--- title: "Introducing our brand new (and free!) Calico Azure Course" source: "https://www.tigera.io/blog/introducing-our-brand-new-and-free-calico-azure-course/" --- [Technical Blog](https://www.tigera.io/category/technical-blog/) # Introducing our brand new (and free!) Calico Azure Course By [Alara Ozturk](https://www.tigera.io/blog/author/alara-ozturk/) on May 24, 2022 • 3 min read Calico Open Source is an industry standard for container security and networking that offers high-performance cloud-native scalability and supports Kubernetes workloads, non-Kubernetes workloads, and legacy workloads. Created and maintained by Tigera, Calico Open Source offers a wide range of support for your choice of data plane whether it’s Windows, eBPF, Linux, or VPP. We’re excited to announce our new certification course for Azure, [Certified Calico Operator: Azure Expert](https://academy.tigera.io/course/certified-calico-operator-azure-expert/)! This free, self-paced course is the latest in our series of four courses. If you haven’t had a chance to complete our previous courses, I highly recommend enrolling in them in the following order (or as you prefer). - [Certified Calico Operator: Level 1](https://academy.tigera.io/course/certified-calico-operator-level-1/) - [Certified Calico Operator: AWS Expert](https://academy.tigera.io/course/certified-calico-operator-aws-expert/) - [Certified Calico Operator: eBPF](https://academy.tigera.io/course/certified-calico-operator-ebpf/) ## **What will you gain from this course?** Whether you have little to no experience with cloud concepts, have entry-level DevOps and engineering experience, are keen to learn more about Azure or are already an Azure expert looking for a cloud networking and security solution, you will benefit from this course. The course provides an introduction to Azure cloud, learnings about managed, self-managed and hybrid cluster deployment using Calico in Azure, and offers hands-on labs to help you explore most of the features in the Calico–Azure integration. ## **What exactly does the course cover?** - Week 1 - Introduction - Get Started With Azure Networking - Kubernetes Cluster Options in Azure - Kubernetes Networking Options in Azure - Kubernetes Network Security in Azure - Exposing Services Outside the Cluster - Lab Setup - Knowledge Check - Week 2 - Introduction - Deploying AKS kubenet with Calico - YaoBank Deployment - Cluster Security - Lab Cleanup - Knowledge Check - Week 3 - AKS Deployment Azure-CNI with Calico CNI - Node Operations - Enable Encryption (WireGuard) - Multiplatform Setup - Securing Windows Workloads - Lab Cleanup - AKS Bring Your Own CNI - YaoBank Deployment - Calico eBPF data plane - Lab Cleanup - Knowledge Check - Week 4 - Self-Managed Cluster Deployment with Calico - Calico Installation and Configurations - Upgrading Calico - Istio Integration - Lab Cleanup - Knowledge Check - Final Exam - Final Exam Introduction - Final Exam ***Ready to get started? Sign-up for our free, self-paced [Azure certification course](https://academy.tigera.io/course/certified-calico-operator-azure-expert/).*** Or, if you haven’t already completed the previous courses, we recommend that you take a look at them [here](https://www.tigera.io/lp/calico-certification/). If you are not ready to be certified, you could learn more about [Kubernetes networking on Azure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyLtg_SJ1lo) on Project Calico’s YouTube channel, or take a peek at our O’Reilly eBook on [Kubernetes security and observability](https://www.tigera.io/blog/oreilly-ebook-kubernetes-security-and-observability-early-release/?utm_campaign=O%27Reilly-book-final-release&utm_medium=website&utm_source=AKS-Course-Landing-Page). This book will help you understand why cloud-native applications require a modern approach to security and observability practices, and how to adopt a holistic security and observability strategy for building and securing cloud-native applications running on Kubernetes. [Open Source](https://www.tigera.io/tags/open-source/)[Project Calico](https://www.tigera.io/tags/project-calico/)[Announcements](https://www.tigera.io/tags/announcements/) ## Related posts [![Meet Mylo: An AI-native way to work with Calico](https://www.tigera.io/app/uploads/2026/09/Meet-Mylo-An-AI-native-way-to-work-with-Calico.png)](https://www.tigera.io/blog/meet-mylo-an-ai-native-way-to-work-with-calico/) #### [Meet Mylo: An AI-native way to work with Calico](https://www.tigera.io/blog/meet-mylo-an-ai-native-way-to-work-with-calico/) By [Phil DiCorpo](https://www.tigera.io/blog/author/phil-dicorpo/) on Sep 3, 2026 A library of Calico tools and skills — delivered through the Calico MCP Server What if your hardest network question took ten minutes instead of ten days? Anyone who has operated Kubernetes networking at scale... [Read more](https://www.tigera.io/blog/meet-mylo-an-ai-native-way-to-work-with-calico/) [![Why We Built Lynx: Bringing Control to the Age of AI Agents](https://www.tigera.io/app/uploads/2026/06/Introducing-Lynx-NEW-TEMPLATE-2026-Tigera-brand.png)](https://www.tigera.io/blog/why-we-built-lynx-bringing-control-to-the-age-of-ai-agents/) [Company Blog](https://www.tigera.io/category/company-blog/) #### [Why We Built Lynx: Bringing Control to the Age of AI Agents](https://www.tigera.io/blog/why-we-built-lynx-bringing-control-to-the-age-of-ai-agents/) By [Ratan Tipirneni](https://www.tigera.io/blog/author/ratan/) on Jun 17, 2026 For a decade, one idea has guided everything we’ve built at Tigera: How do you secure a dynamic system with a lot of moving parts that is changing rapidly, with a programmatic approach? Calico has... [Read more](https://www.tigera.io/blog/why-we-built-lynx-bringing-control-to-the-age-of-ai-agents/) [![What’s new in Calico: Spring 2026 Release](https://www.tigera.io/app/uploads/2026/06/Whats-New-in-Calico-NEW-TEMPLATE-2026.png)](https://www.tigera.io/blog/whats-new-in-calico-spring-2026-release/) #### [What’s new in Calico: Spring 2026 Release](https://www.tigera.io/blog/whats-new-in-calico-spring-2026-release/) By [Veronika Smolik](https://www.tigera.io/blog/author/veronika-smolik/) on Jun 2, 2026 Kubernetes has come a long way since its debut in 2014. It’s gone from running a couple of containerized microservices to orchestrating fleets of production workloads spanning everything from AI agents to full scale VMs... [Read more](https://www.tigera.io/blog/whats-new-in-calico-spring-2026-release/)