> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://atomoh.gitbook.io/kubernetes/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://atomoh.gitbook.io/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs.md).

# Lab Guides Introduction

> **Last Updated**: February 22, 2026

This section provides hands-on lab guides for practicing Kubernetes and related technologies. Each lab includes step-by-step instructions and verification methods, allowing you to confirm what you learned in theory in a real environment.

## Lab List

| #  | Lab                                                                                                                                       | Difficulty   | Prerequisites                |
| -- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------------------------- |
| 1  | [Linux Basics Lab](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/01-linux-basics-lab.md)                                                                 | Beginner     | Linux terminal access        |
| 2  | [Linux Advanced Skills Lab](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/02-linux-advanced-lab.md)                                                      | Beginner     | Linux basics completed       |
| 3  | [Container Technology Lab](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/03-container-technology-lab.md)                                                 | Beginner     | Docker installed             |
| 4  | [Pods and Workloads Lab](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/02-pods-and-workloads-lab.md)                                                     | Beginner     | kubectl, K8s cluster         |
| 5  | [Services and Networking Lab](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/03-services-networking-lab.md)                                               | Intermediate | kubectl, K8s cluster         |
| 6  | [Storage Lab](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/04-storage-lab.md)                                                                           | Intermediate | kubectl, K8s cluster         |
| 7  | [ConfigMap and Secret Lab](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/05-configuration-secrets-lab.md)                                                | Beginner     | kubectl, K8s cluster         |
| 8  | [EKS Cluster Creation Lab](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/01-eks-cluster-creation-lab.md)                                                 | Intermediate | AWS CLI, eksctl              |
| 9  | [Observability E2E: Series Introduction](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/observability-end-to-end/observability.md)                        | Advanced     | AWS account, Terraform, Helm |
| 10 | [Observability E2E: Infrastructure Setup](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/observability-end-to-end/01-infrastructure-setup-lab.md)         | Intermediate | Part 0 completed             |
| 11 | [Observability E2E: Observability Stack](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/observability-end-to-end/02-observability-stack-lab.md)           | Advanced     | Part 1 completed             |
| 12 | [Observability E2E: MSA Deployment and Canary](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/observability-end-to-end/03-msa-deployment-lab.md)          | Advanced     | Part 2 completed             |
| 13 | [Observability E2E: Load Testing and Autoscaling](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/observability-end-to-end/04-load-testing-scaling-lab.md) | Intermediate | Part 3 completed             |
| 14 | [Observability E2E: Alerting and AIOps](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/observability-end-to-end/05-alerting-aiops-lab.md)                 | Advanced     | Part 4 completed             |
| 15 | [Observability E2E: Distributed Tracing Analysis](/kubernetes/en/lab-guides/labs/observability-end-to-end/06-distributed-tracing-lab.md)  | Advanced     | Part 5 completed             |

## Recommended Learning Path

1. **Basic Labs** (1→2→3): Learn Linux and container technology
2. **Core Labs** (4→7→5→6): Work with Kubernetes core resources
3. **EKS Labs** (8): Operate clusters in a real cloud environment
4. **Observability Labs** (9→10→11→12→13→14→15): Build and operate an end-to-end observability stack

## Lab Environment Setup

### Local Environment (for Basic/Container Labs)

* Linux terminal (WSL2, macOS Terminal, or Linux)
* Docker Desktop or Docker Engine

### Kubernetes Environment (for Core Labs)

```bash
# Install and start minikube
curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64
sudo install minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube
minikube start

# Install kubectl
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
sudo install kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
```

### AWS Environment (for EKS Labs)

* AWS account and AWS CLI configured
* eksctl installed

## Lab Tips

* Check the **Prerequisites** for each lab first
* After running commands, compare with the **Expected output** to verify correct operation
* Use **hints** when you get stuck
* After completing the lab, always run the commands in the **Cleanup** section to delete resources