Devops for Developers course landing image with hand on computer keyboard and kubernetes logo

DevOps for Developers: Learn Docker, Kubernetes & More [Educative.io Course Review]

Disclosure: I’m an enthusiastic affiliate of Educative.io and may get compensated if you buy something.

DevOps for Developers is an interactive 4-course bundle on Educative.io. It’s created with software developers in mind.

With a focus on general DevOps concepts, Docker and Kubernetes, these DevOps courses are packed with code snippets and how-tos.

But with all the free DevOps information out there, is Devops for Developers even worth it?

The answer is yes. We’re showing you why in today’s post.

What the heck is DevOps?

The Internet will tell you all sorts of things about what DevOps is. Essentially, DevOps engineers try to make things more efficient. They do that through a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) with IT operations (Ops).

Devops lifecycle graphic with nodes for action including plan, continuous feedback, deploy, create, continuous planning, and build

Some companies have dedicated DevOps engineers. For the rest of us, we’re that DevOps person, despite already having the responsibilities of a software developer.

But even if we know a little bit about DevOps, it can significantly reduce our workload along with our stress levels.

DevOps for Developers by Educative.io: Course Breakdown

Each DevOps course in DevOps for Developers was curated by the team at Educative. Ranging from beginner, intermediate, to advanced levels, these DevOps courses are meant to be taken in order.

devops for developers course selection with docker, kubernetes and aws logos

But before you get your hands dirty with the DevOps tools of the DevOps industry like Docker and Kubernetes, you learn about DevOps 101: computer networking.

1. Grokking Computer Networking for Software Engineers

This is the gateway DevOps course for this bundle, geared towards beginners. From access networks to multiplexing, this DevOps course is packed with networking terms, processes, and concepts.

You’ll also get over two dozen coding playgrounds to test your code in this DevOps course.

nslookup code snippet from educative course
Coding playground where you can test nslookup

Modern applications require software engineers to have a solid understanding of not only networking, but also client-server architecture.

And whether you’re creating web applications or apps that communicate with a remote server, DevOps networking is a critical skill.

Grokking Computer Networking for Software Engineers teaches you network fundamentals. You’ll also learn socket programming using Python, command-line tools and the main protocols of each layer.

Plus, you’ll implement DevOps networking protocols that require distributed processing. Honestly, most developers can benefit from this DevOps course, not just those of us who want to learn DevOps.

🔢 By the numbers:

  • Level: Beginner
  • 115 Lessons
  • 83 Quizzes
  • 3 Challenges
  • 29 Playgrounds
  • 44 Code Snippets
  • 468 Illustrations

Learn more about Grokking Computer Networking for Software Engineers here.

2. Docker for Developers

Have you ever heard the phrase “But it was working on MY machine?” Docker helps solve that issue. By using system-level virtualization, Docker delivers software in packages called containers.

Example of Docker server featuring a tech stack of wordpress, php, apache and an application
Example of a Docker Server tech stack

These containers are separated from each other and bundle their own config files, libraries and software.

And this DevOps course teaches you everything you need to get started.

While you won’t have any interactive coding playgrounds, Docker for Developers still features over 100 code snippets. You can easily follow the installation instructions and follow along on your local machine.

At the end of the day, Docker makes it easier for developers to create, deploy and run apps using containers.

Developed by Google, it’s considered a “must have” in many tech arsenals on both the enterprise and startup level.

And having a good grasp of Docker will let you do a few things.

One, it’ll help you produce better software.

Two, it’ll take away a significant pain point in your development process.

Three, it helps you stand out from the crowd since many devs don’t know how to use this powerful tool.

Running a docker container graphic with colored boxes depicting various steps in the process
Illustration of how a Docker container might work

🔢 By the numbers:

  • Level: Intermediate
  • 58 Lessons
  • 5 Quizzes
  • 105 Code Snippets
  • 41 Illustrations

Learn more about Docker for Developers here.

3. A Practical Guide to Kubernetes

Sometimes there’s some confusion between Docker and Kubernetes. Essentially, while Docker provides the containers, Kubernetes provides container management.

And while Docker has its own management tools like Docker Swarm, Kubernetes adds multiple layers of functionality to its orchestration tools.

This detailed DevOps course will help you master Kubernetes. You’ll study the fundamentals along with the main components of a cluster.

