Implementing DevOps Solutions and Practices using Cisco Platforms

Network and software engineers interested in automation and programmability.

After completing this course you should be able to:

• Describe the DevOps philosophy and practices, and how they apply to real-life challenges
• Explain container-based architectures and available tooling provided by Docker
• Describe application packaging into containers and start building secure container images
• Utilize container networking and deploy a three-tier network application
• Explain the concepts of configuration item (CI) pipelines and what tooling is available
• Implement a basic pipeline with Gitlab CI that builds and deploys applications
• Implement automated build testing and validation
• Describe DevOps principles applied to infrastructure
• Implement on-demand test environments and explain how to integrate them with an existing pipeline
• Implement tooling for metric and log collection, analysis, and alerting
• Describe the benefits of application health monitoring, telemetry, and chaos engineering in the context of improving the stability and reliability of the ecosystem
• Describe how to implement secure DevOps workflows by safely handling sensitive data and validating applications
• Explain design and operational concepts related to using a mix of public and private cloud deployments
• Describe modern application design and microservices architectures
• Describe the building blocks of Kubernetes and how to use its APIs to deploy an application
• Explain advanced Kubernetes deployment patterns and implement an automated pipeline
• Explain how monitoring, logging, and visibility concepts apply to Kubernetes

Introducing the DevOps Model

• DevOps Philosophy
• DevOps Practices

Introducing Containers

• Container-Based Architectures
• Linux Containers
• Docker Overview
• Docker Commands

Packaging an Application Using Docker

• Dockerfiles
• Golden Images
• Safe Processing Practices

Deploying a Multitier Application

• Linux Networking
• Docker Networking
• Docker Compose

Introducing CI/CD

• Continuous Integration
• CI Tools
• DevOps Pipelines

Building the DevOps Flow

• GitLab Overview
• GitLab CI Overview
• Continuous Delivery with GitLab

Validating the Application Build Process

• Automated Testing in the CI Flow

Building an Improved Deployment Flow

• Post deployment Validation
• Release Deployment Strategies

Extending DevOps Practices to the Entire Infrastructure

• Introduction to NetDevOps
• Infrastructure as Code

Implementing On-Demand Test Environments at the Infrastructure Level

• Configuration Management Tools
• Terraform Overview
• Ansible Overview
• Ansible Inventory File
• Use the Cisco IOS Core Configuration Module
• Jinja2 and Ansible Templates
• Basic Jinja2 with YAML
• Configuration Templating with Ansible

Monitoring in NetDevOps

• Introduction to Monitoring, Metrics and Logs
• Introduction to Elasticsearch, Beats and Kibana
• Introduction to Prometheus and Instrumenting Python Code for Observability

Engineering for Visibility and Stability

• Application Health and Performance
• AppDynamics Overview
• Chaos Engineering Principles

Securing DevOps Workflows

• DevSecOps Overview
• Application Security in the CI/CD Pipeline
• Infrastructure Security in the CI/CD Pipeline

Exploring Multicloud Strategies

• Application Deployment to Multiple Environments
• Public Cloud Terminology Primer
• Tracking and Projecting Public Cloud Costs
• High Availability and Disaster Recovery Design Considerations
• IaC for Repeatable Public Cloud Consumption
• Cloud Services Strategy Comparison

Examining Application and Deployment Architectures

• The Twelve-Factor Application
• Microservices Architectures

Describing Kubernetes

• Kubernetes Concepts: Nodes, Pods and Clusters
• Kubernetes Concepts: Storage
• Kubernetes Concepts: Networking
• Kubernetes Concepts: Security
• Kubernetes API Overview

Integrating Multiple Data Center Deployments with Kubernetes

• Kubernetes Deployment Patterns
• Kubernetes Failure Scenarios
• Kubernetes Load-Balancing Techniques
• Kubernetes Namespaces
• Kubernetes Deployment via CI/CD Pipelines

Monitoring and Logging in Kubernetes

• Kubernete Resource Metrics Pipeline
• Kubernetes Full Metrics Pipeline and Logging

Labs:

• Interact with GitLab Continuous Integration
• Explore Docker Command-Line Tools
• Package and Run a WebApp Container
• Build and Deploy Multiple Containers to Create a Three-Tier Application
• Explore Docker Networking
• Build and Deploy an Application Using Docker Compose
• Implement a Pipeline in Gitlab CI
• Automate the Deployment of an Application
• Validate the Application Build Process
• Validate the Deployment and Fix the Infrastructure
• Build a YAMl IaC Specification for the Test Enviroment
• Manage On-Demand Test Environments with Terraform
• Build Ansible Playbooks to Manage Infrastructure
• Integrate the Testing Enviroment in the CI/CD Pipeline
• Implement Pre-Deployment Health Checks
• Set Up Logging for the Application Servers and Visualize with Kibana
• Create System Dashboard Focused on Metrics
• Use Alerts Through Kibana
• Instrument Application Monitoring
• Use Alerts and Thresholds to Notify Webhook Listener and Webex Teams Room
• Secure Infrastructure in the CI/CD Pipeline
• Explore Kubernetes Setup and Deploy an Application
• Explore and Modify a Kubernetes CI/CD Pipeline
• Kubernetes Monitoring and Metrics - ELK

Attendees should meet the following prerequisites:

• Basic programming language concepts and familiarity with Python
• Basic understanding of compute virtualization
• Ability to use Linux, text-driven interfaces, and CLI tools, such as Secure Shell (SSH), bash, grep, ip, vim/nano, curl, ping, traceroute, and telnet
• Foundational understanding of Linux-based OS architecture and system utilities
• CCNA® level core networking knowledge
• Foundational understanding of DevOps concepts
• Awareness and familiarity with continuous integration, continuous deployment, and continuous delivery CI/CD) concepts
• Hands-on experience with Git

• CCNA - Implementing and Administering Cisco Solutions
• DEVASC - Developing Applications and Automating Workflows using Cisco Platforms
• DEVCOR - Developing Applications Using Cisco Platforms and APIs

Recommended as preparation for the following exams:

• 300-910 - Implementing DevOps Solutions and Practices using Cisco Platforms exam

After you pass 300-910 DEVOPS, you will earn the Cisco Certified DevNet Specialist - DevOps certification, and satisfy the concentration exam requirement for the Cisco Certified DevNet Professional certification.