Labs Overview¶

This page provides an overview of all 12 lab exercises in the standard learning track. Each lab builds on previous knowledge and includes hands-on, step-by-step instructions.

Lab Summary Table¶

Lab	Name	Duration	Key Topics
00	Environment Setup	30 min	Minikube, kubectl, Helm, Flux, Docker
01	Docker Basics	1-2 hrs	Dockerfile, image building, pushing to registry
02	Kubernetes Pods	1 hr	Pod manifests, labels, resource requests
03	Deployments & Replicas	1.5 hrs	Deployments, scaling, rolling updates
04	Services & Discovery	1 hr	ClusterIP, NodePort, LoadBalancer, DNS
05	ConfigMaps & Secrets	1 hr	Environment configuration, sensitive data
06	Helm Charts	2 hrs	Chart structure, templating, dependencies
07	Multi-Region Setup	1.5 hrs	kind/Minikube clusters, networking, contexts
08	Sidecars & Networking	2 hrs	Sidecar pattern, logging proxy, metrics proxy
09	Flux GitOps	1.5 hrs	Flux installation, HelmRelease, Git sync
10	Observability	2 hrs	Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, alerting
11	Troubleshooting	2 hrs	Debugging pods, networking, logs, events

Tips for Success¶

✅ Do one lab at a time — Don't skip prerequisites
✅ Type the commands — Don't just copy-paste (builds muscle memory)
✅ Try the challenges — Deepens understanding
✅ Break between phases — Process what you've learned
✅ Reference theory modules — Use them while doing labs
✅ Cleanup properly — Keeps your clusters lean

Troubleshooting Labs¶

If you get stuck:

Re-read the lab instructions — Often the answer is there
Check the theory module — Understand the "why"

Inspect resources:

kubectl describe pod <name>
kubectl logs <pod-name>
kubectl get events

Check cluster health:
```
kubectl get nodes
kubectl cluster-info
```
Revert and restart — Use cleanup commands and start over

Next Steps¶

Ready to get started?

Lab 00: Environment Setup ← Start here
Theory 01: DevOps Fundamentals ← Read first
Lab 01: Docker Basics ← Then do this