06 Advanced DevOps and Architecture

This folder turns the repository into an incremental curriculum. Follow the phases in order unless you already meet the exit criteria for a phase.

Learning Model

Each phase follows the same pattern:

1. Learn the concepts from the roadmap and reference docs.

2. Reinforce them with cheat-sheet sources and command practice.

3. Validate understanding with interview questions.

4. Apply the knowledge in labs, scenarios, and capstones.

Phase Map

Phase	Goal	Main sources	Exit outcome
Phase 1 - Foundations	Build the base operating model	01_ fundamentals, 02_ Git and CI/CD notes, 08_ guides, easy questions	You can explain DevOps fundamentals and work comfortably in Linux, Git, and networking basics
Phase 2 - Platform And Delivery Core	Learn how software is built, packaged, deployed, and provisioned	02_, 03_, 04_, cloud track, delivery guide	You can design and operate a simple delivery platform
Phase 3 - SRE And Operations	Learn to run systems in production	05_, scenario drills, medium and hard interview banks	You can monitor, troubleshoot, and stabilize services under failure
Phase 4 - Senior Role Readiness	Think like a senior DevOps or SRE engineer	hard questions, playbook, career section, cloud hard track	You can explain trade-offs, architecture, reliability, governance, and incident leadership
Capstones	Turn study into proof	phase docs plus existing repo references	You have real projects, runbooks, and stories for interviews

Specialization Track

After Phase 4, use the MLOps specialization if your target role includes ML platforms, training pipelines, model serving, or GPU-aware infrastructure:

• ../MLOps.md

• ../../07_Interview_Preparation/mlops-interview-playbook.md

• ../../07_Interview_Preparation/mlops-interview-questions-easy.md

• ../../07_Interview_Preparation/mlops-interview-questions-medium.md

• ../../07_Interview_Preparation/mlops-interview-questions-hard.md

• ../../07_Interview_Preparation/mlops-scenario-based-interview-drills.md

Suggested 12-Week Deep Track

Weeks 1-3

• Complete Phase 1

• Practice shell, Git, Linux, and networking commands daily

• Answer easy questions only after the notes make sense

Weeks 4-6

• Complete Phase 2

• Containerize an application

• Build a simple CI/CD flow

• Provision infrastructure with Terraform

Weeks 7-9

• Complete Phase 3

• Build dashboards and alerts

• Practice failure drills from the scenario file

• Write one small runbook and one RCA

Weeks 10-12

• Complete Phase 4

• Do one capstone project

• Practice architecture and incident interviews out loud

• Tighten resume and project evidence

Suggested 4-Week Interview Sprint

If you are already mid-level and preparing quickly:

1. Read REPO-AUDIT.md

2. Do Phase 1 fast and confirm the exit criteria

3. Focus heavily on Phases 2, 3, and 4

4. Use 07_Interview_Preparation/devops-interview-playbook.md and 07_Interview_Preparation/general-interview-questions.md every week

5. Finish with at least one capstone and one mock incident walkthrough

Ground Rules For Incremental Learning

• Do not memorize interview answers before understanding the system.

• Do not skip Linux, networking, or IaC foundations because Kubernetes is trendy.

• Do not stop at deployment; senior roles are about operations, reliability, and trade-offs.

• Do not treat Azure, AWS, or Kubernetes as isolated tools. Always connect them to delivery, observability, and failure handling.