Name Mapping¶

Service Type	AWS	GCP	Azure
Compute	EC2	Compute Engine	Virtual Machines
Object Storage	S3	Cloud Storage	Blob Storage
Block Storage	EBS	Persistent Disk	Managed Disks
File Storage	EFS	Filestore	Azure Files
Networking	VPC	VPC	Virtual Network (VNet)
Load Balancer	ELB/ALB/NLB	Cloud Load Balancing	Load Balancer / Application Gateway
CDN	CloudFront	Cloud CDN	Azure CDN
DNS	Route 53	Cloud DNS	Azure DNS
IAM	IAM	Cloud IAM	Azure AD / RBAC
Container Registry	ECR	Container Registry (GCR)	Container Registry (ACR)
Kubernetes	EKS	GKE	AKS
Serverless Functions	Lambda	Cloud Functions	Azure Functions
PaaS	Elastic Beanstalk	App Engine	App Service
Relational DB	RDS	Cloud SQL	SQL Database
NoSQL DB	DynamoDB	Firestore/Datastore	Cosmos DB
Data Warehouse	Redshift	BigQuery	Synapse Analytics
Message Queue	SQS	Cloud Pub/Sub	Service Bus Queue
Pub/Sub Messaging	SNS	Cloud Pub/Sub	Service Bus Topic
Monitoring	CloudWatch	Cloud Monitoring	Azure Monitor
Logging	CloudWatch Logs	Cloud Logging	Azure Monitor Logs
Secret Management	Secrets Manager	Secret Manager	Key Vault
Infrastructure as Code	CloudFormation	Deployment Manager	ARM Templates / Bicep
CI/CD	CodePipeline	Cloud Build	Azure DevOps / Pipelines

Command Syntax Patterns¶

Common Patterns Across Clouds¶

AWS CLI Pattern:

aws <service> <operation> --parameter value

GCP gcloud Pattern:

gcloud <service> <resource> <operation> --flag=value

Azure CLI Pattern:

az <service> <resource> <operation> --parameter value

Filter and Query Patterns¶

AWS (JMESPath):

aws ec2 describe-instances --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].[InstanceId,State.Name]' --output table

GCP (gcloud filters):

gcloud compute instances list --filter="status:RUNNING" --format="table(name,zone,status)"

Azure (JMESPath):

az vm list --query "[?powerState=='VM running'].{Name:name, Location:location}" --output table

Tips for Multi-Cloud Certification¶

Study Strategies¶

Learn One Cloud First: Master one cloud provider deeply, then map concepts to other clouds
Focus on Concepts: Understand the underlying concepts (compute, storage, networking) rather than memorizing commands
Use Comparison Tables: Study service mappings and equivalent commands side-by-side
Hands-On Practice: Create equivalent architectures across all three clouds
Understand Pricing Models: Each cloud has different pricing structures for the same services
Know the Differences: Some services have unique features (e.g., AWS IAM Roles vs GCP Service Accounts vs Azure Service Principals)

Key Differences to Remember¶

Concept	AWS	GCP	Azure
Organizational Unit	Account	Project	Subscription / Resource Group
Default Networking	VPC required	Auto-mode VPC by default	VNet required
Regions/Zones	Regions + Availability Zones	Regions + Zones	Regions (+ Availability Zones in select regions)
CLI Tool	`aws`	`gcloud` + `gsutil`	`az`
Configuration	`~/.aws/credentials`	`~/.config/gcloud`	`~/.azure`
Authentication	Access Keys	OAuth 2.0 / Service Accounts	Azure AD / Service Principals
Pricing Model	Pay-as-you-go	Pay-as-you-go	Pay-as-you-go
Free Tier Duration	12 months	90 days (trial credit)	12 months

Common Certification Topics¶

All three clouds test on these core concepts: - Compute (VMs, containers, serverless) - Storage (object, block, file) - Networking (VPC, subnets, firewalls, load balancers) - Identity and Access Management - Databases (relational and NoSQL) - Monitoring and logging - Cost management - High availability and disaster recovery - Security best practices - Infrastructure as Code

This comparison cheat sheet helps you quickly translate your knowledge from one cloud provider to another, making multi-cloud certification preparation more efficient and effective.