Series
Multi-part guides and deep dives. Pick a series and read from start to finish.
CI/CD with GitHub Actions for Newbies
A two-part series for beginners: start with CI/CD fundamentals through a first-hand pipeline that deploys a React + Node.js web app to AWS EC2 with Docker, then dive into the things basic GitHub Actions tutorials tend to skip — concurrency, the branch rule for reading YAML, the workflow_* family, dependency caching, matrix, Docker Hub instead of building on the server, GITHUB_TOKEN permissions, OIDC to retire long-lived credentials, and environment + approval gates.
2 parts→
AWS Monthly: What's New + Hands-On
A recurring digest of what AWS just shipped: filtering for the most notable new features and services, explaining why they are worth watching, and actually trying out the ones that are testable. Every item is grounded in the official AWS documentation, with demos run for real on a real account and then torn down. Demo code at github.com/nghiadaulau/aws-whats-new-demos.
1 part→
Serverless in Practice on AWS: URL Shortener + Realtime Analytics
Build a complete serverless product on AWS from scratch: a URL shortening service with realtime analytics. The series does not teach each service in isolation; it builds one production-ready backend end to end — Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB single-table, Cognito, EventBridge, Step Functions, WebSocket API — then operates it for real: idempotency, DLQ, X-Ray tracing, cold start, IAM least-privilege, CI/CD canary, cost analysis and load testing. All infrastructure is built with AWS SAM, code in Node.js + TypeScript, every command run for real on AWS, code at github.com/nghiadaulau/serverless-url-shortener-aws. Grounded in the official AWS documentation.
21 parts→
CI/CD on AWS with the Developer Tools
Build a complete CI/CD pipeline on AWS with the Developer Tools suite: CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeArtifact, CodeDeploy and CodePipeline. The series goes from the concepts to a real pipeline that takes code from CodeCommit through build and test, then a blue/green deploy onto an EC2 Auto Scaling Group with a manual approval gate and automatic rollback. All infrastructure is built with the AWS CLI, every command is run for real on AWS, and the code lives at github.com/nghiadaulau/aws-cicd-series. Grounded in the official AWS docs.
16 parts→
Terraform From Basics to Real-World Practice
Learn Terraform from zero to standing up multi-environment AWS infrastructure through CI/CD. The series covers HCL, providers and resources, state and remote state on S3, variables and expressions, modules, multiple environments, lifecycle, testing and pipelines — closing with a complete capstone project. Every command runs for real on AWS, code lives at github.com/nghiadaulau/terraform-series. Grounded in HashiCorp's official docs, Terraform 1.15 and AWS provider v6.
20 parts→
eBPF From Scratch
Learn eBPF from the ground up to writing real programs — the eBPF virtual machine, the verifier, maps, the hooks (XDP/tc/kprobe/tracepoint/LSM); tracing with bpftrace; writing programs in C with libbpf + CO-RE then loading them from Go (cilium/ebpf); networking, observability and security. A real Kubernetes cluster (kernel 6.17, Cilium 1.19 eBPF kube-proxy-less with hundreds of BPF programs running) is the lab throughout. Everything is tested on real hardware and grounded in official docs (ebpf.io, kernel.org, libbpf, cilium). Source at github.com/nghiadaulau/ebpf-from-scratch.
22 parts→
Kubernetes From Scratch
Build a complete Kubernetes cluster by hand — no kubeadm, no scripts — from the first certificate to a real HA cluster, then use that cluster as a lab to deep-dive every Kubernetes concept. Part one: PKI/TLS, etcd, the control plane, workers, pod networking, CoreDNS. Part two: Pods, workload controllers, scheduling, storage, advanced networking (Cilium eBPF), security, extending the API, operations. Each component is both explained from the inside and stood up/configured by hand. Tested for real on AWS EC2 with Kubernetes v1.36; manifests/scripts at github.com/nghiadaulau/kubernetes-from-scratch. Grounded in the official docs at kubernetes.io.
73 parts→
Kubernetes with Minikube
Learn Kubernetes from the ground up with minikube — a compact cluster that runs right on your machine. The series covers the architecture, Pods, Deployments, Services, ConfigMap/Secret, storage, Ingress, health checks, autoscaling and the workload types, closing with a complete deployment project. Every command runs for real on minikube; manifests at github.com/nghiadaulau/kubernetes-minikube-series. Grounded in the official docs at kubernetes.io.
15 parts→
Ansible From Basics to Advanced
Learn Ansible from the ground up to advanced topics: the agentless architecture, inventory, playbooks, modules, variables/templates, roles, vault, writing custom modules, and project-design best practices. Every hands-on part ships real code at github.com/nghiadaulau/ansible-series, practiced on EC2.
17 parts→