--- title: "Introducing our brand new (and free!) Calico Azure Course" source: "https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/introducing-our-brand-new-and-free-calico-azure-course/" --- [Technical Blog](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/category/technical-blog/) # Introducing our brand new (and free!) Calico Azure Course By [Alara Ozturk](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/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://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/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://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/lp/kubernetes-security-and-observability-ebook/?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://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/tags/open-source/)[Project Calico](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/tags/project-calico/)[Announcements](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/tags/announcements/) Add Tigera as a preferred source on Google to see more of our content in your search results. [![Add as a preferred source on Google](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/app/themes/tigera2021/dist/img/google-preferred-source-light.png)](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=tigera.io) ## Related posts [![What’s New in Calico: Winter 2026 Release](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/app/uploads/2026/03/What-is-new-in-Calico-winter-2026.png)](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/whats-new-in-calico-winter-2026-release/) [Company Blog](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/category/company-blog/) #### [What’s New in Calico: Winter 2026 Release](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/whats-new-in-calico-winter-2026-release/) By [Veronika Smolik](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/author/veronika-smolik/) on Mar 4, 2026 AI Powered Intelligence, Unified Traffic Observability and Scalable Infrastructure Management As anyone managing one or more Kubernetes clusters knows by now, scaling can introduce an exponentially growing number of problems. The sheer volume of metrics,... [Read more](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/whats-new-in-calico-winter-2026-release/) [![Join Calico at KubeCon Europe 2026: AI Agents, Silent Discos, and Dutch Delights!](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Blog-Kubecon-Euro-2026-.png)](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/calico-at-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe2026/) #### [Join Calico at KubeCon Europe 2026: AI Agents, Silent Discos, and Dutch Delights!](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/calico-at-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe2026/) By [Tigera Team](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/author/marketingtigera-io/) on Feb 25, 2026 The cloud-native community is heading to the historic canals and vibrant tech scene of Amsterdam for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026! From March 23–26, Amsterdam will be buzzing with the latest in Kubernetes, platform engineering,... [Read more](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/calico-at-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe2026/) [![Project Calico 3.30+ Hackathon: Show Us What You Can Build!](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Blog-Hackathon-.png)](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/project-calico-3-30-hackathon-show-us-what-you-can-build/) #### [Project Calico 3.30+ Hackathon: Show Us What You Can Build!](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/project-calico-3-30-hackathon-show-us-what-you-can-build/) By [Tigera Team](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/author/marketingtigera-io/) on Feb 17, 2026 Build the Future of Cloud-Native Networking! 🚀 The Calico community moves fast. With the releases of Calico 3.30 and 3.31, brings improvements in scalability, network security, and visibility. Now, we want to see what YOU... [Read more](https://wordpress-1075849-4005834.cloudwaysapps.com/blog/project-calico-3-30-hackathon-show-us-what-you-can-build/)