A cloud engineer builds and runs the infrastructure that applications live on: virtual networks, servers, storage, security rules, and the automation that ties them together. It grows out of network architecture, so you will design networks (subnets, routing, firewalls, VPNs), plan capacity, write disaster recovery plans, monitor performance and document everything, but you will do it with code and cloud services such as AWS instead of racks of hardware. The path below goes in order. First learn how computers and networks work, because every cloud problem is really a networking, permissions or
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Stage 1 of 4 · about 10 weeks
Understand how networks and Linux work: the OSI and TCP/IP models, IP addressing and subnetting (CIDR), DNS, DHCP, HTTP/TLS, routing vs switching, NAT and firewalls. Get comfortable in a Linux terminal and write small Bash and Python scripts. Why first: cloud services hide hardware but not these ideas, so a subnet mask error will break your cloud network exactly as it would a physical one. Check yourself: can you explain what happens, step by step, when you type a URL into a browser, and can you split 10.0.0.0/16 into four equal subnets by hand?
Network models and how data moves
Every cloud problem you debug later (a server that cannot be reached, a slow connection) is solved by asking which layer is failing. The layer models give you a map for that.
IP addressing, subnetting and CIDR
A VPC is just a CIDR block you carve into subnets. If you cannot subnet, you will overlap ranges, run out of addresses or break routing, and you will not see why.
DNS, DHCP, HTTP and TLS
Most outages that look like network faults are really name resolution or certificate problems. These four protocols are what turn a typed URL into a working, secure page.
NAT, firewalls, ports and traffic troubleshooting
Cloud security groups, NAT gateways and network ACLs are these same ideas with new names. If you grasp them on Linux, you will configure them correctly and debug them fast.
Linux command line, Bash and Python scripting
Cloud servers run Linux and you will manage them over SSH with no mouse. Small scripts also turn repeated chores, like checking many servers, into one command, which is the seed of automation.
Then 3 more stages (about 76 weeks in all) with lessons, drills, projects, 10 interview questions with strong answers and free resources.