Operate hosts individually
Host A → web-1 Host B → web-2 Host C → api Who replaces a failed instance?
Placement, recovery, service discovery and rollout logic become operator responsibilities.
DevOps · Orchestration · Kubernetes 1.37
Kubernetes Fundamentals
Move from running containers on one host to operating workloads through a declarative cluster API. The course contains 14 complete modules, a guided lab in every module, a multi-tier capstone and a 35-minute randomized assessment.
Start with the problem
Containers need coordination when one host is no longer enough.
Kubernetes adds a declarative API, reconciliation, placement, service discovery, rollout, health and storage abstractions around containerized workloads. The course explains why each abstraction exists before introducing its YAML.
Declare desired state
Deployment: replicas=3 Service: app=web Probe: /health PVC: 1Gi
Controllers continuously reconcile the declared state while the platform provides stable discovery and workload lifecycle control.
Architecture in one minute
kubectl → API server → desired state → controllers/scheduler → kubelet.
CLIENTkubectl / API clients
APICONTROL PLANEAPI server · etcd · scheduler · controllers
ASSIGNNODESkubelet · container runtime · Pods
The course targets stable core Kubernetes APIs and is aligned to the actively supported Kubernetes 1.37 release line. Labs remain portable to normal conformant clusters rather than depending on experimental features.
Course modules
Understand the control loop, then operate the workloads.
Every module includes objectives, conceptual explanation, working manifests/commands, an end-to-end lab, expected results, troubleshooting guidance and a knowledge check.
01
Why Kubernetes? Architecture and the control loop
Understand why orchestration exists and how the API server, etcd, scheduler, controllers and kubelets cooperate to reconcile desired state.
Open module →02kubectl, kubeconfig and namespaces
Use kubectl safely, understand contexts, and isolate course resources in a namespace rather than operating in the default namespace by accident.
Open module →03Pods: lifecycle, logs and exec
Work with the smallest deployable Kubernetes object and learn how Pod phase, container state, logs and exec fit together.
Open module →04Labels, selectors and annotations
Use metadata to organize resources and understand how controllers and Services find the objects they manage or route to.
Open module →05Deployments, ReplicaSets, rollouts and scaling
Manage replicated stateless applications declaratively and practice scaling, rollout observation and rollback-safe thinking.
Open module →06Services, DNS and cluster networking
Give changing Pods a stable network identity and understand ClusterIP, selectors, endpoints and in-cluster DNS.
Open module →07ConfigMaps and Secrets
Separate environment-specific configuration and sensitive values from container images, while understanding the security limits of Kubernetes Secrets.
Open module →08Requests, limits, basic scheduling and QoS
Understand how requests influence scheduling, how limits constrain containers, and how selectors/taints affect placement decisions.
Open module →09Liveness, readiness and startup probes
Separate process health from traffic readiness and use probes so Kubernetes can restart unhealthy containers and remove unready Pods from Service endpoints.
Open module →10Persistent storage: PVs, PVCs and StorageClasses
Move application data out of ephemeral container filesystems and understand the claim/provision/bind lifecycle used by Kubernetes storage.
Open module →11Jobs and CronJobs
Run finite work to completion and schedule recurring work without forcing batch tasks into long-running Deployment semantics.
Open module →12ServiceAccounts, RBAC and workload security basics
Introduce least privilege for API access and safer container execution using ServiceAccounts, Roles/Bindings and securityContext.
Open module →13Troubleshooting Pending Pods, crashes and Service failures
Use a repeatable evidence-first workflow instead of guessing: get state, describe events, inspect logs, validate selectors/endpoints and then change one cause at a time.
Open module →14Capstone: deploy, expose, persist and operate an application
Combine namespace-scoped configuration, Deployments, Services, probes, resource controls, a PVC, service discovery and operational verification into one reproducible project.
Open module →Prerequisites
Docker fundamentals are strongly recommended.
You should understand Linux command-line basics, containers, ports and persistent storage. The course teaches Kubernetes YAML and kubectl from the beginning.
Linux basics
Required. Labs use shell commands, files, processes and networking terminology.
Docker fundamentals
Strongly recommended. Kubernetes orchestrates containers; understanding images, ports and volumes makes the abstractions much easier.
Lab cluster
Use an existing non-production cluster or the included validator, which can create an isolated kind v1.37 cluster.
Knowledge assessment
Prove you can reason about Kubernetes behavior.
The assessment selects 30 questions from an 84-question bank covering architecture/API, Pods/metadata, workloads/scaling, Services/networking, configuration/security, storage/resources, health and troubleshooting. Pass mark: 75%. Time limit: 35 minutes.
14 MODULES→30 RANDOM QUESTIONS · 35 MIN→PASS ≥ 75%→OPTIONAL CERTIFICATION
Maximum two attempts per 24 hours. Learning and assessment are free. A passing result enables the optional ₹499 GST-inclusive Certificate of Successful Completion pathway.
Course capstone
Deploy, expose, persist and recover a multi-tier application.
Module 14 combines a ConfigMap-backed nginx web tier, Redis, Services, readiness probes, resource controls and a PVC. Learners replace the Redis Pod and prove that its data survives.
Config→Deployments→Services→Health→PVC→Recovery