Hands-on projects¶
Guided cloud builds. Each has an estimated time, a goal you can articulate to an interviewer, and inline code or commands. Most run on free-tier accounts.
Data, security and AI builds live on the sibling sites: build a data pipeline on Data Zero to Hero, implement zero trust on Security Zero to Hero, and RAG, agents, model serving and fine-tuning builds on AI Zero to Hero.
Cloud builds¶
| Build | Time | What you'll have at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy a 3-tier app | 3-4 hours | LB → app servers → DB on AWS, Azure, or GCP |
| Build a CI/CD pipeline | 4-5 hours | Auto-build, test, and deploy on commit |
| Set up a monitoring stack | 3-4 hours | Prometheus + Grafana + alertmanager wired end-to-end |
| Set up a Kubernetes cluster | 4-5 hours | Production-shaped cluster, ingress, observability |
| Build infra with Terraform | 3-4 hours | VPC + compute + DB declared as code, with state |
| Build a serverless app | 3-4 hours | API + queue + function + storage, event-driven |
| Run a DR drill | 4-6 hours | Tested failover, measured RTO/RPO |
How to pick¶
- First-ever cloud build: Deploy a 3-tier app. Touches networking, compute, identity, and storage in one project.
- Interview prep: Set up a Kubernetes cluster, Build infra with Terraform, Build a CI/CD pipeline. These map to the most common practitioner questions.
- Cheapest to run: serverless and Terraform (free-tier friendly).
- Most production-shaped: Run a DR drill, Set up a monitoring stack.
- Which build backs which exam: Labs by certification.
Related¶
- Concepts - the "why" behind each pattern
- Architecture patterns - reference designs each build follows
- Topic indexes - all four pillars per subject
Which lab for which cert¶
Each lab maps to the certs it exercises. The reverse index lives in labs-by-cert.md.