Learn DevOps techniques and tools in this home lab setup 26/09/2020, 16:08

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Learn DevOps techniques and tools in this home lab

setup
This DevOps lab uses Linux VMs and Docker containers to teach administrators the
basics of immutable infrastructure, configuration automation and other modern IT
concepts.

By Alastair Cooke Published: 26 Apr 2017

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n The following DevOps lab runs with a single laptop and a series of free tools. With my
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infrastructure background, I have laid out the exercises and trials to help you learn DevOps from
the infrastructure side of things, rather than the developer side. These steps introduce
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infrastructure and operational concepts, such as immutable infrastructure, configuration
automation and containerization. DevOps lab: Build Vagrant VMs to learn
immutable ...
– SearchITOperations

The simplest home lab is a single computer -- quite possibly a gaming computer that serves
Learn DevOps techniques in a home lab
double duty. The DevOps lab requires a reasonably powerful workstation, with a multicore CPU – SearchITOperations

and at least 8 GB of RAM. A solid-state drive is required for a serious home lab. The DevOps lab
DevOps lab: Learn to use GitHub for
itself runs on virtual machines on top of the host PC. And you want as much automation as infrastructure ...
– SearchITOperations
possible. It should be easy to recreate the lab after a mistake, and just as easy to start or stop the
lab in a few minutes.

To learn DevOps most effectively, use its principles to build this lab. A build process delivers an
immutable infrastructure, which is described in some files. This manner of constructing an IT
deployment is called infrastructure as code. A version control system protects and manages these
code files. In the following steps, I'll demonstrate how to use files pulled from my GitHub

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Learn DevOps techniques and tools in this home lab setup 26/09/2020, 16:08

repository.

Follow along with the DevOps lab setup in four parts:

1. Start here to install HashiCorp Vagrant and spin up the Linux virtual machines that comprise
the home lab with a consistent workflow.

2. Move on to pick up Git version control techniques, describing your infrastructure to allow
repeatable deployments and controlled change.

3. Next, install Ansible so you can configure VMs more easily using automation instead of manual
effort.

4. Now you're ready to spin up Docker containers and discover this new layer of abstraction for
production workloads.

The lab we build today is not the end; it's a starting point for more DevOps learning. Use the lab to
dig deeper into configuration management capabilities or as a basis to learn about Kubernetes or
Mesos container orchestration platforms, for example.

Alastair Cooke asks:

What does your home lab setup entail?

Z Join the Discussion

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m Dig Deeper on DevOps and IT Certifications and

Training
The benefits of building 5 IT video tutorials Build the Kubernetes
a network automation admins don't want to home lab that's right for
lab miss your job

By: Terry Slattery By: Kristin Knapp

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Learn DevOps techniques and tools in this home lab setup 26/09/2020, 16:08

Third-party tools help manage DevOps with AWS,

multi-cloud

By: Tim Culverhouse

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[-] demitasse - 28 Apr 2017 8:47 AM

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