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Welcome to PCF Learning Hub

Master Pivotal Cloud Foundry and cf4k8s with this comprehensive hands-on learning guide designed for advanced cloud developers.

Why This Guide?

You're an advanced cloud developer. You understand AWS, Azure, GCP. You know containers, orchestration, PaaS models.

But PCF is different.

This guide isn't about teaching you cloud basics—it's about showing you how PCF approaches the platform layer differently, what unique value it brings, and how to leverage it locally with cf4k8s.

What You'll Learn

  • PCF Architecture: How Cloud Foundry structures applications, services, and infrastructure
  • Real Deployment Patterns: Blue-green deployments, canary releases, service discovery
  • PCF vs Others: Strategic differences between PCF and AWS/Azure/GCP
  • Hands-On Experience: 6 progressive labs using cf4k8s locally
  • Production Patterns: Security, monitoring, scaling, and resource management

Quick Navigation

=== "New to PCF?" Start here: Introduction → Learning Path

=== "Coming from AWS/Azure/GCP?" Jump to: PCF vs Cloud Providers

=== "Ready to Code?" Start labs: Lab 1: Deploy First App

=== "Need Setup Help?" Follow: Local Setup Guide

Learning Path Overview

graph TD
    A["Start: Introduction & Overview"] --> B["Foundations Review"]
    B --> C["Core PCF Concepts"]
    C --> D["Local Setup cf4k8s"]
    D --> E["Hands-On Labs 1-3"]
    E --> F["Deployment Patterns"]
    F --> G["Advanced Topics"]
    G --> H["Labs 4-6"]
    H --> I["Mastery!"]

    C -.-> J["Compare with Cloud Providers"]
    J -.-> C

Progressive Labs

Lab Topic Concepts Difficulty
1 Deploy Your First App Applications, manifests, push model Beginner
2 Scaling & Availability Instances, auto-scaling, health checks Beginner
3 Service Binding Services, credentials, bindings Intermediate
4 Blue-Green Deployment Zero-downtime deployments, routing Intermediate
5 Custom Buildpack Build process, buildpack creation Advanced
6 Monitoring & Logging Observability, logging, metrics Advanced

Key Insights for Advanced Developers

What Makes PCF Different?

  • App-Centric Model: PCF is centered around applications, not infrastructure
  • Buildpacks: Intelligent build process vs. container image building
  • Services First: Built-in service broker architecture for stateful systems
  • Developer Experience: Reduced operational overhead through conventions
  • Blue-Green Native: Deployment patterns built into the platform

Common Questions Answered

Getting Started Now

Prerequisites Check

  • ✅ Docker installed
  • ✅ kubectl ready
  • ✅ Cloud computing knowledge
  • ✅ ~2-3 hours for complete learning path

Next Steps

  1. Review Learning Path (5 min)
  2. Set up Local cf4k8s (30 min)
  3. Complete Lab 1 (30 min)
  4. Explore Core Concepts (60 min)
  5. Work through remaining labs at your pace

Resources

Ready? → Start with Introduction