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🚀 The DevOps Playbook: Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering DevOps


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Robin Rai

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🔹 Introduction

In the previous blog, we explored what DevOps is, why it’s important, and how top companies use it to release software faster and more reliably.

Now, let’s take it a step further— How do you actually start learning DevOps? 🤔

With so many tools, technologies, and practices involved, getting started can feel overwhelming. But don’t worry! By following a structured approach, learning DevOps becomes clear and achievable.

👉 By the end of this blog, you’ll have a solid roadmap to navigate your DevOps journey effectively.

🛠 Step 1: Master the Fundamentals

🔹 1. Learn Linux & Command Line
Most DevOps environments run on Linux, so understanding its fundamentals is essential.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ Basic Linux commands (ls, cd, mkdir, grep, find, chmod, chown)
✅ File system & permissions
✅ Process management (top, ps, kill)
✅ Networking basics (ping, curl, wget, netstat)

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Use Ubuntu on WSL to practice commands.
Set up a simple web server using nginx or Apache.

🔹 2. Learn Git & Version Control
Version control is essential for tracking changes, collaborating, and automating workflows.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ Git basics (clone, commit, push, pull, merge, rebase)
✅ Branching strategies (GitFlow, trunk-based development)
✅ Working with GitHub/GitLab
✅ Pull requests & code reviews

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Create a GitHub repository and track code changes using Git.
Collaborate on open-source projects.

🔹 3. Understand Networking Concepts
A strong grasp of networking helps in troubleshooting, security, and optimizing cloud deployments.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ OSI & TCP/IP models
✅ DNS, HTTP, HTTPS, SSL/TLS
✅ Load balancers & reverse proxies
✅ Firewall basics

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Use cURL & Postman to test APIs.
Set up an NGINX reverse proxy on a local machine.

🚀 Step 2: Learn DevOps Core Practices

🔹 4. Understand CI/CD Pipelines
CI/CD (Continuous Integration & Continuous Deployment) enables fast and automated software releases.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ What is CI/CD?
✅ Writing CI/CD pipelines (YAML syntax)
✅ Automating builds, tests, and deployments
✅ Popular CI/CD tools (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD)

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Build a simple CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions.
Set up Jenkins on Docker and create an automated job.

🔹 5. Learn Containers & Docker
Containers provide portability and scalability for applications.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ Docker architecture & CLI commands
✅ Writing Dockerfiles & Docker Compose
✅ Container networking & volumes

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Create a Dockerized Python/Node.js app.
Deploy it using Docker Compose.

🔹 6. Learn Kubernetes
Kubernetes is the leading container orchestration tool for managing microservices.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ Kubernetes architecture (Pods, Nodes, Deployments, Services)
✅ YAML configuration for Kubernetes objects
✅ Helm Charts for package management

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Deploy an app on Minikube.
Explore kubectl commands.

🏗 Step 3: Infrastructure as Code & Automation

🔹 7. Learn Infrastructure as Code (Terraform & Ansible)

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) allows for consistent and automated provisioning of infrastructure.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ Terraform: Writing .tf files, deploying AWS/Azure resources
✅ Ansible: Writing playbooks for automation

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Write a Terraform script to provision an EC2 instance.
Use Ansible to automate package installations.

📊 Step 4: Monitoring, Logging & Security

🔹 8. Learn Monitoring & Logging
Observability is critical for maintaining system performance and troubleshooting issues.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ Prometheus (metrics collection)
✅ Grafana (data visualization)
✅ ELK Stack (log management)

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Set up Prometheus & Grafana to monitor a Dockerized app.
Deploy ELK Stack for log management.

🔹 9. Security in DevOps (DevSecOps)

Security should be integrated at every stage of DevOps (Shift Left Approach).

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ Security best practices in CI/CD
✅ Popular security tools: SonarQube, Trivy, Aqua Security

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Scan Docker images for vulnerabilities using Trivy.
Implement SonarQube to analyze code security.

☁ Step 5: Cloud & Reliability Engineering

🔹 10. Learn Cloud Computing (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Cloud platforms provide scalability, reliability, and cost optimization for DevOps workflows.

📌 Key Topics to Focus On:
✅ AWS (EC2, S3, Lambda, IAM, CloudWatch)
✅ Azure (VMs, AKS, DevOps Services)
✅ GCP (Compute Engine, GKE, Cloud Run)

🛠 Hands-on Practice:

Deploy a static website on AWS S3.
Launch a Kubernetes cluster on Azure AKS.

🎯 Conclusion: Learning with a Structured Flow

Now that we’ve outlined the DevOps roadmap, we’ll deep dive into each topic one by one in upcoming blogs.

🚀 We will start with Linux, covering:

Command-line basics
File systems
Networking
Process management

Then, we’ll gradually move to:

✅ Git & Version Control
✅ Networking Concepts
✅ CI/CD Pipelines
✅ Containers & Kubernetes
✅ Infrastructure as Code
✅ Monitoring & Security
✅ Cloud Computing

👉 This structured flow will help you build strong foundations before advancing to complex DevOps concepts.

💬 What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced while starting DevOps? Let’s discuss in the comments! ⬇


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Robin Rai