One day accelerated plan - Mint25/K8s--learning-journey GitHub Wiki

🎯 Objective:

By the end of the day, you will have a deep understanding of Kubernetes fundamentals, deployed apps to a cluster, troubleshot issues, and built muscle memory using CLI and manifests.

🧠 Methodology:

Active Recall + Spaced Repetition + Hands-On You'll learn, build, and explain aloud every 90 mins. Tools Needed:

Minikube or KinD kubectl, Helm, Lens GUI (optional) VS Code + YAML extension Kubernetes official docs bookmarked A Notion template for note-taking 🗓️ 1-DAY ACCELERATED BLUEPRINT

🕐 8:00 – 9:00 AM | K8s Mental Model + Cluster Anatomy Goal: Build a working mental model of how Kubernetes operates.

Actions:

Skim K8s Architecture Watch this 10-min whiteboard explainer: “K8s in plain English” Draw on paper or Notion: Cluster > Master & Node kube-apiserver, etcd, kubelet, kube-proxy, controller-manager, scheduler 🧠 Hack: Speak aloud what happens when a Pod is deployed: "kubectl → API server → Scheduler..."

🕘 9:00 – 10:30 AM | Pod to Deployment – Write Your First Manifests Goal: Get hands-on deploying a simple app

Actions:

Launch Minikube (or KinD) Create YAML for: Pod (busybox) Deployment (nginx) Service (ClusterIP and NodePort) Use kubectl apply -f, describe, logs, exec 🧠 Hack: Narrate each YAML resource to a rubber duck: "This Deployment manages X replicas using Y image..."

☕ 10:30 – 10:45 AM | Break + Review Flashcards Use Anki or Notion to quickly review:

What is a Pod? What is a Service vs Deployment? What does kubectl describe show? 🕚 10:45 – 12:15 PM | Networking, Services, and DNS Goal: Understand how traffic flows within a cluster.

Actions:

Deploy 2 Pods: frontend and backend Expose backend with a Service Use curl in frontend to talk to backend via DNS Explore kubectl get endpoints, kubectl exec 🧠 Hack: Use tcpdump or netstat inside a Pod to reinforce the network layer understanding.

🍽️ 12:15 – 1:00 PM | Lunch + Passive Review Watch a quick Kubernetes failure story (YouTube, e.g., "How not to crash prod") Glance at your manifest YAMLs 🕐 1:00 – 2:30 PM | State Management: Volumes and ConfigMaps Goal: Manage stateful behavior in Pods

Actions:

Create: ConfigMap with environment variables Secret (base64 encoded) Pod that mounts both as env + file PersistentVolumeClaim + nginx using it 🧠 Hack: Repeat: "ConfigMap for config, Secret for sensitive, PVC for persistent."

🕝 2:30 – 4:00 PM | Helm + Namespaces + Real App Deployment Goal: Use Helm to deploy and manage apps modularly.

Actions:

Install Helm, add Bitnami repo Deploy Redis or NGINX using Helm Explore: helm list, helm uninstall kubectl get all -n 🧠 Hack: Change values.yaml and re-deploy. See the effect.

☕ 4:00 – 4:15 PM | Break + Flash Review Flip through your Notion notes or flashcards:

What's Helm? Namespace benefits? PVC vs ConfigMap? 🕓 4:15 – 5:30 PM | Crash Debugging + Troubleshooting Goal: Gain confidence in breaking & fixing

Actions:

Deploy broken YAML (wrong image, no env, no PVC) Use: kubectl logs kubectl describe pod kubectl get events Fix and redeploy 🧠 Hack: Narrate failure reasoning like a detective. "The Pod is in CrashLoopBackOff. I’ll check the logs… the container can't find env vars…"

🕠 5:30 – 6:30 PM | Wrap-Up: Systematic Review + Teach Back Goal: Lock it in with reflection & teaching

Actions:

Open Notion → Summarize: Key components Deployment steps Troubleshooting checklist Teach a friend (or yourself in a voice note) how to deploy an app in Kubernetes Final review of 10 flashcards 🧠 Bonus (Optional): 6:30 – 7:00 PM | Beyond Today Bookmark: Kubernetes Official Docs Katacoda K8s Labs K8s Patterns Book Set a weekly 1-hour slot for K8s deep dives ✅ Outputs by EOD:

Deployed working apps via YAML and Helm Understood the full cluster lifecycle Fixed broken deployments Took structured notes + created 10 flashcards