The following are some of the key concepts and terminologies that you ought to keep in mind when working with AWS Config:

• Config rules: Config rules form the heart of operations at AWS Config. These are essentially rules that represent the desired configuration settings for a particular AWS resource. While the service monitors your resources for any changes, these changes get mapped to one or more set of config rules, that in turn flag the resource against any non-compliances. AWS Config provides you with some rules out of the box that you can use as-is or even customize as per your requirements. Alternatively, you can also create custom rules completely from scratch.
• Configuration items: Configuration items are basically a point-in-time representation of a particular AWS resource's configuration. The item can include various metadata about your resource, such as its current configuration attributes, and its relationships with other AWS resources, if any, its events, such as when it was created, last updated, and so on. Configuration items are created by AWS Config automatically each time it detects a change in a particular resource's configuration.
• Configuration history: A collection of configuration items of a resource over a particular period of time is called its configuration history. You can use this feature to compare the changes that a resource may undergo overtime, and then decide to take necessary actions. Configuration history is stored in an Amazon S3 bucket that you specify.
• Configuration snapshot: A configuration snapshot is also a collection of configuration items of a particular resource over time. This snapshot acts as a template or benchmark that can then be used to compare and validate your resource's current configurational settings.

With this in mind, let's look at some simple steps which allow you to get started with your own AWS Config setup in a matter of minutes!