Cloud Native Fundamentals

Cloud native fundamentals covers the principles and technologies — containers, orchestration, microservices, CI/CD, and observability — that enable organizations to build and run scalable applications on modern cloud infrastructure with speed and resilience.

itCloud native tools and technologies

Cloud Native Fundamentals

Cloud native is a way to build and operate workloads for change at scale. It combines architecture, automation, and operating practices. The goal is a system that teams can change predictably while the system remains secure, resilient, manageable, sustainable, and observable.

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation, or CNCF, does not tie cloud native to one product. Its definition covers public, private, and hybrid cloud environments. A workload can be cloud native without running in a public cloud. A workload can also run in a public cloud without being cloud native.

Start with the operating model

Traditional operations often center on long-lived machines. An operator configures a machine, repairs it in place, and records the changes. Cloud native operations shift attention toward declared state and replaceable units.

You describe the result you want. Software controllers compare that desired state with the actual state. They act to reduce the difference. If an instance fails, the platform can replace it. If demand changes, the platform can adjust capacity. If you release a new version, the platform can roll the change out in controlled steps.

This reconciliation loop is the central mental model:

declare desired state
        |
        v
observe actual state
        |
        v
compare and act
        |
        +-------- repeat --------+

Automation is not a one-time script around a manual process. The control loop keeps checking the system after the first change.

Cloud Native Fundamentals

Cloud Native Fundamentals

Start with the operating model

Recognize the common building blocks

Relevant careers