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Hello devs, DevOps is becoming an essential skill in today's Programming and Software Development world and Kubernetes is an important concept and tool for both developers and DevOps engineers.

In today's cloud computing world, Kubernetes, also known as K8 is quickly becoming an essential tool for many of us and why not? It takes container-based deployment to another level and allows you to manage it on the scale.

You can use Kubernetes to scale your container-based or Docker based environment or let Kubernetes do all the work for you by leveraging its auto-scaling feature.

Many DevOps beginners think that Docker and Kubernetes are the same but they are not. Docker provides a container to deploy your application and commands to interact with those but container but Kubernetes is actually a container management technology, which decides how many containers are needed and deal with other management aspects.

In fact, Kubernetes or K8s is arguably the most important container management technology in the world at this moment and you shouldn't be surprised that the roots of Kubernetes lie in Google itself.

It's not a Google tool but created by a couple of Google developers as an open-source alternative of similar tools they have used in Google to manage containers at scale.

Kubernetes comes with some mind-boggling features like auto-scaling, it's very reliable, and also an extremely powerful container orchestration engine, probably the best at this moment.

It allows you to convert your infrastructure into a Container as a Service (Platform), bringing in some of the awe-inspiring features like Zero Downtime Deployments, Fault Tolerance, Auto Scaling, Cloud and Storage integrations, which were extremely difficult to implement.

More and more people are realizing the importance of DevOps and learning tools like Jenkins, Docker, and Kubernetes and if you also happen to be in the same boat then these free courses will provide you the springboard you need to jump into the DevOps world.

Btw, if you don't mind spending few bucks for learning something as valuable as Kubernetes, then I suggest you also check out Docker and Kubernetes: The Complete Guide course on Udemy, it's not free but you can get it for just $10 on many Udemy flash sales which happens every month.

You will learn both Docker and Kubernetes, which means you can kill two birds with just one stone. It is the perfect course to start with both Docker and Kubernetes in 2024.

6 Best Free Online Courses to Learn Kubernetes in 2024

Anyway, here is my list of some of the best but free courses to learn Kubernetes in 2024. Even though these courses are free they are nice courses and just made free by their instructor for promotional and educational purposes.

If you are starting with Kubernetes, I suggest you join one of these courses to get a feel of what is Kubernetes and how it can help you in your DevOps work.

1. Just enough kubernetes to be dangerous [Free]

This is a really nice course to learn Kubernetes in a short time, precisely in just 1.5 hours. It helps you get started with Kubernetes quickly and build a foundation while learning by practicing it.

You will not only set up Kubernetes cluster with Google Kubernetes Engine but also learn how to deploy a micro-services application and publish it to the world.

You will also learn how to dynamically scale your application using the auto-scaling feature of kubernetes, and release application updates without any downtime, or, achieve Zero downtime deployments.

You will also learn the basics of kubectl utility, an important tool to work with Kubernetes. In short, a perfect course to start your Kubernetes journey for FREE.

Here is the link to join this course - Just enough kubernetes to be dangerous

2. Learn DevOps Kubernetes deployment by kops and terraform [Free]

This is another practical course to learn Kubernetes on AWS by using kops and Terraform. In this course, you will learn how to deploy a Kubernetes cluster in AWS and how to use Terraform to run an immutable infrastructure.

You will also learn about the horizontally scaled deployment in Kubernetes and how to use Kops to spin up the Kubernetes cluster.

Most importantly, you will learn how to see logs, get inside the Docker container within the pod in Kubernetes.

Here is the link to join this course - Learn DevOps Kubernetes deployment by kops and terraform

Overall, a nice little practical course to learn Kubernetes with AWS in 2024.

3. Introduction to Containers w/ Docker, Kubernetes & OpenShift on Coursera

If you are looking for a free Coursera course to learn Docker, Kubernetes, and Openshift then you will love this course from IBM, one of the reputed Software and technology companies.

In this free Kubernetes course, you will learn how to build cloud-native applications using current containerization tools and technologies such as containers, Docker, container registries, Kubernetes, OpenShift, and Istio.

You will also learn how to deploy and scale your applications in any public, private, or hybrid cloud.

This course is specially designed for beginners and each week, you will apply what you learn in hands-on, browser-based labs. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to build a container image, then deploy and scale your container on the cloud using OpenShift.

Here is the link to join this course - Introduction to Containers w/ Docker, Kubernetes & OpenShift

By the way, If you are planning to join multiple Coursera courses or specializations, then consider joining Coursera Plus subscription which provides you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects.

It costs around $59/ per month but is worth it because you get access to more than 7000+ courses and projects, and you can also get unlimited certificates.

4. Introduction to Kubernetes [Free edx Course]

This is another free course to learn Kubernetes in depth. It's a self-paced course that runs for 14 weeks and 2 to 3 hours per week of work is required.

In this course, you'll learn some of Kubernetes' basic concepts and talk about the architecture of the system, the problems it solves, and the model that it uses to handle containerized deployments and scaling.

The course not only offers an introduction to Kubernetes but also includes technical instructions on how to deploy a stand-alone and multi-tier application.

It also teaches you about ConfigMaps and Secrets, and how to use Ingress.

Here is the link to join this course - Introduction to Kubernetes

After completing this course, you will have a solid understanding of the origin, architecture, and building blocks for Kubernetes, and will be able to build, test, and deploy containers at scale using Kubernetes in Cloud-native environments like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure.

5. Containers 101 [Free Course]

This is a nice, free course to learn how to build and deploy containerized applications with Kubernetes, Docker, and Helm.

