# Launch Lab: Working with Namespaces

Time to apply the mental model for real — you'll create an actual isolated Namespace and deploy
into it, in your own disposable Lab environment.

## What you're doing

You'll create a Namespace (`team-alpha`) and deploy an application into it with a specific
replica count — directly applying the "isolated area within one cluster" idea from the guided
exercise, and the desired-state model from the lesson (once you declare `replicas: 2`, that
becomes the standing desired state for that Deployment, enforced continuously).

## Before you start

Think back to the demonstration: once your Deployment exists with its desired replica count,
Kubernetes will keep it there on its own. You don't need to "check back" and manually fix
anything — if you want to prove this to yourself, try deleting one of your Pods after you've
finished the task and watch what happens.

## Your task in this Lab

Create the Namespace, then deploy the application inside it with the exact replica count
specified. Use `kubectl get namespace` and `kubectl get deployment -n <namespace>` to confirm
your work — the same verification pattern you'll use constantly throughout ROOT_.

This Lab has its own in-context hints if you get stuck. Try working from the lesson and guided
exercise first — the commands you need are exactly the ones described there.

When you're done, return to this module to close out with a reflection on why this isolation
matters beyond just "keeping things organized."

## Instructor Notes

**Classroom flow:** This is most students' first real `kubectl apply`/`create` in ROOT_ beyond
whatever pilot exposure they've had — a good moment to circulate and check that basic
`kubectl` command syntax isn't the blocker (as opposed to the Namespace concept itself, which
the guided exercise should have already addressed).

**Approximate timing:** 10-15 minutes.

**Common mistake to watch for:** creating the Deployment in the DEFAULT namespace instead of
`team-alpha` (forgetting `-n team-alpha` or the namespace field in the manifest) — this is a
very common first mistake and a good real-world illustration of why Namespace isolation only
works if you're actually specifying it every time.