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Module 0 — Prerequisites & How to Use

Audience: Everyone starting the path — new hires and existing engineers upskilling.

Outcomes: Set up a personal lab, understand how verification works in this path, and adopt the “model before commands” mindset that every later module assumes.

Checklist — work through in order

  • Read Why this module exists and adopt the “model before commands” mindset
  • Stand up a lab you can reach by console + CLI
  • Complete access onboarding (SSO, repo access, cluster access)
  • Confirm you know where completion is recorded and who reviews it
  • Pass the Verification checks at the bottom

Why this module exists

This path deliberately teaches models before commands. The single biggest obstacle to learning DevOps tooling is not missing knowledge — it is a mental model that needs rebuilding, not extending. Each module opens with the mental shift required. Treat the lab as non-negotiable: every concept should map to something you can inspect in a console or from a CLI.

Topics

  • Lab options — a single local cluster (or cloud trial) for Modules 1–4; a hub + managed cluster for Modules 5–6; bare-metal/simulated nodes for Module 8.
  • Verification philosophy — scenario-based checks, not flash-card recall. If you need notes to do the check, the module is not done.
  • Beginner’s mind — some prior knowledge transfers; much does not. Anchor too hard on old analogies (e.g., “clusters are like vCenters”) and the gaps get harder to find.
  • Pace — self-paced. Modules 1–2 are days; Modules 3–7 are weeks. Module 8 is a specialist track.

Resources

Verification

  1. You have a working lab environment you can ssh/CLI into.
  2. You can state, without notes, the difference between learning a command and learning a model, and why this path leads with the model.
  3. You know where to record completion and who reviews it.