Cloud Virtualization, Containers and APIs

Seize the savings! Get 40% off 3 months of Coursera Plus and full access to thousands of courses.

Cloud Virtualization, Containers and APIs

This course is part of Building Cloud Computing Solutions at Scale Specialization

Instructor: Noah Gift

17,584 already enrolled

Included with

Learn more

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

134 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

134 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

12 assignments

Taught in English

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

logos of Petrobras, TATA, Danone, Capgemini, P&G and L'Oreal

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Building Cloud Computing Solutions at Scale Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

Welcome to the second course in the Building Cloud Computing Solutions at Scale Specialization! In this course, you will learn to design Cloud-native systems with the fundamental building blocks of Cloud computing. These building blocks include virtual machines and containers. You will also learn how to build effective Microservices using technologies like Flask and Kubernetes. Finally, you will analyze successful patterns in Operations including: Effective alerts, load testing and Kaizen.

This course is ideal for beginners as well as intermediate students interested in applying Cloud computing to data science, machine learning and data engineering. Students should have beginner level Linux and intermediate level Python skills. For your project in this course, you build a containerized Flask application that is continuously deployed to a Cloud platform: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

This week, you will learn how to access the free tiers of three Cloud environments. If you are joining after completing the first course in this Specialization, this will already be familiar to you. You will then have an opportunity to review the details of the final project in this course: Creating a containerized Flask application that is continuously deployed to a Cloud platform. Each week, you will learn and build upon key Cloud development skills to prepare you for this final course project.

What's included

5 videos6 readings1 discussion prompt

5 videos Total 10 minutes

Instructor Introduction 2 minutes
Course Introduction 3 minutes
Course Prerequisites 2 minutes
Lab Onboarding 2 minutes
Course 2 Project Overview 2 minutes

6 readings Total 75 minutes

Getting Started and Course Gotchas 10 minutes
Course Structure and Discussion Etiquette 10 minutes
AWS Cloud9 vs AWS CodeCatalyst 10 minutes
Report a problem with the course 5 minutes
Create a free account with AWS, Azure and GCP 30 minutes
Specialization Project Roadmap: Course 2 10 minutes

1 discussion prompt Total 10 minutes

Introductions 10 minutes

This week, you will learn to evaluate the correct workflows for virtual machines and containers and how to choose the appropriate solution for the task at end. You will also learn about the powerful container management service: Kubernetes. You will apply this knowledge to create a containerized web service and deploy it to a managed container service.

What's included

26 videos16 readings4 assignments4 discussion prompts3 ungraded labs

26 videos Total 115 minutes

Introduction to Virtual Machines 3 minutes
Containers vs. Virtual Machines 3 minutes
How Do Spot Instances Work? 3 minutes
Launch an AWS Spot Instance 11 minutes
Create a GCP Virtual Machine from Terminal 6 minutes
Create Compute Cluster in Azure ML Studio 3 minutes
AWS Cloud Shell 4 minutes
Google Cloud Shell 8 minutes
Introduction to Containers 1 minute
Using Containers 3 minutes
What is Docker? 6 minutes
Run a Container from Docker Hub 5 minutes
Build a Docker Container Project from Scratch 4 minutes
Push to Project to AWS ECR Registry 7 minutes
What is Distroless? 3 minutes
Rust Distroless PyTorch Walkthrough 7 minutes
Rust Distroless PyTorch Running Demo 7 minutes
Introduction to Kubernetes 1 minute
Overview of Kubernetes 6 minutes
Kubernetes Key Concepts 2 minutes
Kubernetes Pods and Nodes 1 minute
Kubernetes Cluster 1 minute
Deploy App to Kubernetes on GKE 6 minutes
Kubernetes Demo 6 minutes
Options Container Orchestration 2 minutes
Minikube FastAPI Demo 7 minutes

16 readings Total 190 minutes

Key Terms 10 minutes
Red Hat on Containers vs VMs 10 minutes
Microsoft Learn on Containers vs VMs 10 minutes
Launch VM Quiklabs 40 minutes
Lesson Reflection 10 minutes
Key Terms 10 minutes
Docker Format Containers 10 minutes
Container from Scratch (GitHub Repo) 10 minutes
Containerized Flask Microservice Locally 10 minutes
Distroless Project 10 minutes
Lesson Reflection 10 minutes
Key Terms 10 minutes
More on Kubernetes 10 minutes
Containers and Deployment from an AWS Perspective 10 minutes
Lesson Reflection 10 minutes
Deploy a Kubernetes Python Flask App 10 minutes

4 assignments Total 120 minutes

Quiz-Virtual Machines 30 minutes
Quiz-Containers 30 minutes
Quiz-Kubernetes 30 minutes
Quiz 30 minutes

4 discussion prompts Total 40 minutes

AWS vCPU 10 minutes
Advantages of Spot Instances 10 minutes
Advantages of Containers 10 minutes
Kubernetes as "Planet Scale" 10 minutes

3 ungraded labs Total 180 minutes

Bash Aliases 60 minutes
Lint Dockerfile 60 minutes
FastAPI Calculator Microservice 60 minutes

This week, you will learn to build effective Microservices that comply with DevOps best practices. You will also learn to operationalize Microservices using Continuous Delivery. You will apply this knowledge to create an effective Microservice using AWS Lambda.

