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DevOps Resources

3 min read

Learning DevOps can be overwhelming because it is not just a single tool, but a combination of culture, practices, and a vast toolchain.

Here is a curated list of the best resources, categorized by how you prefer to learn (visual, reading, or hands-on).

1. The “Big Picture” (Start Here)

Before diving into tools, you need to understand the path.

  • Roadmap.sh/devops: This is the industry standard for visualizing what to learn. It breaks down the DevOps journey step-by-step (Linux → Coding → Networking → Cloud → Containers, etc.).

2. Best Video Courses & YouTube Channels

  • TechWorld with Nana: Widely considered the best free resource for beginners. She explains complex concepts (Kubernetes, Docker, Jenkins) with excellent visuals.
  • KodeKloud: (Paid, but worth it) Unlike standard video courses, KodeKloud provides browser-based terminal labs. You watch a video, then immediately solve a challenge in a real environment.
  • FreeCodeCamp (YouTube): They have massive, 10+ hour “zero to hero” courses on specific topics like “DevOps Engineering,” “Linux,” and “AWS.”
  • Specific Udemy Instructors:
    • Stephane Maarek: Best for AWS/Cloud certifications.
    • Bret Fisher: Best for Docker and Kubernetes.
    • Mumshad Mannambeth: Best for Ansible and Kubernetes (CKA/CKAD exams).

3. Essential Books (Culture & Theory)

DevOps is 50% technical and 50% cultural. You need to read these to understand why we do DevOps.

  • The Phoenix Project: A novel (fiction) about an IT manager trying to save a failing project. It reads like a thriller but teaches you the core philosophy of DevOps. Highly recommended first read.
  • The DevOps Handbook: The non-fiction follow-up to The Phoenix Project. It is the practical “how-to” manual.
  • Google SRE Books: Google has made their Site Reliability Engineering books free to read online. This is advanced material on how to run massive-scale systems.

4. Interactive & Hands-On Labs

You cannot learn DevOps just by reading; you must break things in a terminal.

  • Killercoda: Free browser-based environments to play with Kubernetes and Linux.
  • Play with Docker: A simple, free sandbox to practice Docker commands.
  • AWS Free Tier / Azure Free Account: Sign up for a cloud provider. You will eventually need to deploy code to a real server. (Set up billing alerts immediately so you don’t get charged!).

5. The “Must-Know” Tech Stack

If you are building your own curriculum, focus on these tools in this order:

  1. Linux: Learn the command line (Bash scripting).
  2. Version Control: Git & GitHub.
  3. Language: Python or Go (for automation).
  4. Containers: Docker.
  5. Orchestration: Kubernetes (K8s).
  6. Infrastructure as Code: Terraform.
  7. CI/CD: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI.
  8. Monitoring: Prometheus & Grafana.

6. Newsletters & Community

  • DevOps Weekly: A curated email list of the best articles of the week.
  • r/devops: The Reddit community is very active and helpful for career advice and troubleshooting.

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