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World A1: Renting a Unit

Regions and Availability Zones

You will learn: where AWS keeps its computers, and how to switch on the Malaysia Region.

Checked with AWS 2026-11 on 1 Nov 2026

The problem

Kedai Kancil’s shoppers live in Kuala Lumpur. AWS has malls all over the world. Which mall should the shop rent in?

Watch

Each city mall is a Region. Inside, the mall has wings, each with its own power and cooling. A wing is an Availability Zone (AZ): One wing of the mall, with its own power and cooling. If one wing fails, the others keep going. (AZ). Sort these.

Drag a card into a box. Or tap the card, then tap the box.

      Watch

      Some malls are shut until you ask. Malaysia is an opt-in Region: newer Regions start switched off. Pick the true sentence.

      Try it

      Build the command that switches on the Malaysia Region.

      Tap the pieces in the right order.

      …

      Watch

      bash
      aws account enable-region --region-name ap-southeast-5
      aws account get-region-opt-status --region-name ap-southeast-5
      {
      "RegionName": "ap-southeast-5",
      "RegionOptStatus": "ENABLING"
      }

      No output means it worked. The second command asks how it is going: ENABLING. Ask again later until it says ENABLED.

      Predict

      Kedai Kancil runs its shop in two wings. One wing loses power. What do shoppers see?

      Check

      Good plan, or needs work? Swipe each one.

      Swipe right for good, left for needs work. Or use the buttons.

      1 / 4

      Pick the Region closest to your shoppers.

      You did it!

      You can now pick a Region, spread over AZs, and switch on Malaysia.

      Go deeper (optional)

      The letter in ap-southeast-5a is a name. The AZ ID (apse5-az1) is the real place, the same in every account. In some old Regions, older accounts get their letters shuffled.

      Prices differ between Regions. Some services reach new Regions later, so check the service page first.

      Real rep: wait for lesson 5. Set your budget alarm before you touch any Region.