DevOps Course Syllabus & Subjects

DevOps, often hailed as the backbone of modern software development and IT operations, has become a popular career choice in the twenty-first century. With organizations increasingly relying on technology to drive their operations, the demand for skilled DevOps professionals has skyrocketed worldwide.

In this blog, we will explore what the optimal syllabus for a DevOps professional course should be by keeping current industry trends under the microscope!

Following are the contents we cover in this comprehensive guide:

What is a DevOps Program?
Best DevOps Program Subjects
Electives and Specializations
Projects and Capstones
Best DevOps Program Topics
DevOps Topics in Detail
DevOps Course Syllabus
Why Is the Above Course Syllabus Preferable?
Job Opportunities After AWS Certification
Conclusion
FAQs

Key Takeaways:

1. DevOps plays an important part in the software development life cycle
2. Get a detailed overview of the extensive syllabus that covers all of the important DevOps subjects and topics
3. Intellipaats DevOps program offers In-depth knowledge of all the DevOps principles with industry-recognized certification.

What is a DevOps Program?

When we talk about DevOps as a discipline, you might already be acquainted with the fact that it’s not a single skill. Rather, it’s a set of skills that cover everything from development to operations involved in the software development process. There are more than 20+ tools that one has to master to become a DevOps engineer, along with a deep understanding of administration, development, and operations practices.

Achieving this feat without a structured learning plan is difficult, and that is something the DevOps programs exist to resolve They provide a well-structured curriculum, extensive training sessions, doubt-resolving sessions, as well as hands-on practice labs. With all these features and an assisted learning journey, attaining the difficult feat of mastering DevOps becomes comparatively easy. 

Best DevOps Program Subjects

The DevOps programs are designed in such a way that learners get robust skills and knowledge. The program covers a diverse range of subjects that are important for DevOps professionals. Here’s a detailed look at the key subjects typically covered in DevOps courses and training programs:

1. Version Control

This subject mainly focuses on tools like Git, which is used to manage and track changes in software code. Using Git makes it easier to create and handle new versions of the product.

2. Containerization 

This subject covers container technologies like Docker and container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes. Professionals must learn how to convert applications into containers for easy deployment, scalability, and management.

3. Configuration Management

This subject focuses on tools like Ansible, SaltStack, or Chef to automate the configuration and management of infrastructure resources, ensuring consistency and reliability across environments.

4. Continuous Testing

Continuous Testing subject focuses on tools like Ansible, SaltStack, or Chef to automate the configuration and management of infrastructure resources, ensuring consistency and reliability across environments.

5. Continuous Orchestration 

Continuous Orchestration using Kubernetes refers to the process of automating and coordinating the deployment, management, and scaling of applications on a Kubernetes cluster. Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that allows developers to easily deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications. 

Electives and Specializations

Top programs often allow students to specialize in areas of interest through electives. These might include the choice of picking up some of the top cloud service providers’ platforms as a specialization. The top 3 options are  Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, or AWS.

Projects and Capstones

Hands-on projects and capstone projects play a crucial role in the DevOps education journey by allowing students to apply their knowledge in practical, real-world scenarios. These projects provide hands-on experience in problem-solving, infrastructure automation, and collaboration, which are important skills for a successful DevOps career.

Best DevOps Program Topics

The structure of the DevOps course is the same whether you choose to enroll in an online course, a regular classroom, or a full-time university degree. Every DevOps curriculum should cover the following core topics.

DevOps Topics in Detail

Here is a brief explanation of each topic that is commonly covered in the DevOps Program.

1. Version Control

Version Control systems are for control systems like Git and SVN, which help developers manage code changes, track revisions, and collaborate effectively within the team. They offer features for branching, merging, and resolving conflicts. All these features ensure code integrity and enable smooth collaboration among developers.

2. Continuous Integration

Continuous Integration refers to the build and unit testing phases of the software release process. With this approach, an automatic build and test are triggered with each commit. When continuous delivery is employed, code updates are automatically built, tested, and made ready for production release.

3. Continuous Deployment

Continuous Deployment (CD) streamlines the release and deployment of software to production environments by automating the process. The CD helps with pipelines and setups using tools like Jenkins or GitLab. This allows teams to automatically package, test, and deploy application updates, facilitating frequent releases.

4. Infrastructure as Code

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) used for infrastructure automation, and the IaC resources like servers, networks, and storage are managed with the use of code. Various IaC elements, such as operating systems and database connections, are important for any application environment. Tools like Terraform or AWS CloudFormation offer a declarative syntax to define infrastructure configurations, ensuring consistent and reproducible deployments across different environments.

5. Cloud Computing

Cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offer scalable and on-demand infrastructure resources. DevOps professionals need to understand cloud concepts to implement the CI/CD pipeline.

6. Containerization

Containerization is a form of virtualization where an application’s components are combined into a single container image, enabling it to operate in a separate user space on a shared operating system. Containerization technologies like Docker enable packaging applications and their dependencies into lightweight, isolated containers.

7. Configuration Management

Systems engineering’s configuration management approach ensures that a product’s characteristics remain constant throughout its life. Configuration management tools like Ansible, Chef, or Puppet automate the provisioning, configuration, and management of infrastructure resources and help manage configuration throughout the infrastructure.

