Cloud Native Engineer - Table of contents - (Start here)

Table of contents split by category

Cloud Native Engineer

Legend: Some articles appear in multiple categories when they cover overlapping topics (maximum of two categories per article). This helps readers find relevant content regardless of their primary area of interest.

Kubernetes

1. Tips and tricks to pass the Certified Kubernetes Administrator exam (Apr 2, 2023): Essential tips and tricks for the Certified Kubernetes Administrator exam, including time management strategies, key topics to focus on, and practical advice for exam day preparation and execution.

2. Prepare for your CKA exam (Apr 9, 2023): Comprehensive guide to study materials and books for CKA certification, with detailed reviews of each resource and a structured learning path to help you master Kubernetes administration concepts.

3. Revolutionizing Development: Exploring Kubernetes Dev Environments in 2023 (May 19, 2023): Exploring options for local development including K3d, Kind, and Minikube, with practical comparisons, setup guides, and recommendations based on different development scenarios and requirements.

4. Ep #2: Kubernetes: node-shell (Jul 2, 2023): How to access Kubernetes node resources using kubectl node-shell plugin, including installation, common use cases, and practical examples for debugging and troubleshooting node-level issues.

5. Ep #6: Discover sidecar containers in Kubernetes (Jul 23, 2023): Understanding sidecar patterns and their implementation in Kubernetes, with real-world examples, best practices for common use cases, and practical implementation strategies for enhancing application functionality.

6. Ep #37: Maximise Your Productivity: Harness Hot Reloading in Kubernetes (Jul 21, 2024): Accelerating Kubernetes workflows with Tilt and hot reloading, including setup instructions, configuration best practices, and strategies for improving development speed and efficiency in Kubernetes environments.

7. Ep #41: Powerful Load Balancing Strategies: Kubernetes Gateway API (Jan 8, 2025): Comprehensive overview of load balancing options from ClusterIP to Gateway API, exploring evolution of Kubernetes networking, comparing different approaches, and providing guidance for choosing the right strategy for your use case.

8. Ep #35: From Zero to K8s Hero: 5 Must-Have Tools for Kubernetes (Jan 21, 2025): Essential tools for Kubernetes development and operations, featuring detailed reviews of each tool, practical usage examples, and recommendations for integrating them into your workflow for maximum productivity.

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Elastic & Observability

1. Elasticsearch: 'ignore_malformed', The Antidote for Mapping Exceptions (Jun 17, 2023): Handling malformed fields in Elasticsearch without dropping documents, with practical examples of implementing the ignore_malformed setting and understanding its impact on data ingestion and index mapping strategies.

2. Ep #1: Reroute processor for Elasticsearch (Jun 26, 2023): Flexible log data management with the reroute processor, including detailed configuration examples, common use cases for log routing, and strategies for implementing complex log processing pipelines.

3. Ep #11: Dev environment with Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (Oct 25, 2023): Setting up Elasticsearch on Kubernetes for development, covering operator installation, cluster configuration, and best practices for running Elasticsearch in a development environment while maintaining production-like features.

4. Ep #38: How to deploy Fleet and Elastic Agent on Elastic Cloud Kubernetes (Sep 15, 2024): Deploying Fleet and Elastic Agent on Elastic Cloud Kubernetes, with detailed setup instructions, configuration options, and strategies for managing agents at scale in a Kubernetes environment.

5. Ep #9: Exploring Structured Logging with slog in Go (Sep 20, 2023): Using the new slog package for structured logging in Go, including comparison with other logging libraries, implementation patterns, and best practices for creating maintainable and searchable logs.

6. Ep #22: Observability 101: A Beginner's Journey Free of Print Statements (Jun 8, 2024): Introduction to observability principles and practices, exploring the three pillars of observability, and providing practical guidance for moving beyond basic logging to comprehensive system visibility.