What's included

22 videos16 readings4 assignments3 discussion prompts3 ungraded labs

22 videos Total 89 minutes

Introduction to Microservices 2 minutes
What is a Microservice? 2 minutes
Running Microservices 1 minute
Introduction to Flask 2 minutes
What is Flask? 3 minutes
Flask Change Microservice 5 minutes
Flask Azure Microservice 9 minutes
Introduction to Serverless Microservices 1 minute
Serverless Functions Overview 2 minutes
Build Marco Polo AWS Lambda 6 minutes
Build Marco Polo Step Function 5 minutes
Build AWS S3 Bucket Trigger 4 minutes
CLI Trigger of Lambda 3 minutes
Google Cloud Function Change 6 minutes
Using AWS Lambda Console 5 minutes
Using Step Functions 4 minutes
Invoking Step Functions CLI 3 minutes
Building Rust AWS Lambda Add Function 7 minutes
Building Rust AWS Lambda Divide by Two Function 5 minutes
Invoking AWS Step Functions from CLI 3 minutes
Rust AWS Step Functions 7 minutes
Demo App Engine Rust Deploy 5 minutes

16 readings Total 160 minutes

Key Terms 10 minutes
How To Transform 10 minutes
What is JSON? 10 minutes
Microservices with AWS Lambda 10 minutes
Operationalizing a Microservice 10 minutes
Lesson Reflection 10 minutes
Key Terms 10 minutes
Flask Random Fruit-External Lab 10 minutes
Lesson Reflection 10 minutes
Key Terms 10 minutes
Serverless Cookbook Repository 10 minutes
Learn about AWS SAM (Serverless Application Model) 10 minutes
Cargo Lambda 10 minutes
AWS Step Functions 10 minutes
Lesson Reflection 10 minutes
Enhance a Flask Microservice 10 minutes

4 assignments Total 120 minutes

Quiz-What is a Microservice? 30 minutes
Quiz-Using Flask 30 minutes
Quiz-Serverless Microservices 30 minutes
Quiz 30 minutes

3 discussion prompts Total 30 minutes

Microservices as a DevOps Best Practice 10 minutes
Python Decorators in Flask 10 minutes
Events versus Polling 10 minutes

3 ungraded labs Total 180 minutes

Processing JSON 60 minutes
Flask Change Microservice 60 minutes
Marco Polo Command-line tool 60 minutes

This week, you will learn to effectively perform Operations. This involves mastering Monitoring and Alerts. A key question about Monitoring and Alerts is what to do when they occur. This question is handled in the following lesson. You will learn how load testing can prevent issues before they arise. Finally, the topic of Kaizen, or continuous improvement, is tackled. All of the topics this week are components of DevOps best practices.

What's included

13 videos14 readings4 assignments3 discussion prompts4 ungraded labs

13 videos Total 43 minutes

Introduction to Monitoring and Alerts 1 minute
Effective Monitoring and Alerts 2 minutes
Monitoring, Triggers and Alerts with AWS Cloudwatch 6 minutes
Building an Alert from Scratch 3 minutes
Monitoring and Logging with Google App Engine Rust Microservice 4 minutes
Introduction to Load Testing 1 minute
Effective Load Testing 3 minutes
Flask Locust Load Test 6 minutes
Locust Load Test in GitHub Codespaces 3 minutes
Prometheus Monitoring 7 minutes
Introduction to Kaizen 1 minute
Effective Continuous Improvement 3 minutes
What are the 'Five Whys'? 3 minutes

14 readings Total 140 minutes

Key Terms 10 minutes
Scaling and Monitoring 10 minutes
Lesson Reflection 10 minutes
Key Terms 10 minutes
Flask Load Test 10 minutes
Prometheus Monitoring 10 minutes
Locust First Test 10 minutes
Lesson Reflection 10 minutes
Key Terms 10 minutes
Toyota Production System 10 minutes
Load Test a Flask Microservice 10 minutes
Create a containerized Flask Machine Learning Microservice 10 minutes
Next Steps 10 minutes
Share your learning experience 10 minutes

4 assignments Total 120 minutes

Quiz-Monitoring and Alerts 30 minutes
Quiz-Load Testing 30 minutes
Quiz-Kaizen 30 minutes
Quiz 30 minutes

3 discussion prompts Total 30 minutes

Actionable Alerts 10 minutes
Load Testing 10 minutes
The Five Whys 10 minutes

4 ungraded labs Total 240 minutes

Load Test a Flask Microservice 60 minutes
VS Code Sandbox 60 minutes
Jupyter Sandbox 60 minutes
Linux Desktop Sandbox 60 minutes

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.

Instructor

Instructor ratings

(26 ratings)

Noah Gift

Duke University

40 Courses 262,835 learners

Offered by

Duke University

Explore more from Cloud Computing

Status: Free Trial
Packt
Introduction to Cloud-Native Architecture and Microservices
Course
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Cloud Native, Microservices, Containers, DevOps and Agile
Course
Packt
Linux in the Cloud
Course
Status: Free Trial
Pearson
Kubernetes From Basics to Guru: Unit 1
Course

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.

Learner since 2018

"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."

Jennifer J.

Learner since 2020

"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."

Larry W.

Learner since 2021

"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."

Chaitanya A.

"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."

Learner reviews

5 stars
63.43%
4 stars
23.13%
3 stars
8.20%
2 stars
1.49%
1 star
3.73%

Showing 3 of 134

Reviewed on Sep 26, 2022

This cource is best suited if you are part of transformation jounery

Reviewed on Dec 12, 2025

Very well strctured course to learn public cloud services and how to leverage them for your applications.

Reviewed on Jan 17, 2025

Please don't revoke my access till 2026. I want to access again

View more reviews

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Unlimited access to 10,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription

Learn more

Advance your career with an online degree

Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online

Explore degrees

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy

Learn more

Frequently asked questions

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.