Networking and DNS
The area I'm still learning, written down as I go. It starts with the fundamentals every system depends on, then follows them into the cloud and Kubernetes, until I can explain every step a request takes to reach CivicGrid.
Learning track · 12 lessons
Networking basics
One building block per lesson, in the order they stack up: IP addresses and subnets, ports, DNS, routing, cloud networks (VPCs), firewalls, certificates and load balancers, ending with a checklist for when something won't connect. Each lesson follows the same real request, from a browser to a live site, one step at a time.
- 1What happens when you visit a websiteStart · 20 min
- 2IP addresses: octets, binary, public and privateStart · 25 min
- 3Subnets and CIDRStart · 25 min
- 4Ports and protocols: TCP, UDP and HTTPStart · 25 min
- 5DNS: turning names into addressesStart · 25 min
- 6Routing, NAT and private networksStart · 25 min
- 7Cloud networks: VPCs, subnets and gatewaysStart · 30 min
- 8Firewalls and security groupsStart · 25 min
- 9TLS and HTTPS: certificates and trustStart · 25 min
- 10Load balancers and reverse proxiesStart · 30 min
- 11Putting it together: networking in KubernetesStart · 30 min
- 12When it doesn't connect: a troubleshooting checklistStart · 25 min
Guides
Follow one request: from a browser to a pod
The capstone: every hop a real request makes, using everything in the track. DNS, TLS, the load balancer, the gateway, the Service and the pod.
Where to start
Cloudflare Learning Center (opens in a new tab)
Short, clear explainers on DNS, TLS, load balancing and how the internet fits together.
Mess With DNS (opens in a new tab)
A free playground where you create real DNS records and watch what happens.
Tailscale (opens in a new tab)
A private network between your own devices. It's how I reach my homelab from anywhere.
From www.kwamib.dev/resources/networking
Git
Linux
Python
SQL
Docker
Kubernetes
Terraform
Compliance
CI/CD
Argo CD
Ansible
Monitoring and alerting
Automation
AWS
Security
Local LLMs
Web development
Career and certs