Is Kubernetes the future of infrastructure?
Kubernetes is one of those technologies that almost every organization is willing to adopt or is already incorporating into their businesses. Most of the companies are switching to the cloud, either by migrating their existing apps or developing new ones. Kubernetes is the most popular and most commonly used container orchestration framework that can develop robust cloud-native apps. With this, the demand for Kubernetes has shot up, making it the most sought-after skill that companies are looking for at the moment. This, in turn, is the perfect time to become a Certified Kubernetes App Developer (CKAD). Get Kubernetes training, take the CKAD exam, and escalate your development career with strong Kubernetes skills.
What is the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) Exam and How to Ace It?
The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) collaborated with The Linux Foundation to develop a certification for the developers, intending to grow the Kubernetes ecosystem. This Kubernetes certification will allow the learners to design, build, configure, and expose cloud-native apps for Kubernetes.
Exam Prerequisites
Even though there are no official prerequisites mentioned by CNCF, we recommend you get some hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and Linux. Many questions in the examination are around the usage of containers. This means you need to understand what a Docker image is, how containers are run, how to pull and work with images, and so on. Linux is another essential part of the exam and if you have a good understanding of it including the kernel, namespaces, and other control groups, it’d help a great deal in the examination.
- Go through Docker and Linux essentials before the exam
- Practice on VIM text editor
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer Exam Overview
Since the exam is purely performance-based, there are no multiple-choice questions involved. A set of performance-based problems will be provided to you that are to be solved in a command line. The exam usually takes 2 hours to complete. To pass the exam with a good score, you must be able to solve at least 19-20 questions in these 2 hours. Remember, each question’s weightage is different.
Please note that the passing score of the exam at present is 66%. You will be allowed one free retake. Lastly, the exam is valid for 2 years. According to the exam environment, you will be provided with 6 clusters & a notepad. You will also be allowed to open one tab to browse through the Kubernetes documentation.
The following areas are included in the exam –
- Core Concepts – 13%
- Configuration – 18%
- Multi-Container Pods – 10%
- Observability – 18%
- Pod Design – 20%
- Services & Networking – 13%
- State Persistence – 8%
Preparing for Exam
To pass the CKAD exam, only understanding the concepts is not sufficient. You also need to practice a lot as it is a hands-on exam. Even though there are plenty of courses available online for you to study from, you need to look for the one which covers each & every concept. The course should provide an immersive learning experience with practice sessions and good study material. This exam is all about how quickly and correctly you can solve the problems. The exam is not about the administration part; therefore, you do not have to focus on that.
You can get enrolled in a Docker and Kubernetes certification course by Cognixia, which will help you understand all the essential topics for the exam. The course will provide you with an easily accessible and engaging environment through which you can learn, execute the labs, and get hands-on experience.
Once you have completed your Kubernetes online training, the next step for you would be – PRACTICE!
Practice is your key to success. As it is a performance-based exam, your score will depend on how fast you solve the problems. You can install minikube on your system and practice as much as you can.
Tips & Tricks to Pass the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer Exam: –
- The duration of the exam is 2 hours and there would be 19 questions in total. This means you need to solve each question in 6 minutes. Therefore, avoid getting stuck on one question for more than 6 mins.
- You need 66%. So, start with the questions that have more weightage. Keep a track of each question you finish so that you know how many more points are still required to pass.
- Pay attention and make sure you are on the correct cluster and namespace.
- Learn to use VIM and know the basic Linux commands.
- Get familiar with aliases, imperative commands, and help commands.
Learn Kubernetes online with Cognixia, the world’s leading digital talent transformation company that offers a unique Docker & Kubernetes Boot Camp, covering basic-to-advanced level concepts.
Under this Kubernetes training, you will cover –
- Docker essentials
- Kubernetes & Kubernetes Overview
- Minikube
- Kubernetes Cluster
- Kubernetes Pod Overview
- Kubernetes Client
- Create & Modify ConfigMaps and Secrets
- Replication Controller & Replica Set
- Deployment
- DaemonSet
- Jobs
- Namespaces
- Dashboard
- Services
- Explore the Kubernetes API & Key Metadata
- Manage Specialized Workloads
- Volumes & Configuration Data
- Scaling
- RBAC
- Monitoring & Logging
- Maintenance & Troubleshooting
- The Ecosystem
