A 14-day educational path for OCI as an enterprise estate: identity, VCN, Bastion, Linux VMs, storage, and restore — not Kubernetes first.
This path sits beside Windows Server, Linux, and Networking. Treat Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) like Linux + networking with an IAM control plane. Cert goal after the labs: Foundations Associate, then Architect Associate.
Use an Always Free tenancy. Plan on 1–2 hours most days for two weeks. Do not practice on a production tenancy — including anything that serves this website.
14 days
Enterprise architecture track (Always Free)
1–2 hrs
Lab time most days
VCN first
Networking before fancy services
Linux VM
Bastion + private Compute is the core drill
Start with foundations if cloud IAM and VCNs are new. Skip ahead only if you already reach private Linux hosts through a Bastion without guessing.
Before the 14-day labs: treat OCI like Linux + networking with an IAM control plane.
Create the Always Free tenancy, set compartments, and sketch your first VCN on paper.
Design and operate OCI layers — identity, network, compute, storage, edge — the way an enterprise cloud estate would, at Always Free scale.
Finish the 14-day sequence with a diagram, addressing table, and a restore drill you actually ran.
After this path: certs and deeper architecture — skip Kubernetes until networking and recoverability feel natural.
Sit Foundations after day 14; start Architect Associate labs while repeating Bastion + restore drills.
Enterprise OCI architecture is layered. The lab proves each layer at Always Free scale — it does not pretend one public VM is a full production estate.
| Layer | What production looks like | What the lab can prove |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Tenancy, compartments, IAM groups and policies | Separate network / compute / shared compartments; least-privilege policies |
| Network | VCN, public/private subnets, IGW, NAT, route tables, NSGs | One VCN; Bastion into private subnet; no public IP on private hosts |
| Compute | Linux VMs, shapes, cloud-init, SSH keys, secondary VNICs | Oracle Linux or Ubuntu VM; harden SSH; document access path |
| Storage | Block Volume, boot volume backups, Object Storage | Attach and mount a volume; snapshot; restore drill |
| Edge / HA | Load Balancer, dual backends, health checks | Two small web VMs behind one LB (even Always Free shapes) |
| Ops | Monitoring, alarms, Logging, runbooks | CPU/disk alarm + one-page restore and “can’t SSH” runbook |
Path and IAM first, then a lab that matches the diagram. Day 14 ends with a runbook and a restore you actually ran — not a slide recap.
Tenancy layout, compartments, IAM groups/policies, tags. Separate network / compute / shared.
VCN with public + private subnets, IGW, NAT, routes, NSGs. Bastion into a private Linux VM.
SSH keys, cloud-init, firewalld/ufw, Block Volume mount + fstab, snapshots, resize / secondary VNIC.
Object Storage + lifecycle. Backup/restore a volume. Disaster drill: replace a VM from backup.
Monitoring + alarms, Logging. Load Balancer in front of two web VMs. Diagram + access/backup/restore runbook.
Compartments, a real VCN, Bastion into private Compute, storage you can restore, and a diagram. Green console tiles without a path draw do not count.
| Piece | Role |
|---|---|
| Account | Oracle Cloud Always Free tenancy (practice only — not production) |
| Compartments | network, compute, shared (or equivalent clear split) |
| VCN | Public + private subnet, IGW, NAT Gateway, route tables, NSGs |
| Access | Bastion → private Linux VM (no public IP on private hosts) |
| Storage | One Block Volume + Object Storage bucket for off-host copies |
| Docs | One diagram + addressing table + restore runbook |
