🏫 Programming & Software Development

DevOps Foundations

Learn DevOps - CI/CD, Docker, AWS, Serverless, GitHub Actions & Cloud Deployment

Duration

12 Weeks

Weekly Hours

4 Hours

Course Incharge

Muzammil Bilwani

📋 Prerequisites

✓ Basic programming knowledge and comfort with web applications

📖 Course Description

Learn the core practices of DevOps including CI/CD, infrastructure as code, containerization, serverless computing, GitHub Actions, and cloud deployments. Designed to give hands-on DevOps experience using real-world tools, cloud platforms, and industry-standard pipelines — with a clear path to freelancing and employment.

What You Will Learn

Understand DevOps culture, roles, and career paths in Pakistan and remote markets

Work with Git, GitHub, branching strategies, and collaborative workflows

Use AI tools (GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT) to accelerate DevOps tasks

Deploy applications using AWS services (S3, EC2, Elastic Beanstalk, Lambda)

Configure Cloudflare for DNS, CDN, and HTTPS optimization

Build and manage serverless APIs with AWS Lambda and API Gateway

Provision cloud infrastructure using Terraform (Infrastructure as Code)

Implement CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions including OIDC auth for AWS

Use Docker and Docker Compose for containerized application delivery

Monitor applications using Grafana, Prometheus, and alerting pipelines

Implement DevSecOps: secrets management, vulnerability scanning, SAST/DAST

Build a portfolio-ready capstone project and set up a freelance profile on Upwork

Course Outline

DevOps mindset + career map

→What DevOps is — and what companies pay for
→Real job roles: salaries in Pakistan + remote market
→Freelance vs full-time paths — Upwork, LinkedIn, local market
→Tools ecosystem tour + all accounts setup (AWS, GitHub, Docker Hub)
→Using AI (Claude/ChatGPT) to learn faster
→Project: Build a personal DevOps roadmap + GitHub profile
→Quiz: DevOps concepts, culture, and roles
→Assignment: Research 3 DevOps job postings — list required skills and salary range

Git & GitHub for teams

→Git fundamentals + branching strategies
→Pull requests, code review, and merge conflicts
→GitHub best practices for professional repositories
→Writing READMEs that impress clients and employers
→Open-source contribution workflow
→Project: Team repository with branching, PRs, and polished README
→Quiz: Git commands and workflow scenarios
→Assignment: Fork a public repo, make a meaningful contribution, open a PR

Linux essentials for DevOps

→Introduction to Linux and why it matters in DevOps
→Terminal navigation, file management, permissions
→Users, groups, and SSH key setup
→Package management (apt/yum) and system updates
→Writing bash scripts for automation
→Using AI to write and debug bash scripts
→Project: Bash script that auto-monitors disk usage and sends alerts
→Quiz: Linux commands and permissions (10 MCQs + 2 command fill-ins)
→Assignment: Write a bash script that backs up a folder and logs results to a file

AI-assisted DevOps workflows

→GitHub Copilot for writing YAML, Dockerfiles, and scripts
→Prompting AI to debug pipeline errors
→AI security scanning tools — Snyk and Semgrep
→Critical review mindset — when not to trust AI output
→Building a personal AI-assisted DevOps workflow
→Project: Use Copilot to generate and improve a bash automation script
→Quiz: AI tool use cases and limitations in DevOps
→Assignment: Use AI to write a YAML config, then find and fix 3 errors it introduced

Cloud computing & AWS core

→Cloud computing fundamentals: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS — what clients actually buy
→AWS core services: EC2, S3, IAM, VPC
→AWS account setup and Free Tier — how to avoid surprise bills
→AWS regions, availability zones, and edge locations
→Basic DNS concepts and domain registration
→Project: Launch EC2 instance, configure IAM, explore AWS console
→Quiz: Cloud models, AWS services, and IAM concepts
→Assignment: Set up a secure IAM user with a least-privilege policy and document it

Static & dynamic app deployment

→Understanding static vs dynamic applications
→Deploying static sites to AWS S3 with static website hosting
→Configuring S3 bucket policies and permissions
→Deploying dynamic applications to AWS EC2 and Elastic Beanstalk
→Environment variables and application configuration
→Intro to deployment strategies: rolling and blue-green
→Freelance angle: how to price deployment as a service
→Project: Deploy a portfolio site to S3 and a Node.js app to EC2 or Elastic Beanstalk
→Quiz: Deployment strategies and S3/EC2 configuration
→Assignment: Deploy a classmates app to AWS and write a handover document

DNS, CDN and HTTPS

→Introduction to AWS Route 53 for DNS management
→Creating and managing hosted zones in Route 53
→Configuring DNS records: A, CNAME, MX
→Connecting custom domains to AWS services
→Introduction to Cloudflare: DNS, CDN, and DDoS protection
→SSL/TLS certificates and HTTPS setup
→Performance optimization for production sites
→Project: Point a custom domain to your app via Route 53 and Cloudflare
→Quiz: DNS record types, CDN concepts, and SSL/TLS
→Assignment: Configure Cloudflare for a live site — enable caching, HTTPS, and a page rule

