Thursday, September 17, 2026

DevOps & DevSecOps Prerequisites | Get Ready for AI-Enabled DevSecOps Hands-On Labs

 

🚀 Get Ready for Your DevSecOps Hands-On Labs

Welcome, DevOps Champ!

Before starting the hands-on labs in the AI-Enabled DevSecOps Mastery Bootcamp, please complete the prerequisites below.

You don't need prior DevOps experience. The goal is simply to make sure your basic Linux knowledge, accounts, and laptop are ready so we can spend more class time learning and building.


🐧 1. Start Learning Linux Fundamentals

Linux is one of the most important foundational skills for a DevOps engineer.

If you are new to Linux or not comfortable using Linux commands, please start learning Linux before we begin the core DevOps labs.

Focus on These Linux Topics

  • Linux file system and navigation
  • Files and directories
  • Basic Linux commands
  • Users and groups
  • File permissions
  • Package management
  • Processes and services
  • SSH
  • Basic networking commands
  • Basic Shell scripting

🎓 Recommended Linux Courses

If you're new to Linux, please enroll in one of the recommended Linux courses below.

👉 Linux Course – Option 1
[Your Udemy Linux Course Link]

👉 Linux Course – Option 2
[Your Udemy Linux Course Link]

You don't need to complete the entire Linux course before your first class.

Start learning the fundamentals and continue practicing Linux throughout the bootcamp.

If you already have good hands-on Linux experience, you can skip this step.


☁️ 2. Create Your AWS Account

We will use AWS extensively for our hands-on labs, including creating EC2 virtual machines and building DevOps environments.

Please create an AWS account:

👉 https://aws.amazon.com/

🔐 Enable MFA

After creating your AWS account, enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to help secure it.

👉 How to Enable MFA for Your AWS Account

https://www.cidevops.com/2018/09/how-to-enable-multi-factor.html

Important: Cloud resources can generate charges. Always stop or terminate resources when they are no longer needed.


🧑‍💻 3. Create Your Source Code Accounts

We will work with multiple source code management platforms.

GitHub — Required

We will use GitHub for source code management and GitHub Actions CI/CD.

👉 https://github.com/

GitLab — Required

We will use GitLab for source code management and GitLab CI/CD.

👉 https://gitlab.com/

Bitbucket — Bonus Labs

We will also cover Bitbucket through bonus hands-on labs to give you exposure to another popular source code management platform.

👉 https://bitbucket.org/

You can create your Bitbucket account now or when we reach the bonus labs.


💻 4. Prepare Your Laptop

You can use Windows, macOS, or Linux.

Please make sure you have:

☐ Reliable internet connection
☐ Administrator access to your laptop
☐ Ability to install software
☐ Modern web browser
☐ At least 8 GB RAM recommended
☐ Sufficient free disk space


🛠️ 5. Install Basic Software

Please install the following before beginning the hands-on labs.

Visual Studio Code

We will use VS Code for editing source code, YAML files, Terraform, Dockerfiles, scripts, and configuration files.

👉 https://code.visualstudio.com/

Git

Git will be used throughout the program for source code management.

👉 https://git-scm.com/

SSH Client

macOS/Linux: SSH is normally available through the terminal.

Windows: You can use Windows OpenSSH or Git Bash.

⚠️ Don't Install Everything Yet

You do not need to install Jenkins, Maven, SonarQube, Nexus, Terraform, Ansible, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Prometheus, or other DevOps tools before class.

Installing and configuring these technologies is part of your hands-on learning.

We'll do them together during the appropriate labs.


☁️ 6. Microsoft Azure

We will also use Microsoft Azure later in the bootcamp.

You don't need an Azure account for your first class.

Instructions will be provided before we begin the Azure labs.


📚 7. Basic Technical Knowledge

You don't need to be an expert.

Basic familiarity with these concepts will help:

  • Computers and operating systems
  • Command-line usage
  • Basic networking — IP addresses, DNS and ports
  • Basic cloud concepts
  • Basic software development concepts

Programming experience is helpful, but not required.


✅ Final Prerequisite Checklist

Before starting the hands-on labs, make sure:

☐ Started learning Linux fundamentals
☐ AWS account created
☐ AWS MFA enabled
☐ GitHub account created
☐ GitLab account created
☐ Git installed
☐ Visual Studio Code installed
☐ SSH access available
☐ Administrator access to your laptop

Bitbucket can wait until the bonus labs.

🚀 You're Ready!

Don't worry about knowing or installing every DevOps tool before class.

We'll learn how to install, configure, integrate, troubleshoot, secure, and automate these technologies step-by-step through hands-on labs.

Come prepared to learn, practice, troubleshoot, and build!

See you in class!

Best Regards,
Coach AK

"Learn DevOps the right way. Then use AI to become a smarter engineer."