Like the name suggests, In this course, you'll learn the basics of building and deploying containerized applications.

The course introduces the concepts of containers powered by Docker and how to create them.

You'll also learn the essentials needed for modern DevOps with orchestration, packaging, and more built on the fast-growing Docker, Kubernetes, and Helm stack.

In short, a perfect course to learn containers in-depth, with 6-hours of quality material.

Here is the link to join this course - Containers 101 [Free Course]

6. Kubernetes Course - Full Beginners Tutorial (Containerize Your Apps!) on FreeCodeCamp YouTube Channel

When it comes to looking for free resources, freeCodeCamp is one of my go-to place. You can find all kind of free quality courses on freeCodecamp's YouTube Channel and this free Kubernetes course is one of them.

In this 2 hours 58 minutes long, comprehensive and free Kubernetes course you will learn how to use Kubernetes in detail. Kubernetes makes it possible to containerize applications and simplifies app deployment to production.

This course is created by Bogdan Stashchuk. C, one of popular instructor for DevOps and containers.

And here is full list of topics which is covered in this course:

⭐️ Course Contents ⭐️
⌨️ (0:00:00) Kubernetes for Beginners Introduction
⌨️ (0:02:40) What is Kubernetes
⌨️ (0:06:46) What is Pod
⌨️ (0:08:22) Kubernetes Cluster and Nodes
⌨️ (0:10:40) Kubernetes Services
⌨️ (0:14:17) What is kubectl
⌨️ (0:17:23) Software required for this course
⌨️ (0:21:49) Installing kubectl
⌨️ (0:25:03) Installing Minikube
⌨️ (0:29:38) Cleating Kubernetes cluster using Minikube
⌨️ (0:33:50) Exploring the Kubernetes node
⌨️ (0:40:36) Creating just single Pod
⌨️ (0:45:57) Exploring Kubernetes Pod
⌨️ (0:52:44) Creating alias for the kubectl command
⌨️ (0:55:17) Creating and exploring Deployment
⌨️ (1:07:00) Connecting to one of the Pods using its IP address
⌨️ (1:09:23) What is Service
⌨️ (1:11:18) Creating and exploring ClusterIP Service
⌨️ (1:16:38) Connecting to the Deployment using ClusterIP Service
⌨️ (1:20:55) Deleting Deployment and Service
⌨️ (1:22:20) Creating Node web application
⌨️ (1:30:05) Dockerizing Node application
⌨️ (1:38:28) Pushing custom image to the Docker Hub
⌨️ (1:40:26) Creating deployment based on the custom Docker image
⌨️ (1:45:49) Scaling custom image deployment
⌨️ (1:49:14) Creating NodePort Service
⌨️ (1:53:51) Creating LoadBalancer Service
⌨️ (1:56:49) Rolling update of the deployment
⌨️ (2:05:30) What happens when one of the pods is deleted
⌨️ (2:06:31) Kubernetes Dashboard
⌨️ (2:10:49) Creating YAML deployment specification file
⌨️ (2:17:04) How to use Kubernetes documentation
⌨️ (2:20:35) Applying YAML deployment file
⌨️ (2:24:13) Creating YAML service specification file
⌨️ (2:27:59) Plan for the creation of the two deployments
⌨️ (2:31:16) Creating another web app with two endpoints
⌨️ (2:35:15) Building custom Docker image for the second web app
⌨️ (2:36:38) Creating YAML specification for the second web app
⌨️ (2:39:02) Creating YAML specification for the NGINX app
⌨️ (2:42:07) Applying specifications for both apps
⌨️ (2:44:09) Verifying connectivity between different deployments
⌨️ (2:47:05) Resolving Service name to IP address
⌨️ (2:49:52) Deleting both applications
⌨️ (2:51:00) Changing Container Runtime from Docker to CRI-O
⌨️ (2:54:49) Deploying apps using CRI-O container runtime
⌨️ (2:56:08) Verifying connectivity between deployments
⌨️ (2:57:11) Wrap-Up

Overall, one of the best free online course to learn Kubernetes in depth. You can watch this course right here or on YouTube

7. Getting Started with Kubernetes [Free Trial]

This is another hands-on course you can join to learn Kubernetes online. It's available on Pluralsight, one of the popular online course platform.

In this K8 course, you will learn the theory and practical skills required to get up and running with containers and Kubernetes as fast as possible.

The course can be logically divided into three parts. In the first part, you'll dive into Kubernetes architecture, what the main components and services are, and how they come together to build a production-class container infrastructure.

In the second and third parts, you'll learn how to install and deploy Kubernetes on several cloud platforms and learn to work with pods, deployments, and services.

By the end of this course, you'll have a solid understanding of what Kubernetes is and how it works, as well as skills to deploy a Kubernetes cluster and simple applications.

Here is the link to join this course - Getting Started with Kubernetes

That's all about some of my favorite free online courses to learn Kubernetes in-depth. As I have said, Kubernetes is one of the most important container management technologies and is important if you are thinking about DevOps in the Cloud.

I suggest you spend some time learning various tools and features offered by Kubernetes for scaling your containers, including the auto-scaling feature of Kubernetes.

Other Programming and Development Courses you may like

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you found these best free Kubernetes courses useful then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback then please drop a note.

P. S. - If you are looking for the best Kubernetes course and don't mind paying some money then* Docker and Kubernetes: The Complete Guide *is the perfect course to start with both Docker and Kubernetes in 2024.

My favorite free courses to Learn Kubernetes (K8s) in 2024