DevOps and cloud

Steps

Foundations

1. 1 Linux and the command lineGet comfortable with the shell, files, processes and permissions, since almost every server, container and pipeline runs on Linux.

   • The Linux Command Line (William Shotts) linuxcommand.orgfree

     A comprehensive free learning resource and complete textbook introducing shell scripting and Linux system administration.

   • The Missing Semester of Your CS Education missing.csail.mit.edufree

     Free practical computer science course by MIT teaching shell tools, editors, version control, and computing environment mastery.

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2. 2 Version control with GitLearn commits, branches, merges and remotes well, because every automated pipeline starts from a change pushed to a repository.

   • Git Documentation & Pro Git Book git-scm.comfree

     Official comprehensive documentation manual, tutorials, and full online text of the Pro Git book.

   • A Successful Git Branching Model nvie.comfree

     Influential essay describing the Git Flow branching strategy, with develop, feature, release and hotfix branches for managing versioned software releases.

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3. 3 How operating systems work (optional)Study processes, memory, isolation and virtualization so containers and virtual machines stop feeling like magic.

   • Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces (OSTEP) pages.cs.wisc.edufree

     A free online textbook by Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau and Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau covering virtualization, concurrency, and persistence.

   • QEMU Documentation qemu.orgfree

     Official documentation for QEMU, the open-source machine emulator and virtualiser, covering system emulation, invocation options and device configuration.

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Containers

1. 4 Running your first containersPackage an application with its dependencies into an image and run it the same way on any machine.

   • Docker Docs docs.docker.comfree

     Official Docker documentation with manuals, guides and references for building, running and networking containers with Docker Engine, Compose and related tools.

   • Podman docs.podman.iofree

     Daemonless open source container engine for building, running and managing OCI containers and pods, offering a Docker-compatible command line.

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2. 5 Images, layers and registriesUnderstand image layers, the open container standards and public registries, so you can build small images and share them safely.

   • Open Container Initiative opencontainers.orgfree

     Linux Foundation project that maintains open industry specifications for container image formats, runtimes and distribution, with documentation of each standard.

   • Docker Hub hub.docker.comfreemium

     World's largest repository and registry database of container images for development environments and application runtimes.

   • Docker Internals docker-saigon.github.iofree

     Long-form technical explainer of how Docker builds on Linux kernel features such as namespaces, cgroups, layered storage and networking, for engineers who want to understand containers in depth.

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3. 6 Build a container runtime yourself (optional)Recreate namespaces, cgroups and chroot by hand to see exactly which Linux features a container engine combines.

   • Rubber Docker github.comfree

     Hands-on workshop that guides participants through rebuilding a minimal Docker-like container runtime in Python to learn the Linux primitives behind containers.

   • runc github.comfree

     Command-line tool that spawns and runs containers according to the OCI runtime specification, serving as the low-level runtime beneath Docker and other platforms.

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Automation and delivery

1. 7 Continuous integration and deliveryAutomate building, testing and releasing every change, so integration problems surface within minutes instead of at release time.

   • Martin Fowler's Bliki martinfowler.comfree

     An influential software engineering blog providing in-depth analysis of programming practices, testing, and agile principles.

   • Jenkins jenkins.iofree

     Open-source automation server providing hundreds of plugins to build, test, and deploy software across CI/CD pipelines.

   • Continuous Delivery Foundation Educational Guides cd.foundationfree

     Best practices, architecture patterns, and specifications for CI/CD pipelines, automation, and software supply chains.

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2. 8 Configuration managementDescribe server setup as repeatable code instead of manual steps, so any machine can be rebuilt to a known state.

   • Ansible redhat.comfree

     Open source automation engine that configures systems, deploys software and orchestrates tasks over SSH using readable YAML playbooks, without agents on managed hosts.

   • Salt Project saltproject.iofree

     Open source configuration management and remote execution framework used to automate the provisioning and state of servers and infrastructure at scale.

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3. 9 Infrastructure as codeDeclare networks, machines and cloud services in versioned files, review them like code and apply them predictably.

   • Terraform github.comfree

     Infrastructure as code tool that defines cloud and on-premises resources in declarative configuration files and plans and applies changes to them safely.

   • Terraform Best Practices on Google Cloud docs.cloud.google.comfree

     Google Cloud guide to structuring and styling Terraform configurations, covering module layout, naming and conventions for teams managing infrastructure as code.

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4. 10 Reproducible development environments (optional)Pin tools and dependencies so every developer and every pipeline runs exactly the same environment.

   • Nix Learning Guides nix.devfree

     Official tutorials and beginner-friendly guides for configuring reproducible development environments and shells with Nix.

   • Development Container Specification containers.devfree

     Open specification defining how to configure and enrich containerized developer environments across varied tools and platforms.

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Cloud and orchestration

1. 11 KubernetesLearn pods, deployments and services to run many containers across a cluster with scaling, rollouts and self-healing.

   • Kubernetes Documentation kubernetes.iofree

     Official guide and reference documentation for container orchestration, cluster architecture, and distributed service management.

   • Kubernetes Blog kubernetes.iofree

     Official blog highlighting architectural patterns, release features, and technical updates from the Kubernetes distributed computing ecosystem.

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2. 12 Managed cloud platformsCompare serverless containers and reference architectures to decide how much infrastructure you actually want to operate yourself.

   • Cloud Run Documentation docs.cloud.google.comfree

     Google Cloud documentation for Cloud Run, a managed platform for running containers, covering deployment from source, the container contract and configuration.

   • Cloud Architecture Center docs.cloud.google.comfree

     Google Cloud collection of reference architectures, design guides and best practices for building reliable, secure and scalable systems in the cloud.

   • AWS Architecture Blog aws.amazon.comfree

     Technical articles, best practices, and patterns for building scalable, resilient distributed applications on cloud infrastructure.

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3. 13 Monitoring and error trackingCollect errors and performance data from production so problems are noticed and diagnosed before users report them.

   • Sentry sentry.iofreemium

     Developer-focused application monitoring and error tracking platform helping engineers diagnose and fix crashes in real time.

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4. 14 Distributed systems thinking (optional)Study replication, partitioning and failure modes, the ideas underneath every cloud service you deploy to.

   • Designing Data-Intensive Applications dataintensive.netpaid

     An authoritative guide by Martin Kleppmann exploring principles of distributed databases, stream processing, and storage systems.

   • Distributed Systems distributed-systems.netfree

     A free online textbook by Maarten van Steen and Andrew S. Tanenbaum covering principles and paradigms of distributed computing.

   I finished this step