This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by cloud-sky-ops
Kubernetes and Helm have become the backbone of modern DevOps practices, powering everything from small startups to enterprise-scale production environments. But the learning curve can feel steep, especially if you’re new. That’s why I’ve designed this 10-post series (starting from 0 as mentioned in the title, so effectively 11) to guide you step by step—from absolute foundations to advanced, production-ready strategies—so that both beginners and seasoned engineers can level up.
Why This Series?
- For beginners: you’ll get clear definitions, simple labs, and practical examples that build confidence quickly.
- For advanced engineers: you’ll find deeper dives, edge-case discussions, and proven practices used in real-world production clusters.
- For everyone: each post has hands-on labs, cheat sheets, and a wrap-up that connects naturally to the next topic.
Series Structure
**Post 0 — Foundations: Zero to Base Setup
Get comfortable with the mental model of Kubernetes, YAML hygiene, kubectl basics, local clusters (kind/minikube), and Helm chart structure.
Post 1 — Multi-Tenancy & Security Baseline
Learn how Namespaces, ResourceQuotas, NetworkPolicies, and Pod Security Admission set the foundation for safe, shared clusters.
Post 2 — Reliability by Design: Probes, PDBs & Topology Spread
Design applications that survive rollouts, disruptions, and node failures with probes, PodDisruptionBudgets, and spread constraints.
Post 3 — Upgrades & Feature Gates: Safe Cadence
Master upgrade strategies, manage version skew, and safely evaluate new features.
Post 4 — Smart Scaling & Cost Control: HPA, KEDA & Karpenter
Balance elasticity and efficiency using Horizontal Pod Autoscaling, event-driven scaling, Cluster Autoscaler, and Karpenter.
Post 5 — Modern Traffic Management with Gateway API
Move beyond Ingress with the Gateway API: flexible routing, retries, mirroring, and multi-tenant gateways.
Post 6 — Helm Fundamentals Done Right
Build clean, reusable charts with sane defaults, values schema validation, library charts, and overlays.
Post 7 — Helm in CI/CD: Lint, Tests, Diff & Supply Chain Security
Treat charts as code: enforce linting, add unit tests, integrate diffs, push to OCI registries, and secure with provenance.
Post 8 — Progressive Delivery & GitOps
Ship confidently with Blue/Green and Canary patterns, GitOps controllers like Argo CD and Flux, and drift detection.
Post 9 — Operator’s Toolkit: Debugging & Power Moves
Sharpen your day-to-day: ephemeral debug containers, kubectl power tips, and Helm Day-2 operations.
Post 10 — What’s Next: Sidecars, eBPF, AI Gateways & Supply Chain Maturity
Explore the trends shaping Kubernetes: stable sidecars, eBPF-powered networking, AI routing, and SLSA supply-chain practices.
How to Follow Along
- Start at Post 0 if you’re new, or jump in at any point if you’re experienced.
- Each post builds on the previous, but they also stand alone as practical guides.
- Expect plenty of copy-pasteable commands, diagrams to cement understanding, and mini-labs that run in less than 30 minutes.
Bottom line: by the end of this series, you’ll not only understand Kubernetes and Helm—you’ll be confident running, scaling, securing, and modernizing clusters in production. Start’s September 23rd, 2025
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by cloud-sky-ops