Labs

Start at the command line. These labs move from SSH and basic navigation through files, permissions, links, and text processing with grep, sed, and awk, then into shell scripting and automation. The track finishes with virtualization and scheduling, so you can run a Linux system day to day without a GUI. Difficulty mix: 11 beginner, 10 intermediate, 3 advanced.

From a fresh install to a production-ready server. Labs cover VM installation, post-install configuration, disk management and LVM, user administration, systemd services, and package management, then backup, logging, and scheduling. The goal is a server you can trust to run on its own. Difficulty mix: 4 beginner, 6 intermediate, 2 advanced.

Packets, protocols, and the gear that moves them. The track moves from static addressing, routing, and subnetting through VLANs, DHCP, DNS, and packet analysis with Wireshark, into software-defined networking with OpenFlow, SDN controllers, and a hands-on Mininet lab environment. This is the grounding that security and cloud work stand on. Difficulty mix: 1 beginner, 10 intermediate, 5 advanced.

Defense, detection, and response. Labs cover firewalls, SSH hardening, and mandatory access controls, then vulnerability assessment, incident response procedures, and threat intelligence. The advanced half goes deep: live and dead box forensics, timeline analysis, malware analysis, SOC pipeline automation, zero-trust design, and Active Directory threat hunting. Difficulty mix: 6 intermediate, 12 advanced.

Programming for people who run systems. These labs teach Python from the ground up, from variables and data types to modules and object-oriented programming, then apply it immediately: system administration scripts, CLI tools with argparse, and utilities like a memory usage analyzer that solve real operational problems. Every lab produces a working tool, not a toy exercise. Difficulty mix: 8 beginner, 6 intermediate.

Store it, query it, keep it safe. Labs move from SQL fundamentals and database design through constraints, joins, and complex queries, into administration, backup and recovery, and cloud deployments on Azure. The thread throughout is the data behind every other lab on this page. Difficulty mix: 1 beginner, 6 intermediate, 1 advanced.

Infrastructure you can build with an API call. Labs cover Azure CLI setup, virtual networks, VMs, NSGs and route tables, then infrastructure as code with ARM templates, monitoring, and cost management. The track closes with cloud security posture management across Azure and AWS. Difficulty mix: 2 beginner, 6 intermediate, 1 advanced.

From a single container to a managed cluster. Labs start with Docker images, Dockerfiles, and multi-container apps with Compose, then move to Kubernetes: pods, deployments, services, and networking. The capstone is a real AKS deployment on Azure with autoscaling. Difficulty mix: 1 beginner, 6 intermediate, 2 advanced.

The workflow behind everything else here. Labs cover Git fundamentals, branching and merging, pull requests, and conflict resolution, then CI with GitHub Actions up to a full CI/CD pipeline that tests, scans, and deploys a container on every push. Learn this early, because every other track uses it. Difficulty mix: 1 beginner, 4 intermediate, 1 advanced.