7. Ep #23: Master Observability with Logs: An In-Depth Guide for Beginners (Jun 29, 2024): In-depth guide to logging in modern applications, covering structured logging patterns, log aggregation strategies, and best practices for implementing effective logging in distributed systems.

8. Ep #36: Demystifying Log Collection in Cloud-Native Applications on Kubernetes (Jul 21, 2024): Strategies for collecting and managing logs in Kubernetes, including various logging architectures, tools comparison, and practical implementation patterns for effective log management in cloud-native environments.

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System Design

1. Unravelling the Role of Content Delivery Networks in System Design (Dec 15, 2023): Role of CDNs in modern system architecture, exploring how they improve application performance, reduce server load, and enhance user experience through distributed content delivery and caching strategies.

2. Enhancing Software Design with Diagrams as Code (Dec 26, 2023): Creating system architecture diagrams using code, featuring tools like PlantUML and Mermaid, with practical examples of creating maintainable and version-controlled documentation for complex systems.

3. Elevate your skills in 2024: learn about System Design (Dec 11, 2023): Essential skills and concepts for system design, providing a roadmap for learning distributed systems concepts, scalability patterns, and practical approaches to designing robust software systems.

4. What happens when you type a URL into your browser? (Jan 15, 2024): Understanding what happens when you type a URL, diving deep into DNS resolution, TCP/IP connections, HTTP protocols, and the browser rendering process to explain web architecture fundamentals.

5. Ep #16: Decoding HTTP: Networking Fundamentals for System Designers (Jan 22, 2024): Deep dive into HTTP protocols and networking fundamentals, exploring protocol versions, headers, status codes, and best practices for designing network-aware applications.

6. How to design your first web application (Feb 4, 2024): Designing scalable web applications for millions of users, covering architecture patterns, database design, caching strategies, and practical approaches to building robust and maintainable web applications.

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DevOps & Tools

1. Ep #8: HashiCorp's open-source exodus: Redefining DevOps in a Closed-Source Era (Sep 7, 2023): Impact of HashiCorp's license change and alternative solutions, exploring the implications for the DevOps community and examining open-source alternatives for infrastructure as code and configuration management.

2. Ep #5: Taskfile: a modern alternative to Makefile (Jul 15, 2023): Modern approach to task automation with Taskfile, demonstrating how to create maintainable build scripts, automate common development tasks, and improve team productivity with a more intuitive alternative to Make.

3. Can you keep a secret... on your laptop? (Jun 11, 2023): Managing credentials and secrets securely on development machines, featuring different approaches to local secret management and best practices for keeping sensitive information safe during development.

4. Unlock SQLite: Easy Data Analysis for Busy Software Engineers (Mar 9, 2024): Using SQLite for efficient data analysis workflows, including practical examples of data manipulation, query optimization, and strategies for handling various data formats in a lightweight database.

5. Ep #39: Powerful Command line tools for DevOps: Nushell and Jc (Nov 16, 2024): Modern command-line tools for DevOps productivity, exploring how Nushell and Jc can revolutionize command-line workflows and make data processing more efficient and structured.

6. Ep #40: Steampipe: Query your cloud infrastructure with SQL for faster insights (Nov 16, 2024): Using SQL to query and manage cloud infrastructure, demonstrating how to gain insights into your cloud resources using familiar SQL syntax and create powerful infrastructure analytics.

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Programming

1. Effortless Python Development with Nix (Feb 17, 2024): Streamlined Python development environment setup with Nix, covering reproducible environments, dependency management, and practical workflows for Python development.

2. Ep #43: UV Package Manager: Better Python Dependency Management (Feb 9, 2025): Better Python dependency management with UV, exploring fast package installation, dependency resolution, and modern approaches to Python project management.

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Other

1. Ep #42: A Thank You to my 1K Subscribers (And How Being Seen Changed Everything) (Jan 21, 2025): Reflections on newsletter growth and community building, sharing insights about content creation, audience engagement, and the journey of building a technical newsletter from scratch.