Big data is a buzzword that’s used a lot these days. If you’re wondering; what is big data? And what is the value of it? Well, to make a long story short; the idea of big data is to take huge clusters/chunks of unstructured and structured data (that are meaningless on their own) and converts them to meaningful sets of data. Hadoop is at the heart of big data, so what is Hadoop?

As defined by Apache; Apache Hadoop is an open source framework designed to enable the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of commodity servers. What makes Hadoop framework special is its ability to scale up from a single server to thousands of machines, with a very high degree of fault tolerance. Rather than relying on high-end hardware, the resiliency of these clusters comes from the software’s ability to detect and handle failures at the application layer.

This post is a road map for anyone willing to start learning Hadoop online for free from scratch, the post will present and compare between the best online sources where beginners can start from and follow along, the sources stated in this post are full structured courses so you won’t find a link to a single video or a group of unrelated tutorials.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn Hadoop) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

Start Learning Hadoop for Free from Scratch

Big Data University

Big Data University is the first free online outlet where beginner can start learning Hadoop for free. You need to sign up in order to have access to the course.

Structure: The course is divided into 6 lessons and each of the lessons is divided into video tutorials that covers certain topics in Hadoop. Each of the lessons also includes transcripts of the video tutorials, and a “hands on” training with its answer for you to try what you’ve studied practically.

Interface: The interface is simple; you shall find the video tutorials, transcripts and the “hands on” tabs listed under one another, just click on what you’re interested in and you’re ready to start.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-structured and organized for beginners.
3. There is an excellent introduction about Hadoop and big data as a whole.

Cons

1. There are no significant drawbacks.

Verdict: This is the best place for any beginner to start learning Hadoop online for free.

Hadoop Tutorials YouTube Channel (Update: Not Available)

Hadoop Tutorials YouTube Channel is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning Hadoop through video tutorials, the training provided on this YouTube channel is the one provided by CBT Nuggets.

Structure: The training is divided into 20 video lessons; each of the lessons covers a group of topics in Hadoop.

Interface: YouTube standard Interface.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-structured and organized for beginners.
3. The instructor makes it very easy for beginners to follow along.
4. The introduction lesson is excellent for anyone who doesn’t know what Hadoop is and its various aspects.

Cons

1. The second lesson in the series is deleted.

Verdict: This is an excellent place for beginners to start learning Hadoop through video tutorials, though it’s worth noting that there’s a deleted lesson in this tutorial.

Zero to Pro Training

Zero to Pro Training is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning Hadoop through video tutorials; you don’t need to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 27 video lessons and each of the lessons covers a certain topic in Hadoop.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a new page where the video resides.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-structured for beginners.
3. The instructor informs you how to install Hadoop on your local machine.

Cons

1. The course isn’t well-organized for beginners.

Verdict: This is a good source to start learning Hadoop through video tutorials, but the organization of the training might be confusing for beginners.

Hadoop Screencasts

Hadoop Screencasts is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Hadoop through screencasts; you don’t need to register in order to have access to the screencasts.

Structure: The course is divided into 5 screencasts, and each of these screencasts covers certain topic in Hadoop.

Interface: The interface very simple, just click on the topic you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the screencast page.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-organized.

Cons

1. The screencasts don’t cover as many topics as the other outlets stated in this post.

Verdict: Though this is a good source to start learning Hadoop, but it doesn’t cover as many topics as the other sources stated in this post.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning Hadoop online for free

1. Big Data University is the best place by far for beginners to start learning Hadoop.
2. There are many other sources where beginners can start learning Hadoop online for free like Horton Works and many YouTube channels, but they were not stated in this post because they’re not suitable for complete beginners.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in Hadoop.