Welcome to the AI-Enabled DevSecOps Mastery Bootcamp | Start Here

🚀 Welcome to the AI-Enabled DevSecOps Mastery Bootcamp!

Welcome, DevOps Champ!

I'm excited to have you join the AI-Enabled DevSecOps Mastery Bootcamp with Coach AK.

Before attending your first live class, please complete the simple steps below.

New to DevOps? No worries! You don't need to know all the tools before class. We'll learn everything step-by-step through hands-on labs.


🎯 Step 1 — Understand the Coaching Program

Take a few minutes to understand how the coaching program works and how to get the most value from the hands-on training.

👉 Review the Coaching Model

https://www.coachdevops.com/2019/04/devops-coaching-model-information.html


💻 Step 2 — Complete Your Prerequisites

Please prepare your Linux fundamentals, required accounts, laptop, and basic software before beginning the hands-on labs.

👉 Complete the DevOps & DevSecOps Prerequisites

https://www.coachdevops.com/2026/09/devops-devsecops-prerequisites-get.html

The prerequisites guide covers:

  • Linux fundamentals

  • AWS account setup & MFA

  • GitHub & GitLab accounts

  • Laptop & required software

You don't need to install all the DevOps tools before class. We'll install and configure them together during the appropriate hands-on labs.


📚 Step 3 — Review DevOps Fundamentals

Before we start the hands-on labs, get a basic understanding of:

SDLC → Agile/Scrum → DevOps → CI/CD

A basic understanding is enough. You don't need to master these concepts before class.

🎥 Quick Learning

What is DevOps?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I94-tJlovg

Waterfall vs. Scrum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TycLR0TqFA


🗺️ Step 4 — Know Where We're Going

Throughout the bootcamp, your learning journey will progress through:

Linux & Git → CI/CD → DevSecOps → Terraform & Ansible → Docker & Kubernetes → AWS & Azure → Monitoring → AI-Enabled DevOps

You'll learn these technologies progressively through 50+ hands-on labs, projects, and real-world scenarios.

No preparation is required for these tools right now.


🤖 Where Does AI Fit?

Our learning philosophy is simple:

Learn the fundamentals first. Then use AI to become a more productive DevOps Engineer.

As you progress, you'll learn how AI can assist with CI/CD, troubleshooting, Infrastructure as Code, security analysis, documentation, and automation.

You'll eventually build your own DevOps AI Assistant.


✅ Ready for Your First Class?

Before joining your first session, make sure:

☐ Prerequisites reviewed
☐ AWS, GitHub & GitLab accounts are ready
☐ Linux fundamentals started
☐ Required software is installed
☐ DevOps basics reviewed

That's it — you're ready! 🚀

You don't need to master anything before class.

Come ready to learn, practice, experiment, troubleshoot, and build!

See you in class!

Best Regards,
Coach AK

"Learn DevOps the right way. Then use AI to become a smarter engineer."

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

How to Provision Ubuntu 24.0.4 EC2 Instance | How to create EC2 instance in AWS console | Launch Ubuntu 24.0.4 instance in AWS

How to create new EC2 instance in AWS console using new UI experience?

What is EC2 instance? 

It is virtual server provided by AWS. We will be using this EC2 to setup both Jenkins and Tomcat. Please follow the below steps to create an EC2 instance.

Watch in YouTube for a demo:

Steps:
1: Login to AWS console by clicking this link -->  https://aws.amazon.com/console/
click on All services, Click on Compute -->  Click on EC2


2. Click on Launch instance


3. Enter Name as EC2 and enter 2 as number of instances (one for Jenkins and another for Tomcat)


4. Select Ubuntu

 and choose Ubuntu server 24.0.4 as AMI


5. Enter t2.small as instance type
6. Click on Create new Key Pair


7. Choose the existing key pair if you have one, otherwise create new one, give some name as myJenkinsKey. Make sure you download the key in your local machine. Please do NOT give space or any character while naming the key.



8. Under Network settings, Click Edit



Add port range as 8080 and select AnyWhere as Source Type, that should enter 0.0.0.0/0 as Source

9. Configure Storage
Enter 15 GB as root volume 


And then make sure in Summary, values appear as below:


10. Click on Launch Instance.

Click on View instances

Now you should be able to view instances in AWS console. Now you can re-name as Jenkins-EC2 and Tomcat-EC2


Connect to EC2 instance from local machine:
Please click the below link to understand the steps for connecting to EC2 instance from your local machine - windows or Apple laptop.

http://www.cidevops.com/2018/02/how-to-connect-to-ec2-instance-from.html

Sunday, June 14, 2026

Complete AI-Enabled DevOps Learning Roadmap for 2026 | Skills Required to Become a Modern DevSecOps Engineer

🚀AI-Enabled DevOps Engineer Roadmap for 2026

The future belongs to AI-Enabled DevOps Engineers, not AI-only Engineers. Strong DevOps fundamentals combined with AI productivity skills will create the highest demand in the job market.

