devops-interview-handbook

DevOps Learning Resources

Books

Linux & System Administration

• “The Linux Command Line” by William Shotts
  • Free online, comprehensive Linux guide
  • Link
• “UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook” by Evi Nemeth
  • Comprehensive system administration reference
  • Covers all major Linux distributions

Cloud Computing

• “AWS Well-Architected Framework” (Free)
  • Best practices for building on AWS
  • Link
• “The Phoenix Project” by Gene Kim
  • DevOps culture and practices
  • Great for understanding DevOps mindset
• “The DevOps Handbook” by Gene Kim
  • Practical DevOps implementation guide

Kubernetes

• “Kubernetes: Up and Running” by Kelsey Hightower
  • Hands-on Kubernetes guide
  • Written by Kubernetes expert
• “The Kubernetes Book” by Nigel Poulton
  • Comprehensive Kubernetes reference

Infrastructure as Code

• “Terraform: Up and Running” by Yevgeniy Brikman
  • Practical Terraform guide
  • Real-world examples

General DevOps

• “Site Reliability Engineering” by Google
  • Free online book
  • SRE practices and principles
  • Link

Online Courses

Platforms

Udemy

• Wide variety of DevOps courses
• Often on sale
• Lifetime access

Pluralsight

• High-quality courses
• Learning paths
• Hands-on labs

A Cloud Guru / Linux Academy

• Cloud-focused courses
• AWS, Azure, GCP
• Hands-on labs

KodeKloud

• Kubernetes and DevOps courses
• Hands-on labs
• Practice exams

Recommended Courses

AWS

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect (A Cloud Guru)
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer (Linux Academy)

Kubernetes

• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) (KodeKloud)
• Kubernetes the Hard Way (Kelsey Hightower)

Terraform

• Terraform Associate Certification (A Cloud Guru)
• Terraform Deep Dive (Udemy)

Docker

• Docker Mastery (Udemy)
• Docker Deep Dive (Pluralsight)

CI/CD

• GitLab CI/CD (GitLab official)
• GitHub Actions (GitHub official)

Certifications

AWS Certifications

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (Entry level)
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional

Resources:

• AWS Training and Certification
• A Cloud Guru
• Linux Academy
• AWS Documentation

Kubernetes Certifications

• CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator)
• CKAD (Certified Kubernetes Application Developer)
• CKS (Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist)

Resources:

• CNCF Training
• KodeKloud
• Kubernetes.io official docs

HashiCorp Certifications

• HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate
• HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate

Resources:

• HashiCorp Learn
• Official documentation

Linux Certifications

• LPIC-1 (Linux Professional Institute)
• RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer)

Resources:

• Linux Academy
• Red Hat Training

Documentation & Official Resources

Cloud Providers

• AWS Documentation: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/
• Google Cloud Documentation: https://cloud.google.com/docs
• Azure Documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/

Tools

• Kubernetes: https://kubernetes.io/docs/
• Terraform: https://www.terraform.io/docs
• Docker: https://docs.docker.com/
• Ansible: https://docs.ansible.com/
• Jenkins: https://www.jenkins.io/doc/
• GitLab CI: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/
• GitHub Actions: https://docs.github.com/en/actions

Hands-on Practice Platforms

Cloud Labs

• AWS Free Tier: https://aws.amazon.com/free/
  • 12 months free, always free tier
  • Practice with real AWS services
• Google Cloud Free Tier: https://cloud.google.com/free
  • $300 credit for 90 days
  • Always free tier
• Azure Free Account: https://azure.microsoft.com/free/
  • $200 credit for 30 days
  • Always free services

Kubernetes Practice

• Play with Kubernetes: https://labs.play-with-k8s.com/
  • Free Kubernetes playground
  • No setup required
• minikube: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/
  • Local Kubernetes cluster
  • Great for learning
• kind (Kubernetes in Docker): https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/
  • Lightweight local Kubernetes
  • Fast startup

Coding Practice

• HackerRank: DevOps challenges
• LeetCode: System design problems
• Exercism: Practice with mentors

YouTube Channels

• TechWorld with Nana
  • DevOps tutorials
  • Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD
• Bret Fisher
  • Docker and containerization
  • Live streams and Q&A
• Kubernetes
  • Official Kubernetes channel
  • Conference talks, tutorials
• AWS
  • Official AWS channel
  • Webinars, tutorials, announcements
• HashiCorp
  • Terraform, Vault tutorials
  • Conference talks

Blogs & Articles

DevOps Blogs

• DevOps.com: News and articles
• The New Stack: Cloud-native articles
• InfoQ: Architecture and DevOps articles
• Medium: DevOps tag (many great articles)