Serverless computing

→What serverless is — and when to use it vs EC2
→AWS Lambda: functions, triggers, and execution model
→API Gateway + Lambda for building REST APIs
→AWS S3 event triggers and scheduled Lambda functions
→Serverless Framework basics and cost advantages
→Project: Build and deploy a serverless REST API with Lambda and API Gateway
→Quiz: Serverless concepts, Lambda triggers, and use cases
→Assignment: Compare costs for the same workload on EC2 vs Lambda — write a 1-page analysis

Infrastructure as Code with Terraform

→Why IaC — stop clicking around AWS consoles
→Terraform basics: providers, resources, and state
→Writing .tf files to provision EC2, S3, and VPC
→Terraform Cloud for team collaboration
→Importing existing infrastructure into Terraform
→Project: Provision a full AWS environment using only Terraform
→Quiz: Terraform workflow, state management, and HCL syntax
→Assignment: Recreate your Week 5 AWS setup using Terraform — zero console clicks

CI/CD fundamentals

→Introduction to CI/CD concepts and benefits
→Understanding pipeline stages: build, test, deploy
→Blue-green, canary, and rolling deployment strategies
→Rollback strategies and incident response basics
→Overview of popular CI/CD tools landscape
→Designing pipelines on a whiteboard before coding
→Project: Diagram and document a production-grade CI/CD pipeline
→Quiz: CI/CD concepts, deployment patterns, and rollback strategies
→Assignment: Map a real company deployment process from their engineering blog

GitHub Actions in depth

→Workflow YAML: jobs, steps, and matrix builds
→Secrets, environment variables, and reusable workflows
→Auto-deploy on push, pull request, or schedule
→GitHub Actions + AWS integration using OIDC authentication
→Using AI to generate and debug workflow YAML files
→Project: Full CI/CD pipeline — test, build, and deploy to AWS on every push
→Quiz: GitHub Actions YAML syntax and trigger events
→Assignment: Add a matrix build (Node 18 and 20) and a manual approval step to your pipeline

Docker & containerization

→Docker architecture, CLI, and Dockerfile best practices
→Building, tagging, and pushing images to Docker Hub and AWS ECR
→Docker networking and volume management
→Docker Compose for multi-container applications
→Container security basics
→Deploying containerized applications to AWS
→Project: Dockerize a full-stack app with Compose including DB and cache
→Quiz: Docker concepts, Dockerfile instructions, and Compose syntax (12 MCQs)
→Assignment: Optimize an existing Dockerfile — reduce image size by at least 40%

Monitoring & observability

→Importance of monitoring in DevOps
→Metrics, logs, and traces — the three pillars of observability
→Introduction to Grafana for visualization and monitoring
→Setting up Grafana dashboards and panels
→Prometheus for application and infrastructure metrics
→Creating alerts and notifications
→Uptime monitoring and on-call basics
→Reading dashboards to diagnose production issues
→Project: Live Grafana dashboard monitoring your deployed app
→Quiz: Observability pillars, Grafana concepts, and alerting
→Assignment: Set up an alert that notifies you via email or Slack when CPU exceeds 80%

DevSecOps — security in pipelines

→Why security is now a DevOps responsibility
→Secrets management with AWS Secrets Manager and .env best practices
→Container image vulnerability scanning with Trivy
→SAST and DAST tools in CI pipelines
→OWASP Top 10 — what junior DevOps engineers must know
→Project: Add a security scanning stage to your GitHub Actions pipeline
→Quiz: DevSecOps concepts, OWASP Top 10, and secrets management
→Assignment: Audit your Week 12 Docker image with Trivy — fix all critical CVEs found

Freelancing & earning as a DevOps engineer

→What clients actually hire DevOps freelancers for
→Pricing your services: CI/CD setup, AWS migration, monitoring
→Building an Upwork and LinkedIn profile that converts
→Writing proposals and scoping a project
→Red flags — projects to avoid as a beginner
→Project: Complete Upwork profile + 3 service packages with pricing
→Quiz: Freelance pricing, proposal writing, and client communication
→Assignment: Write a real proposal responding to a live Upwork DevOps job posting

Capstone: end-to-end DevOps project

→Final project requirements and planning
→Building a complete application with full DevOps pipeline:
→ - Source code management with Git and GitHub
→ - Containerization with Docker and Docker Compose
→ - CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions and OIDC AWS auth
→ - Terraform-provisioned infrastructure
→ - Deployment to AWS (S3, EC2, or Elastic Beanstalk)
→ - Serverless function integrated in the pipeline
→ - Custom domain with Route 53 and Cloudflare
→ - Monitoring and alerting with Grafana and Prometheus
→ - Security scanning at every pipeline stage
→Project documentation and professional README creation
→Architecture diagram showing full system design
→Live demonstration and presentation
→Final assessment: 30-minute oral walkthrough with Q&A panel
→Assignment: Reflective essay — what you built, what broke, and what you learned

📊 Grading Criteria

Component	Percentage
Quizzes	20%
Class Participation / Attendance	15%
Projects	25%
Final Projects	40%
Total	100%

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