🚀 Complete Kubernetes Learning Path

Welcome to my comprehensive Kubernetes guide series! This collection covers everything from basics to production-ready deployments. Follow the guides in order for a structured learning path, or jump to specific topics as needed.

📚 Learning Path

🎯 Fundamentals (Start Here)

  1. Kubernetes Pods - Complete Guide
    Master the fundamental building blocks of Kubernetes

    • Creating pods (imperative & declarative)
    • Pod lifecycle and troubleshooting
    • Best practices for production

  2. Kubernetes Deployments Mastery
    Learn to manage application deployments at scale

    • Scaling and rolling updates
    • Rollback strategies
    • Zero-downtime deployments

  3. Kubernetes Services Deep Dive
    Understand networking and service discovery

    • ClusterIP, NodePort, LoadBalancer
    • Service discovery and DNS
    • Production networking patterns

🔧 Configuration & Storage

  1. Kubernetes Configuration Management
    Manage application configuration securely

    • ConfigMaps for configuration
    • Secrets for sensitive data
    • Security best practices

  2. Kubernetes Storage Mastery
    Implement persistent storage for stateful applications

    • Persistent Volumes and Claims
    • Storage Classes and dynamic provisioning
    • StatefulSets for databases

🎛️ Advanced Scheduling & Workloads

  1. Kubernetes Advanced Scheduling
    Control pod placement with precision

    • Node Affinity and Pod Affinity
    • Taints and Tolerations
    • Production scheduling patterns

  2. Kubernetes DaemonSets and Jobs
    Run specialized workloads

    • DaemonSets for node-level services
    • Jobs for batch processing
    • CronJobs for scheduled tasks

🏥 Reliability & Monitoring

  1. Kubernetes Health Probes
    Ensure application reliability

    • Liveness, Readiness, Startup probes
    • Automatic failure recovery
    • Production health check patterns

  2. Kubernetes Monitoring with Prometheus & Grafana
    Implement comprehensive monitoring

    • Prometheus metrics collection
    • Grafana dashboards
    • Alerting and observability

🌐 Networking & Ingress

  1. Kubernetes Ingress Guide
    Expose applications with advanced HTTP routing
    • Ingress controllers (NGINX)
    • Path and host-based routing
    • TLS/SSL termination

🛠️ Tools & Cluster Setup

  1. Helm: The Kubernetes Package Manager
    Simplify application deployment

    • Helm charts and repositories
    • Creating custom charts
    • Managing releases

  2. Kubernetes Cluster Setup with Kind
    Build local Kubernetes clusters

    • Kind cluster setup
    • Multi-node configurations
    • Development best practices

  3. Kubernetes Commands Cheatsheet
    Quick reference for daily operations

    • Essential kubectl commands
    • Troubleshooting workflows
    • Productivity tips

🎓 Learning Tips

For Beginners:

  • Start with Pods → Deployments → Services
  • Practice each concept in minikube
  • Complete hands-on exercises

For Intermediate Users:

  • Focus on Configuration, Storage, and Scheduling
  • Implement health probes in your applications
  • Learn Helm for package management

For Advanced Users:

  • Master production cluster setup
  • Implement monitoring and observability
  • Study advanced scheduling and networking

📊 Quick Navigation by Topic

By Use Case

  • Running Applications: Pods, Deployments, Services
  • Data Persistence: Storage, StatefulSets
  • Configuration: ConfigMaps, Secrets
  • Scheduling: Node Affinity, Taints/Tolerations
  • Batch Processing: Jobs, CronJobs
  • Monitoring: Health Probes, Prometheus/Grafana
  • Networking: Services, Ingress
  • Package Management: Helm
  • Cluster Setup: Kind Cluster Setup

By Difficulty

  • Beginner: Pods, Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps
  • Intermediate: Storage, Health Probes, Ingress, Helm
  • Advanced: Advanced Scheduling, DaemonSets, Production Setup, Monitoring

🔗 Additional Resources

💡 Have Questions?

Feel free to reach out via my social links or open an issue on GitHub!

Happy Learning! 🚀

Last Updated: January 13, 2025
Total Guides: 13 | Estimated Learning Time: 20-30 hours