JNCIS-DevOps study plan
JNCIS-DevOps · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
DevOps fundamentals and culture & Infrastructure as code and network programmability
Define DevOps and explain its core principles (CALMS) in your own words
Compare CI/CD, IaC, and network programmability as they relate to DevOps
Set up a personal Git repository with a README documenting your learning goals
Identify the three ways of DevOps and map them to a real project scenario
Your checkpoint
A one-page written summary of DevOps principles and how they apply to network operations, committed to your Git repo.
DevOps fundamentals and culture & Automation and configuration management
Explain the difference between automation and orchestration with examples
Configure a configuration management tool (e.g., Ansible) to manage a local device
Write a simple playbook that enforces a desired state on a network device
Describe idempotency and why it matters in automation
Your checkpoint
An Ansible playbook that configures a network device (or simulator) to a specified state, with a README explaining idempotency.
Automation and configuration management & Continuous integration and continuous delivery
Use a version control system to manage automation scripts and track changes
Set up a basic CI pipeline that runs linting and unit tests on your automation code
Explain the role of CI in catching integration issues early
Integrate a configuration management tool into a CI job
Your checkpoint
A CI pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions or GitLab CI) that triggers on push and runs tests on your automation scripts.
Continuous integration and continuous delivery & Infrastructure as code and network programmability
Describe the difference between continuous delivery and continuous deployment
Create a CD pipeline that deploys a configuration change to a test environment
Use infrastructure as code (IaC) to provision a virtual network or device configuration
Explain the benefits of treating infrastructure as code
Your checkpoint
A CD pipeline that deploys an IaC template (e.g., Terraform or YAML) to a test environment, with logs showing successful deployment.
Infrastructure as code and network programmability & Monitoring, observability, and operations
Compare declarative vs. imperative approaches in IaC and network programmability
Use a network programmability tool (e.g., NETCONF, RESTCONF, or an SDK) to retrieve device state
Implement a monitoring check that verifies a deployed configuration
Explain how IaC enables repeatable and consistent environments
Your checkpoint
A script that uses a network API to verify that a deployed configuration matches the intended state, and records the result.
Monitoring, observability, and operations & Continuous integration and continuous delivery
Set up a monitoring system (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana) to collect metrics from a device
Create a dashboard that visualizes key performance indicators
Configure an alert for a specific failure condition
Integrate monitoring into the CI/CD pipeline to validate deployments
Your checkpoint
A monitoring dashboard and alert rule that triggers on a simulated failure, with a screenshot and configuration files.
Monitoring, observability, and operations & DevOps fundamentals and culture
Explain the three pillars of observability (logs, metrics, traces) and apply them to a network scenario
Implement centralized logging for your automation scripts and device logs
Describe how feedback loops from monitoring inform DevOps culture
Conduct a post-incident review (blameless) based on a simulated failure
Your checkpoint
A blameless postmortem document for a simulated incident, including timeline, root cause, and action items.
DevOps fundamentals and culture & Automation and configuration management & Continuous integration and continuous delivery & Infrastructure as code and network programmability & Monitoring, observability, and operations
Review all domains and identify weak areas through practice questions
Complete a full end-to-end pipeline from code commit to monitored deployment
Summarize key DevOps concepts and tools in a personal cheat sheet
Take a timed practice exam and score at least 80%
Your checkpoint
A recorded demo or written report of an end-to-end automated workflow (code commit → CI → CD → IaC deployment → monitoring) with a reflection on areas for improvement.
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain DevOps principles and demonstrate a working configuration management playbook.
Week 4: Has a CI/CD pipeline that deploys infrastructure as code to a test environment.
Week 6: Can monitor a deployed service and receive alerts on failure.
Week 8: Achieves 80% or higher on a practice exam and completes an end-to-end automated workflow.