Containerization and Kubernetes for DevOps Course

Lesson 1 • Core Container Concepts

Defines images, containers, layers, and registries as foundational vocabulary. These concepts underpin every subsequent topic in the course.

Lesson 2 • Installing and Configuring Docker

Guides students through Docker Engine installation and daemon configuration. Hands-on setup ensures a working environment for all lab exercises.

Lesson 3 • Linux Primitives Behind Containers

Explains namespaces, cgroups, and capabilities as the kernel features that make containers possible. Understanding these primitives aids debugging and security hardening.

Lesson 4 • Why Containers Exist

Traces the evolution from bare-metal to VMs to containers, explaining the problems each solved. Establishes the motivation for containerisation in modern software delivery.

Lesson 1 • Image Optimisation Techniques

Covers base image selection, layer squashing, and .dockerignore usage to minimise attack surface and pull time. Optimisation is critical for CI/CD pipeline efficiency.

Lesson 2 • Scanning Images for Vulnerabilities

Introduces static image scanning to detect known CVEs before deployment. Integrating scanning into the build process enforces a security-first workflow.

Lesson 3 • Multi-Stage Builds

Demonstrates separating build and runtime stages to eliminate unnecessary artefacts. Students shrink final image size significantly using this technique.

Lesson 4 • Writing Effective Dockerfiles

Teaches Dockerfile syntax, instruction order, and caching behaviour. Proper authoring directly reduces build times and image size.

Lesson 1 • Multi-Container Apps with Docker Compose

Introduces Docker Compose for defining and running multi-service applications declaratively. Compose bridges single-container skills to orchestration concepts introduced later.

Lesson 2 • Container DNS and Service Discovery

Shows how Docker's embedded DNS resolves container names within user-defined networks. Service discovery is the foundation for multi-container application design.

Lesson 3 • Volumes and Bind Mounts

Distinguishes named volumes, anonymous volumes, and bind mounts for persisting data. Students select the right storage type based on use case and portability needs.

Lesson 4 • Docker Networking Models

Explains bridge, host, overlay, and none network drivers and their use cases. Network model choice directly affects container communication and security posture.

Lesson 1 • Control Plane Components

Details the API server, etcd, scheduler, and controller manager roles and interactions. Understanding the control plane is essential for diagnosing cluster-level failures.

Lesson 2 • Interacting with the Cluster via kubectl

Teaches kubectl configuration, context switching, and essential commands for resource inspection. Proficiency with kubectl is the primary operational skill for all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 3 • Core API Objects Overview

Introduces Pods, ReplicaSets, Deployments, Services, and Namespaces as the primary building blocks. Familiarity with these objects is required before deploying any workload.

Lesson 4 • Node Components and the Kubelet

Covers kubelet, kube-proxy, and the container runtime on worker nodes. Node-level knowledge enables troubleshooting workload scheduling and networking issues.

Lesson 1 • Jobs and CronJobs

Covers batch workloads with Jobs and scheduled execution with CronJobs. Students automate one-off and recurring tasks within the cluster.

Lesson 2 • Horizontal and Vertical Pod Autoscaling

Configures HPA based on CPU and custom metrics and introduces VPA for right-sizing containers. Autoscaling ensures efficient resource utilisation under variable load.

Lesson 3 • StatefulSets and DaemonSets

Explains StatefulSets for ordered, identity-preserving workloads and DaemonSets for per-node agents. These controllers address use cases that Deployments cannot handle.

Lesson 4 • Deployment Strategies

Compares RollingUpdate and Recreate strategies and configures maxSurge and maxUnavailable. Strategy selection balances availability requirements against resource constraints.

Lesson 1 • Service Types and Load Balancing

Covers ClusterIP, NodePort, LoadBalancer, and ExternalName Service types and their traffic routing behaviour. Correct Service type selection determines how workloads are reachable.

Lesson 2 • Kubernetes Networking Model

Explains the flat network model, pod-to-pod communication, and CNI plugin role. The networking model is the prerequisite for understanding Services and Ingress.

Lesson 3 • Ingress Controllers and Rules

Deploys an Ingress controller and defines routing rules for host- and path-based traffic. Ingress consolidates external access through a single entry point.

Lesson 4 • Network Policies for Traffic Control

Defines ingress and egress NetworkPolicy rules to restrict pod communication. Network policies enforce least-privilege networking within the cluster.

Lesson 1 • ConfigMaps for Application Configuration

Creates and consumes ConfigMaps as environment variables and mounted files. Externalising configuration enables the same image to run across multiple environments.

Lesson 2 • Persistent Volumes and Claims

Explains the PV/PVC abstraction, access modes, and reclaim policies for durable storage. Decoupling storage provisioning from pod definitions improves portability.

Lesson 3 • Resource Quotas and Limit Ranges

Applies ResourceQuotas and LimitRanges to namespaces to enforce fair resource usage. These controls prevent noisy-neighbour problems in shared clusters.

Lesson 4 • Storage Classes and Dynamic Provisioning

Configures StorageClasses to automate PV creation on demand. Dynamic provisioning eliminates manual storage administration in cloud and on-premises environments.

Lesson 1 • Kubernetes RBAC

Defines Roles, ClusterRoles, and bindings to enforce least-privilege access control. RBAC is the primary authorisation mechanism for all cluster users and service accounts.

Lesson 2 • Logging and Log Aggregation

Covers node-level and sidecar logging patterns and integrates a log aggregation stack. Centralised logs are essential for diagnosing failures in distributed systems.

Lesson 3 • Pod Security and Admission Control

Applies Pod Security Standards and admission webhooks to enforce container hardening policies. Admission control is the last enforcement gate before workloads run.

Lesson 4 • Metrics and Alerting

Deploys Prometheus and Grafana to collect, visualise, and alert on cluster and application metrics. Proactive alerting reduces mean time to detection for production incidents.