Hands-On Gitlab

This learning product will provide learners with the theoretical and practical skills and knowledge needed to take a learner’s CI/CD skills and apply it to one of the leading DevOps tools in the industry today; GitLab.

Learners will develop the foundational pre-requisite knowledge needed to work with GitLab through online self-paced videos. This includes resources that consult the basics of Linux, CI/CD, and YAML, as well as an introduction to the practical usage of Git.

Following the discovery phase, learners will attend a live learning workshop. This instructor-led training will focus on the key features of GitLab; issue management, CI/CD, runners, templates, pipelines, containerisation and deployment.

Learners will then be given a set of acceptance criteria which can be used for a workplace-focused project. A full review and showcase between a learner and technical GitLab expert will be facilitated for feedback.

The course begins with an overview of GitLab and its usage within DevOps, followed by a discussion around how projects are created with the tool. The course then looks into the basics of using the tool; working with a Kanban board, setting up users and roles, and how basic CI/CD works within the tool. Runners and templates are then discussed, before moving onto more around the environment GitLab will work in; environment variables, SSH and caching are all investigated. The CI/CD pipeline will then be the primary focus, discussing the management of pipelines and artefacts, containerisation and deployment.

By the end of the course, learners will have created pipelines through GitLab, which provides a foundation to apply these skills into the workplace.

Target audience

• DevOps Engineer
• System Administrator
• Infrastructure Engineer
• Cloud Engineer

Learners need to have a level equivalent to:

• Knowledge of Linux, networking, YAML and one of AWS, Azure or GCP is highly recommended
• 6 months in a role involving DevOps Infrastructure

Discovery Phase

• Introduction to the Linux Command Line
• YAML Cheat Sheet
• Docker Basics
• An Introduction to Git

4-day Practice Phase

• GitLab Projects
• Issue Management and Merge Requests
• Users and roles
• Introduction to GitLab CI/CD
• Runners
• Templates
• Environment Variables
• SSH Key Usage
• Caching and Artifacts
• CI/CD pipeline management
• Monitoring
• Debugging
• Docker Integration
• Package Registries
• Cloud Deployment
• ChatOps
• Testing in GitLab

Workplace Application: GitLab Configuration

During the live session, you will be asked to complete a Workplace proposal. This will be used to demonstrate how you can apply the key techniques and skills learnt throughout the course within the workplace.

You will be given a set of acceptance criteria which can be used for a workplace-focused project. A full review and showcase between a learner and technical GitLab expert will be facilitated for feedback.