Projects – Start Here
Welcome to Projects – Start Here, your go-to resource for hands-on tech projects! Whether exploring the cloud with AWS, automating workflows with Terraform, building containerized applications with Docker, or mastering Linux commands, you’ll find project ideas and guides to fuel your learning journey.
More than just another “Hello World”
#!/bin/bash
# =======================================
# _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _
# | | | | | | | \ \ / / | | | |
# | |_| | ___| | | ___ \ \ /\ / /__ _ __ | | __| |
# | _ |/ _ \ | |/ _ \ \ V V / _ \| '_ \| |/ _` |
# | | | | __/ | | (_) | \_/\_/ (_) | | | | | (_| |
# \_| |_/\___|_|_|\___/ (_) (_)___/|_| |_|_|\__,_|
# =======================================
# A fun Bash script to print "Hello, World!" to the console
echo "Hello, World!"
Why Projects Matter
Practical, hands-on projects are the best way to learn and grow your skills. They deepen your understanding and help you build a portfolio showcasing your expertise to employers, peers, or collaborators.
Projects – Start Here for AWS:
Static Website Hosting with S3
What You’ll Do:
Host a static website (e.g., HTML/CSS files) on AWS S3, enabling website hosting and configuring permissions.
What You’ll Learn:
How to create S3 buckets, set bucket policies, and enable public access securely.
Bonus:
We will use AWS CloudFront to add a CDN for faster content delivery.
02
Build a Virtual Machine with EC2
What You’ll Do:
Launch a Linux EC2 instance, connect via SSH, and run basic commands.
What You’ll Learn:
Key concepts like security groups, SSH keys, and EC2 instance management.
Bonus:
Automate instance creation using a launch template.
03
Create an RDS Database Instance
What You’ll Do:
Spin up a MySQL or PostgreSQL database with RDS, connect it to a local client, and practice basic SQL queries.
What You’ll Learn:
How to configure RDS, network with VPCs, and manage a relational database.
Bonus:
Enable Multi-AZ for high availability.
Projects – Start Here for Terraform:
01
Set Up a VPC with IGW, Subnets, and Routes
What You’ll Do:
Create a VPC with three public and private subnets, including an internet gateway and route tables.
What You’ll Learn:
Network setup with Terraform, defining resource dependencies, and creating reusable modules.
Bonus:
Add a NAT gateway for outbound internet access from private subnets.
02
Build a Virtual Machine with EC2
What You’ll Do:
Use Terraform to launch an EC2 instance and attach a security group that allows SSH (port 22).
What You’ll Learn:
Provisioning compute resources, defining security group rules, and managing state files.
Bonus:
Use a Terraform variable to select the instance type (e.g., t2.micro or t3.micro).
03
Create an S3 Bucket with Versioning
What You’ll Do:
Use Terraform to create an S3 bucket with versioning enabled. Add tags to organize resources.
What You’ll Learn:
Writing basic Terraform configurations, using the AWS provider, and managing S3 bucket properties.
Bonus:
Automate bucket policy creation for public or restricted access.
Projects – Start Here for Docker:
Create a Hello World Container
What You’ll Do:
Run a simple Docker container using the hello-world image to verify your Docker setup. Then, create a custom Dockerfile to output “Hello, World! and <Your Message Here>” in a container.
What You’ll Learn:
Pulling images, running containers, and building your first custom image with a Dockerfile.
Bonus:
Push your custom image to Docker Hub for sharing.
02
Build a Basic Web Server with Nginx
What You’ll Do:
Use Docker to spin up a Nginx container that serves a static HTML file. Mount a local directory with your HTML file to the container.
What You’ll Learn:
Working with Docker volumes, mapping ports, and containerizing web servers.
Bonus:
Use Docker Compose to scale your Nginx service with multiple containers.
03
Create a Multi-Service App with Docker Compose
What You’ll Do:
Build a simple app with a backend (Node.js or Python) and a database (PostgreSQL or MySQL) utilizing a Docker Compose file.
What You’ll Learn:
How to define and orchestrate multiple services in a docker-compose.yml file.
Bonus:
Add a volume to persist database data and test how containers interact.
Projects – Start Here for Linux:
01
Set Up a LAMP Stack on Your Local Machine
What You’ll Do:
Install Linux on a VMware virtual machine and set up a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP). Create a simple webpage to verify your setup.
What You’ll Learn:
Installing and configuring packages, setting up a web server, and basic database management.
Bonus:
Add PHPMyAdmin to manage the database through a web interface.
02
Automate Backups with Shell Scripting
What You’ll Do:
Write a shell script to back up files or directories on your VMware Linux VM. Automate the script with a cron job to run at scheduled intervals.
What You’ll Learn:
Writing and executing Bash scripts, using tar for backups, and scheduling tasks with cron.
Bonus:
Compress the backup and move it to a separate partition or an external drive.
03
Create a Personal File Server with Samba
What You’ll Do:
Use your VMware Linux VM to set up a Samba server to share text files locally with other devices on your local network.
What You’ll Learn:
Configuring Samba, managing user permissions, and accessing shared files from other devices.
Bonus:
Add a secure FTP server for remote access to files.