Company Blogs

• AWS Blog: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/
• Google Cloud Blog: https://cloud.google.com/blog
• Kubernetes Blog: https://kubernetes.io/blog/

Communities & Forums

Reddit

• r/devops: General DevOps discussion
• r/aws: AWS-specific
• r/kubernetes: Kubernetes discussion
• r/terraform: Terraform discussion

Slack Communities

• Kubernetes Slack: kubernetes.slack.com
• DevOps Chat: devopschat.slack.com
• AWS Community: awscommunity.slack.com

Discord

• DevOps Discord: Various servers
• Cloud Native Discord: CNCF community

Stack Overflow

• Ask and answer questions
• Great for troubleshooting
• Tag: devops, aws, kubernetes, terraform

Podcasts

• Arrested DevOps
  • DevOps culture and practices
  • Interviews with experts
• The Changelog
  • Open source and software development
  • DevOps episodes
• Kubernetes Podcast
  • Official Kubernetes podcast
  • News and interviews

GitHub Repositories

Learning Resources

• awesome-devops: Curated DevOps resources
• kubernetes-the-hard-way: Kelsey Hightower’s guide
• terraform-aws-modules: Terraform examples
• kubernetes-examples: Kubernetes examples

Practice Projects

• DevOps Exercises: Practice scenarios
• Infrastructure as Code Examples: Various IaC examples

Conferences

Major Conferences

• KubeCon + CloudNativeCon
  • Kubernetes and cloud-native
  • Recordings available online
• AWS re:Invent
  • AWS conference
  • Recordings available
• DevOps World
  • General DevOps conference

Local Meetups

• Meetup.com: Find local DevOps meetups
• DevOpsDays: Regional DevOpsDays events

Practice Exams

AWS

• AWS Practice Exams (A Cloud Guru, Whizlabs)
• AWS Sample Questions (Official AWS site)

Kubernetes

• CKA Practice Exams (KodeKloud, Killer.sh)
• CKAD Practice Exams (KodeKloud)

Terraform

• Terraform Practice Exams (A Cloud Guru)

Tools to Install & Practice

Essential Tools

• Docker: Containerization
• kubectl: Kubernetes CLI
• terraform: Infrastructure as Code
• ansible: Configuration management
• git: Version control
• AWS CLI: AWS management
• jq: JSON processing
• yq: YAML processing

Development Environment

• VS Code: Editor with DevOps extensions
• WSL2 (Windows): Linux environment
• Homebrew (Mac): Package manager

Study Strategies

Active Learning

1. Read → Practice → Build
   • Don’t just read, practice immediately
   • Build projects to reinforce learning
2. Teach Others
   • Explain concepts to others
   • Write blog posts
   • Answer questions on forums
3. Hands-on Labs
   • Use practice platforms
   • Build real projects
   • Break things and fix them

Spaced Repetition

• Review material regularly
• Use flashcards (Anki)
• Revisit topics periodically

Project-Based Learning

• Build complete projects
• Solve real problems
• Document your work
• Share on GitHub

Free Resources Summary

Completely Free

• AWS Free Tier (12 months)
• Kubernetes documentation
• Terraform documentation
• Linux Command Line book
• Play with Kubernetes
• minikube/kind
• GitHub (free repositories)
• Stack Overflow
• YouTube tutorials
• Official documentation

Free Trials

• A Cloud Guru (7-day trial)
• Pluralsight (10-day trial)
• KodeKloud (limited free content)

Creating Your Learning Plan

1. Assess Current Level: Use checklists in this handbook
2. Set Goals: What role/certification?
3. Choose Resources: Mix of books, courses, practice
4. Schedule Time: Regular study time
5. Track Progress: Keep notes, check off items
6. Practice Regularly: Hands-on is essential
7. Join Communities: Ask questions, share knowledge
8. Build Portfolio: GitHub projects, blog posts

Tips for Using Resources

1. Don’t Overwhelm Yourself: Pick 2-3 resources, focus
2. Practice > Reading: Hands-on is more valuable
3. Official Docs First: Start with official documentation
4. Community Help: Don’t hesitate to ask questions
5. Regular Review: Revisit material periodically
6. Build Projects: Apply what you learn
7. Stay Updated: DevOps changes fast, stay current

Recommended Learning Path

Beginner

1. Linux basics (book + practice)
2. AWS basics (free tier + documentation)
3. Docker (official docs + practice)
4. Basic CI/CD (GitHub Actions/GitLab CI)

Intermediate

1. Kubernetes (official docs + minikube)
2. Terraform (official docs + practice)
3. Advanced CI/CD
4. Monitoring basics

Advanced

1. Advanced Kubernetes
2. Multi-cloud strategies
3. Security and compliance
4. Architecture design
5. Certifications

Remember: The best resource is consistent practice. Pick resources that work for you and stick with them! 🚀

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