What's Next?

There are a variety of ways to take your Kubernetes journey to the next level, and, fortunately, most of them are easy.

Practice makes perfect

I know I’m being Captain Obvious with this one, but there’s no substitute for hands-on practice. Fortunately, it’s never been easier to spin up a Kubernetes playground where you can practice until you’re a world authority!

I recommend the following:

• Magic Sandbox
• Play with Kubernetes
• Docker Desktop

Magic Sandbox is a company that I have extremely close connections with (I’m Head of Content). It’s the ultimate place for getting hands-on with your own private, fully functioning multi-node cluster. You also get curated labs that you can follow along with, an amazing live dashboard that shows your cluster and applications in real time, and much more. It’s a subscription-based service, but I highly recommend you check it out – it even has a free tier for you to sample.

Play with Kubernetes gets you a time-limited, internet-based sandbox – you get four hours on your very own cluster. It’s provided as a free service, so sometimes performance and availability aren’t good. But hey, it’s free.

Docker Desktop is a free desktop app from Docker, Inc. available for your Mac and PC. It includes a single-node development cluster that’s great if you need something to play around with on your laptop.

Other options exist, and all of them are a lot simpler than how things used to be. I remember studying for my MCSE in Windows NT and spending countless hours rebuilding NT domains from CD installs on dusty old Compaq PCs in my bedroom. Things are so much simpler these days, so there is no excuse for not getting our hands dirty.