Looking to learn DevOps? Check out these 20 beginner-friendly project ideas

Avoid feeling overwhelmed and gain hands-on experience

Hey there 👋 - Amrut here!

Happy Saturday!

In today’s newsletter issue, I will give you 20 ideas to use immediately to build projects to learn DevOps as a beginner. Toward the end, I will share an important piece of advice and the only learning resource you need.

Learning DevOps can be overwhelming.

With so many resources and tools available to learn DevOps, it can be easy to get distracted, lose focus, and feel like you are not making progress.

However, as you already know by now, I have been big on focusing on skills and learning by doing.

And the best way to master any skill is by practice.

The project ideas below will help you master the fundamental concepts of DevOps and acquire hands-on experience. Each project idea mentioned covers key concepts you need to learn

Here are 20 project ideas you can choose from to get started:

1. Containerize a web application using Docker

   Build a simple web application and containerize it using Docker. Learn about containerization, Dockerfile, and Docker Compose.

2. Set up a Continuous Integration and Delivery pipeline using Jenkins

   Create a simple CI/CD pipeline using Jenkins and learn about building, testing, and deploying code.

   Understand the fundamental steps that are part of a pipeline, such as code, build, test, and deploy.

3. Automate infrastructure deployment using Ansible

   Use Ansible to automate the deployment of a web application and learn about playbooks, roles, and modules.

4. Implement continuous delivery using GitLab

   Implement a continuous delivery pipeline using GitLab and learn about pipelines, runners, and GitOps.

5. Deploy an application to Kubernetes

   Deploy an application to Kubernetes and learn about concepts like containers, pods, services, and deployments.

6. Set up monitoring using Prometheus and Grafana

   Use Prometheus and Grafana to monitor a web application and learn about metrics, alerting, and visualization.

7. Automate infrastructure provisioning using Terraform

   Use Terraform to automate infrastructure provisioning and learn about infrastructure as code, modules, and providers.

8. Build a serverless application using AWS Lambda

   Build a serverless application using AWS Lambda and learn about event-driven architectures, API Gateway, and DynamoDB.

9. Set up a Continuous Deployment pipeline using GitHub Actions

   Create a Continuous Deployment pipeline using GitHub Actions and learn about workflows, actions, and secrets.

10. Deploy a multi-tier web application using Docker Swarm

    Deploy a multi-tier web application using Docker Swarm and learn about service discovery, load balancing, and scaling.

11. Implement configuration management using Puppet

    Use Puppet to manage configuration and learn about manifests, modules, and roles.

12. Set up a logging infrastructure using ELK Stack

    Use the ELK Stack to set up a centralized logging infrastructure and learn about log aggregation, indexing, and visualization.

13. Implement infrastructure monitoring using Nagios

    Use Nagios to monitor infrastructure and learn about plugins, checks, and notifications.

14. Use Jenkins to manage infrastructure as code

    Use Jenkins to manage infrastructure as code and learn about the Jenkins Job DSL, Groovy scripts, and configuration files.

15. Implement database automation using Ansible

    Use Ansible to automate database management and learn about Ansible playbooks for database automation.

16. Use Vagrant to set up a development environment

    Use Vagrant to set up a development environment and learn about creating, managing, and sharing development environments.

17. Use GitOps to manage Kubernetes clusters

    Use GitOps to manage Kubernetes clusters and learn about GitOps principles, tools, and workflows.

18. Set up load balancing using HAProxy

    Use HAProxy to set up load balancing for web applications and learn about load balancing algorithms, health checks, and SSL termination.

19. Implement security automation using Ansible

    Use Ansible to automate patch management, compliance, and hardening security tasks.

20. Automate infrastructure provisioning using AWS CloudFormation

    Learn how to provision resources and automate infrastructure management using CloudFormation, an infrastructure-as-code service offered by AWS

Learning Resource

The GitHub repository below is the best learning resource to master different aspects of DevOps. You can refer to this as a guide while working on the project ideas.

GitHub - milanm/DevOps-Roadmap: DevOps Roadmap for 2023. with learning resources

DevOps Roadmap for 2023. with learning resources. Contribute to milanm/DevOps-Roadmap development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com/milanm/DevOps-Roadmap

My advice

DevOps is one of the highest skills in demand in 2023.

As you build these projects, focus on why each tool is used and how it solves your problems.

Knowing when to use which tool is vital as you gain hands-on experience. This is what will differentiate you from the herd.

Remember to take breaks, practice regularly and share your learnings online via technical blogs.

Learning DevOps takes time and effort, but you can become proficient with dedication and persistence.

Thanks for reading!

Until next week,

Amrut

Thanks for reading this issue.

Drop me a note about what topics you want me to cover. I read every single email myself!

And let me know what you think about this issue. Comments, praise, criticism, feedback & suggestions are all welcome.

This will be a fun journey together, and I would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to share this newsletter with your friends, family, or anyone you think needs to know.