Course Introduction

Kubernetes is one of the most in-demand technologies in cloud computing today. In fact, job searches for Kubernetes-related skills have increased by over 173% in the past year.

Hello, I'm Mumshad Mannambeth, and welcome to this comprehensive Kubernetes course.

Kubernetes has become the go-to platform for hosting production-grade applications. With a growing demand for engineers skilled in Kubernetes, now is the perfect time to pursue your Kubernetes certification. However, achieving this certification is challenging, as the exam is practical and hands-on. You’ll need a solid understanding of the technology and significant real-world experience to succeed.

Setting the Stage

We begin with practical examples that highlight how to use containers in real-world scenarios. For instance, consider the following series of commands that simulate multiple container runs and linking helper containers to applications:

docker run python-app
docker run python-app
docker run python-app
docker run python-app
docker run helper --link app1
docker run helper --link app2
docker run helper --link app3
docker run helper --link app4

Building Your Own Kubernetes Cluster

Next, we guide you through designing and building your own custom Kubernetes cluster from scratch. After setup, you will run end-to-end tests to verify your cluster's functionality. Here’s an example where we enable the metrics server and clone the metrics repository:

minikube addons enable metrics-server
git clone https://github.com/kubernetes-incubator/metrics-server.git

Real-World Lab Exercises

In our course, you will engage in numerous coding exercises that tackle real Kubernetes challenges directly from your browser. These labs are uniquely tailored to each topic, ensuring that you apply your newly acquired knowledge immediately.

Below is an example of a lab where you check pod status and review deployment details:

Exit Code: 127
Started: Fri, 22 Apr 2022 22:17:39 +0000
Finished: Fri, 22 Apr 2022 22:17:39 +0000
Ready: False
Restart Count: 6
Requests:
  cpu: 100m
Liveness:
  failure=8
Startup:
  failure=24
Environment: <none>
Mounts:
/etc/kubernetes/scheduler.conf from kubeconfig:

Conditions:
  Type              Status
  ----              ------
  Initialized      True
  Ready            False
  ContainersReady   False
  PodScheduled     True

Volumes:
  kubeconfig:
    Type:          HostPath (bare host directory volume)
    Path:          /etc/kubernetes/scheduler.conf
    HostPathType:  FileOrCreate
  QoS Class:       Burstable
  Node-Selectors:  <none>
  Tolerations:     :NoExecute op=Exists

Events:
  Type    Reason                  Age                 From               Message
  ----    ------                  ----                ----               -------
  Normal  Pulled                  5m16s (x5 over 6m47s)  kubelet          Container already present on machine
  Normal  Created                 5m16s (x5 over 6m47s)  kubelet          Created container kube-scheduler
  Warning Failed                  5m15s (x5 over 6m47s)  kubelet          Error response from daemon: OCI runtime create failed: container_linux.go:380: starting container process caused: exec: "kube-scheduler": executable file not found in $PATH: unknown
  Warning BackOff               96s (x25 over 6m45s)  kubelet          Back-off restarting failed container
root@controlplane:~#

Here is an example of how you can check pod statuses and inspect a deployment:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl get pods
NAME                       READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
app-586bdbdc54-hc779      1/1     Running   0          10m
root@controlplane:~# kubectl describe deploy app
Name:                   app
Namespace:              default
CreationTimestamp:      Fri, 22 Apr 2022 22:11:45 +0000
Labels:                 <none>
Annotations:            deployment.kubernetes.io/revision: 1
Selector:               app=app
Replicas:               2 desired | 1 updated | 1 total
StrategyType:           RollingUpdate
MinReadySeconds:        0
RollingUpdateStrategy:  25% max unavailable, 25% max surge
Pod Template:
  Labels:              app=app
  Containers:
   nginx:
    Image:          nginx:alpine
    Port:           <none>
    Host Port:      <none>
    Environment:    <none>
    Mounts:        <none>
  Volumes:            <none>
Conditions:
  Type              Status  Reason
  ----              ------  -----
  Available         True    MinimumReplicasAvailable
  Progressing       True    NewReplicaSetAvailable
OldReplicaSets:      <none>
NewReplicaSet:       app-586bdbdc54 (1/1 replicas created)
Events:
  Type    Reason            Age   From                  Message
  ----    ------            ----  ----                  -------
  Normal  ScalingReplicaSet  10m   deployment-controller  Scaled up replica set app-586bdbdc54 to 1

Customized Lab Scenarios

Every lab exercise is designed specifically for the topic you just studied. Instead of a generic environment with simple copy-and-paste steps, you will encounter scenario-based questions that prompt you to explore logs, inspect configuration files, and troubleshoot problems.

For example, you might be asked to review log outputs and verify certificate files, as seen in the following session:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl logs kube-controller-manager-controlplane
kube-controller-manager-controlplane  0/1   CrashLoopBackOff    5      3m31s
kube-flannel-ds-b85q5                1/1   Running             0      36m
kube-proxy-pth1                      1/1   Running             0      36m
kube-scheduler-controlplane           1/1   Running             0      11m
root@controlplane:~# ls /etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt
/etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt
root@controlplane:~# cat /etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MIIC5zCCAcG...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
root@controlplane:~#

Another typical lab scenario might involve inspecting network interfaces, as illustrated below:

[bob@student-node ~]$ ip a | grep eth1
2926: eth1@if2927: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP qlen 1000
    inet 172.25.0.6/24 brd 172.25.0.255 scope global eth1
[bob@student-node ~]$

Interactive Learning and Community Support

Our hands-on labs and coding exercises have already empowered thousands of students to excel in their certification exams. In addition to the lab environment, you will gain exclusive access to our vibrant Slack community, where you can interact with me and fellow learners for support and guidance.

Since the exam is updated every quarter, we ensure our course content reflects the latest changes. Over the past three years, we have consistently released multiple updates to keep the materials current. You can view the detailed release history provided with the course.

As a certified training partner of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, we assure you that you are in safe hands.

Jump right in, enroll now, and I’ll see you in class!