If you're working with containers, secure deployments, or serverless workflows, you know that deep technical know-how pays dividends. I've created several hands-on, practical guides for devs and infrastructure engineers who want to level up their skills - and each one is pay what you want. That means you can download them for free or tip a few bucks to support future content. Your call.
Each guide is written with a clear structure, real-world examples, and a focus on getting things done fast. Here's a breakdown of what you'll get.
containerd Power Hacks – Hidden Features, Debugging Flows, and Real-World Performance Tuning (2025)
This guide is your fast track into the internals of containerd, the container runtime used under the hood by Docker, Kubernetes, and many production systems. While Docker abstracts much of it away, containerd itself is a powerhouse that devs often overlook.
In this PDF, I dive into lesser-known flags, configuration tweaks, and debugging techniques for diagnosing weird container behavior. You'll learn how to inspect snapshotters, navigate containerd’s gRPC API with ctr, and trace system calls when containers misbehave. If you’ve ever hit a dead end while troubleshooting in Kubernetes, this is the guide you didn’t know you needed.
Key sections:
- Real-time performance profiling with
perfinside namespaces - Inspecting layered images for efficiency
- Debugging container startup failures without Docker
Using PCI-DSS Compliant Dockerized Environments Like a Pro (2025)
Security is not optional - especially when you're dealing with payment data or regulated environments. This PDF walks you through what a PCI-DSS compliant Docker setup looks like, step by step.
You’ll learn how to:
- Configure container isolation using user namespaces
- Apply AppArmor/SELinux profiles for PCI segmentation
- Manage secure image pipelines that stand up to audits
While the PCI standard is massive, this guide filters the noise and gives you the implementation-ready practices. It’s perfect if you're a solo dev working with payment APIs, or part of a team responsible for cloud deployments.
Mastering Security & Isolation in Docker Like a Pro (2025)
This one builds on the last PDF but broadens the scope beyond PCI into general-purpose security best practices for any production container setup.
The guide takes a systematic approach:
- Understanding the Linux capabilities model
- Controlling the attack surface with
seccompprofiles - Building hardened base images that reduce CVE exposure
I also walk you through how to benchmark container startup time, analyze resource limits, and prevent privilege escalation inside multi-container apps.
If you've ever copy-pasted a Dockerfile from Stack Overflow and wondered if it was safe—this guide gives you the answers.
Building Serverless Workflows with AWS Lambda Like a Pro (2025)
Containers aren’t always the best fit. Sometimes you want to spin up code on demand with zero ops overhead. That’s where AWS Lambda shines—and this PDF is your battle-tested walkthrough for getting it right.
We start with basic deployment models and quickly move into real-world scenarios:
- Orchestrating multi-step workflows using AWS Step Functions
- Implementing Lambda layers for shared logic
- Debugging cold starts and optimizing memory for cost savings
You'll also learn how to secure your serverless apps using IAM least-privilege strategies and API Gateway rate limits.
Bonus: I include a complete guide to mocking AWS services locally for integration tests.
Why Pay-What-You-Want?
I believe technical knowledge should be accessible. You can download any of these guides for free if you’re just starting out, or throw in a tip if you find the content helpful. Either way, it helps me keep creating resources for the dev community.
Whether you're deploying fintech microservices, spinning up chat apps, or trying to sleep at night knowing your infrastructure won’t break - you’ll find something useful in these guides.
Feel free to share, remix, or reference them in your own work. And if you’d like to see a future guide on Kubernetes, Terraform, or CI/CD pipelines—let me know!
✅ Download the full PDFs on Gumroad
💬 Questions or feedback? Drop a comment
💡 Got a topic request? I’m all ears
Happy deploying,
Asher
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