8. Agile Methodologies

Agile methodologies, such as Scrum or Kanban, promote approaches for software development. DevOps professionals should understand these methodologies to increase adaptability, and continuous improvement within cross-functional teams.

DevOps Course Syllabus

The experts at Intellipaat have curated a course syllabus that meets industry standards. Through this curriculum, students will develop an understanding of DevOps tools and services, along with practical examples. These are some common subjects taught in a DevOps course.

Module 1: Preparatory Session – Linux

1.1 Linux Preparatory

1.2 Introduction to Linux

1.3 Linux Basics

Module 2: Python for Automation Scripting

2.1 Introduction to Python and IDEs

2.2 Python Basics

2.3 Object-Oriented Programming

2.4 Python Automation Scripting

Module 3: Infrastructure Setup

3.1 AWS Account Creation

3.2 EC2 and LMS Walkthrough

Module 4: Introduction to DevOps

4.1 What is Software Development?

4.2 Software Development Life Cycle

4.3 Traditional Models for SDLC

4.4 Why DevOps?

4.5 What is DevOps?

4.6 DevOps Lifecycle

4.7 DevOps Tools

Module 5: Version Control with Git

5.1 What is Version Control?

5.2 Types of Version Control System

5.3 Introduction to SVN

5.4 Introduction to Git

5.5 Git Lifecycle

5.6 Common Git Commands

5.7 Working with Branches in Git

5.8 Merging Branches

5.9 Resolving Merge Conflicts

5.10 Git Workflow

Module 6: Containerization Using Docker

6.1 Understanding Docker Lifecycle

6.2 Components of Docker Ecosystem

6.3 Common Docker Operations

6.4 Creating a DockerHub Account

6.5 Committing Changes in a Container

6.6 Pushing a Container Image to DockerHub

6.7 Creating Custom Docker Images using Dockerfile

6.8 What are Docker Volumes?

6.9 Deploying a Multi-tier Application Using Docker Network

6.10 Using Docker Compose to Deploy Containers

Module 7: Configuration Management using Puppet

7.1 Need of Configuration Management

7.2 Configuration Management Tools

7.3 What is Puppet?

7.4 Puppet Architecture

7.5 Setting up Master-Slave using Puppet

7.6 Puppet Manifests

7.7 Puppet Modules

7.8 Applying Configuration using Puppet

7.9 Puppet File Server

Module 8: Configuration Management using Ansible

8.1 What is Ansible?

8.2 Ansible vs. Puppet

8.3 Ansible Architecture

8.4 Setting up Master-Slave using Ansible

8.5 Ansible Playbook

8.6 Ansible Roles

8.7 Applying Configuration using Ansible

Module 9: Continuous Testing using Selenium

9.1 What is Continuous Testing?

9.2 What is Maven?

9.3 Introduction to Selenium

9.4 Running Test Cases on Chromium Web Driver

9.5 What is Headless Mode?

Module 10: Continuous Integration with Jenkins

10.1 Introduction to Continuous Integration

10.2 Jenkins Master-Slave Architecture

10.3 Understanding CI/CD Pipelines

10.4 Creating an end-to-end automated CI/CD Pipeline

Module 11: Continuous Orchestration Using Kubernetes

11.1 Introduction to Kubernetes

11.2 Docker Swarm vs. Kubernetes

11.3 Kubernetes Architecture

11.4 Deploying Kubernetes using Kubeadm

11.5 Alternate Ways of Deploying Kubernetes

Module 12: Continuous Monitoring using ELK

12.1 Agenda

12.2 What is ELK?

12.3 Components of ELK

12.4 ELK Flow

12.5 Features of ELK

12.6 ELK Installation

Module 13: Terraform Modules & Workspaces

13.1 What is Infrastructure as Code?

13.2 IaC vs. Configuration Management

13.3 Introduction to Terraform

13.4 Installing Terraform on AWS

13.5 Basic Operations in Terraform: `init`, `plan`, `apply`, `destroy`

13.6 Terraform Code Basics

13.7 Deploying an End-to-End Architecture on AWS using Terraform

Why Is the Above Course Syllabus Preferable?

The DevOps training curriculum mentioned above has been carefully designed by industry experts to meet the needs of today’s job market. It covers all the important topics, starting with the basics and gradually progressing to advanced concepts of DevOps. 

The course is designed in such a way that it is easy to follow and learn. It includes the latest technologies and trends in the DevOps field, ensuring that you stay up-to-date with industry practices.

Job Opportunities After DevOps Certification

After earning a DevOps certification, one can explore a wide array of job opportunities in the rapidly growing field of cloud computing and DevOps. Some potential roles include:

Conclusion

The course syllabus for DevOps offers a thorough road map for understanding and applying DevOps ideas in the ever-evolving technology industry. Aspiring professionals must prepare themselves for a variety of career roles, including DevOps Engineer and Automation Engineer, among others, by acquiring practical knowledge of DevOps tools, best practices, and real-world applications. With these DevOps skills, there is no shortage of opportunity as the field continues to grow. 

FAQs