AI is not a replacement for DevOps skills. 

Top AI and DevOps skills

  1. Linux knowledge and scripting - basic troubleshooting and scripting and looking at the logs
  2. Experience in Git, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Repos or any source code management tools.
  3. Experience in CI tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CICDAzure DevOps
  4. Experience in Code quality tool/security scanning tools - SonarQube, AquaSec Trivy, Checkov
  5. Experience in Infrastructure automation tools such as Terraform, AWS cloud formation
  6. Experience in Configuration Management tools such as Ansible, Puppet or Chef
  7. Experience in scripting languages such as YAML, groovy, Ruby, Python and Shell
  8. Experience in containers such as Docker, Kubernetes and Helm
  9. Experience in Monitoring tools such as Prometheus, Grafana
  10. Ability to troubleshoot in case builds, deployments failure.
  11. Any cloud knowledge and experience - AWS, Azure and Google cloud
  12. AI-assisted DevOps and Cloud Engineering
  13. AI-assisted Troubleshooting and RCA
  14. AI-assisted Infrastructure Automation
  15. AI-assisted DevSecOps
  16. AI-assisted Kubernetes Operations
  17. Understanding AI Agents, RAG and SRE Automation

Soft skills employers are looking:

These days employers are not only looking for strong technical skills but also looking "soft skills" which are essentials to become successful in IT. If you think if you are lagging on any of these skills, no worries. All these skills can be developed and improved over period of time by practicing.

  • Open minded
  • Willingness to learn new skills
  • Communication
  • Approachable
  • "Get it done" attitude
  • Being adaptable

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

How to integrate SonarQube with GitLab CICD Pipeline | SonarQube Integration with GitLab CICD | Automate Code Scan using SonarQube In GitLab CICD

 Please find steps for integrating SonarQube with GitLab CICD



Pre-requisites:

How to integrate SonarQube with GitLab CICD:
We will be following below steps:
  • Create Token in SonarQube to authenticate with GitLab
  • Add Sonar Token, SonarQube URL as Secrets in GitLab
  • Create GitLab CICD yaml
  • Add tasks for Maven build and Sonar Scan
  • Verify scan report in SonarQube

Create Token in SonarQube to authenticate with GitLab
You need to login to SonarQube using your admin password and click on Admin on your top side.
Click on My Account, Security. 
Under Tokens, Give some value for token name and choose global analysis token, click on generate Tokens. Copy the token value generated.


Add Sonar Token and Sonar Host URLs as Secret in GitLab
Go to your GitLab Repo --> Click on Settings --> CICD --> Variables



Click new Repository Secret



Add another variable for storing Sonar token




Create GitLab CICD workflow yaml:

Go to GitLab repo where your Java project is, create a new file:.gitlab-ci.yml

The below file have three stages:
    - build
    - sonar
    - deploy

Create .gitlab-ci.yml CICD Pipeline:
stages:
  - build
  - sonar
  - deploy

build_war:
  stage: build
  image: maven:3.8.6-eclipse-temurin-11

  script:
    - echo "Building WAR file using Maven"
    - mvn clean install -f MyWebApp/pom.xml
    - echo "Listing target directory"
    - ls -la MyWebApp/target

  artifacts:
    paths:
      - MyWebApp/target/*.war
    expire_in: 1 hour

sonarqube_scan:
  stage: sonar
  image: maven:3.9.6-eclipse-temurin-17

  script:
    - |
      mvn sonar:sonar \
        -f MyWebApp/pom.xml \
        -Dsonar.projectKey=MyWebApp \
        -Dsonar.host.url="${SONAR_HOST_URL}" \
        -Dsonar.token="${SONAR_TOKEN}"
      
deploy_to_tomcat:
  stage: deploy
  image: curlimages/curl:latest

  dependencies:
    - build_war

  script:
    - echo "Deploying WAR file to Tomcat running on AWS EC2"

    - |
      curl -v -u ${TOMCAT_USER}:${TOMCAT_PASSWORD} \
      -T MyWebApp/target/MyWebApp.war \
      "http://${TOMCAT_HOST}/manager/text/deploy?path=/MyWebApp&update=true"

Commit the file.

As soon as you commit, build will run immediately in GitLab CICD. 
Now you can see the output of build in Actions tab.



Now login to SonarQube to see the Scan report


DevOps & DevSecOps Prerequisites | Get Ready for AI-Enabled DevSecOps Hands-On Labs

  🚀 Get Ready for Your DevSecOps Hands-On Labs Welcome, DevOps Champ! Before starting the hands-on labs in the AI-Enabled DevSecOps Mastery...