Devops for Developers code snippet featuring minikube for Kubernetes
Code snippet

You’ll then use those components to build, test, deploy and upgrade your apps. In addition, you’ll learn to manage resources while securing app deployments. These are two important DevOps skills.

Ultimately by the end of this DevOps course, you’ll have the skills to deploy your own clusters and apps by yourself.

🔢 By the numbers:

  • Level: Intermediate
  • 175 Lessons
  • 14 Quizzes
  • 880 Code Snippets
  • 80 Illustrations

Learn more about A Practical Guide to Kubernetes here.

4. Advanced Kubernetes Techniques: Monitoring, Logging, Auto-Scaling

A self-maintaining piece of software is a fantasy for most DevOps engineers. While most of us dream of broken apps taking care of themselves, Kubernetes actually makes some of this possible.

In Advanced Kubernetes Techniques: Monitoring, Logging, Auto-Scaling you’ll learn how to create clusters. What are clusters? Simply stated, they’re a set of node machines for running containerized applications.

But that’s just the beginning. You’ll also learn about monitoring, scaling, logging and alerting.

By applying the methods taught in this DevOps course, you’ll be able to build clusters and apps that are not only dynamic, but also self-adaptive. They’ll require minimal developer involvement, letting you focus on more pressing issues.

Like the name implies, Advanced Kubernetes Techniques is for advanced DevOps learners. So be sure to follow the track in order to get the most out of this one.

🔢 By the numbers:

  • Level: Advanced
  • 76 Lessons
  • 55 Quizzes
  • 407 Code Snippets
  • 94 Illustrations

Learn more about Advanced Kubernetes Techniques: Monitoring, Logging, Auto-Scaling here.

DevOps for Developers: Cost

Educative.io offers numerous purchase options. Firstly, you can buy each DevOps course a la carte. You can also purchase entire DevOps course tracks, such as this one. In addition, you can purchase a monthly or yearly subscription.

The benefit to the yearly subscription is that you can also take advantage of over 100 other courses. And the yearly subscription is only marginally more expensive than buying this DevOps for Developers course bundle.

DevOps for Developers: Final Thoughts

DevOps for Developers is a course bundle rarely seen in the online educational world. Most courses take a non-biased approach.

But in that attempt to remain neutral, many finer details DevOps go missing.

Conversely, DevOps for Developers takes a developer-centric approach. Ultimately, this allows the instructors to share features of tech tools and processes that are of particular interest to working in the DevOps industry.

And while you won’t be able to run containers in the browser, you can still have an immersive experience with the hundreds of code snippets, illustrations and other rich media. In addition, you can regularly test your knowledge with the quizzes.

devops for developers quiz asking about kubernetes secrets
Quiz on Kubernetes Secrets

Rather than spend hours poking around YouTube or random blogs, DevOps for Developers offers devs a one-stop shop for learning modern tooling like Docker, Kubernetes and more.

Check out DevOps for Developers here.

Next up: Starting Your Web Developer Career for Under $100 – The Ultimate Guide

  1. What is Docker?

    Have you ever heard the phrase “But it was working on MY machine?” Docker helps solve that issue. By using OS-level virtualization, Docker delivers software in packages called containers. These containers are separated from each other and bundle their own config files, libraries and software. Docker was developed in 2013 and features both free and premium tiers.

  2. What is Kubernetes?

    Kubernetes lets you scale, run and monitor an application. While Docker solved many problems of packaging and distributing an application, it didn’t account for other critical factors involved in software development. That’s where Kubernetes comes in. Essentially, it provides orchestration for Docker containers. Developed by Google, Kubernetes is the de facto market leader in orchestrating containers and deploying distributed applications.

  3. What is DevOps?

    DevOps is short for Development + Operations. DevOps engineers work to improve communication and collaboration between the development team and the IT department. The purpose of DevOps is to bridge the gap between development & IT operations by shortening the systems development life cycle while providing continuous delivery (CD) and performant, efficient software.

  4. Is Docker worth learning?

    Docker is worth learning if you’ve ever worked on a dev team. And if you’ve ever worked on a team and heard the refrain “…But it was working on MY machine…” then Docker comes as a sanity-saving tool. While you often hear Docker used in conjunction with DevOps, it’s a technology that can be picked up by any software developer. While Docker is not considered a virtual machine (it runs virtualization on the OS level), it shares many of a virtual machine’s features while using fewer resources. By delivering software in packages called containers, Docker is able to streamline software, libraries and configuration files.