While businesses around the world are migrating to the cloud, enabler technologies are experiencing a huge leap in innovation as well as adoption. According to recent surveys, it has been recorded that the demand for professionals who are trained in working with Kubernetes has surged at a CAGR of around 85% over the past 6 years. With this increasing demand for DevOps engineers, professionals who are skilled in working with Docker and Kubernetes have become highly sought-after. Therefore, if you’re thinking of acquiring a Kubernetes certification, it is the right time.
In this blog, we will guide you on how to ace your CKAD test. Let’s get to it, shall we?
What is CKAD?
The CKAD – Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam is designed for developers who have a keen interest in developing & deploying their applications on Kubernetes.
The CNCF i.e., Cloud Native Computing Foundation collaborated with The Linux Foundation to develop a certification for software developers, striving to grow the Kubernetes ecosystem. This Kubernetes certification will enable the aspirants to design, build, configure, and expose cloud-native apps for Kubernetes.
The exam has various domains, each of which has a different weightage. The following are the domains –
- Core concepts (13%)
- Configuration (18%)
- Multi-container pods (10%)
- Observability (18%)
- Pod design (20%)
- Services & networking (13%)
- State persistence (8%)
Other information about the exam –
- The duration of the test is 2 hours and there are 19 questions in total
- The score required to pass the test – 66%
- The exam is remotely supervised
- During the test, you will be provided with 6 clusters, a notepad, and you will also be allowed to open one tab for browsing Kubernetes documentation.
- The cost of this test is USD 300. You will be allowed one free retake & lastly, the test is valid for 2 years.
Strategy to prepare for the CKAD exam
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Good training resource & practice
To crack the exam successfully, the first step should be fully familiar with your syllabus. Know about the topics that each domain contains and then start finding good training resources. You can get enrolled in Cognixia’s hands-on Kubernetes online training, which will help you understand the required topics well with intuitive sessions, followed by lab exercises that will give you a real hands-on experience.
Note that it is a performance-based exam and your score will mainly depend on how fast you can solve the problems. Therefore, you need to practice as much as you can. Once you’ve learned the topics, do the lab exercises and track your performance. Solve questions from the practice material and time yourself. You can also install minikube for practicing on your system.
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Keep track of the time
There are 19 questions that you have to complete in 2 hours. This means you get only 6 minutes for every problem. Therefore, avoid getting stuck on any particular problem for more than 6 minutes. If you do not know, simply move onto the next one.
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Attempt questions according to their weightage
Navigate through all the questions and begin with the ones which weigh more marks. There is a score on top of every question, so you can determine which one has more weightage. While attempting the questions, keep track of your progress. Note down the number of questions that you have attempted so you know how many more you need to cover to pass the exam.
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Know the right cluster and namespace
Each task will require you to switch the context to the right or appropriate cluster. In some tasks, you will be asked to create Kubernetes resources in a specific namespace. Keep both things in mind and use the right cluster & namespace.
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Linux knowledge and Command shortcuts
Learn how to use an editor such as VIM along with its commands and shortcuts. Knowing basic commands for manipulating files and directories would also be helpful.
Apart from this, you should try to save time by using aliases or short names wherever you can. Familiarize yourself with the shorthand versions of Kubernetes objects as well as commonly used resources.
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Make use of Imperative commands
You can solve the test tasks and create Kubernetes objects in two ways –
- Imperatively – By using kubectl commands, you can generate the YAML file that you need and edit it with vi to meet the requirements. After this, apply the file to the cluster.
- Declaratively – By writing and then applying manifest files.
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Help command comes in handy
By running the help command, you get to check the parameters that you can specify to any command.
Together, Docker and Kubernetes are shaping the future of business architecture. There is a huge demand for Docker and Kubernetes worldwide and organizations around the globe are embracing these platforms for containers & microservices wholeheartedly.
Learn Kubernetes online & upskill yourself
Enroll in Cognixia’s Docker and Kubernetes certification course & upgrade your skills. Shape your career & future with our hands-on, live, interactive, instructor-led course. In this competitive world, we are here to provide you with an extraordinarily intuitive online learning experience, help you enhance your knowledge with engaging training sessions, and add value to your skillset. Cognixia caters to both the individuals & corporate workforce with our online interactive instructor-led courses.
This training will cover basic-to-advanced-level concepts of Docker and Kubernetes. The course offers you an opportunity to take advantage of connecting with industry expert trainers, develop your competencies to meet industry & organizational standards, as well as learn about real-world best practices.
The Kubernetes Training course will cover the following –
- Docker essentials
- Kubernetes
- Kubernetes overview
- Minikube
- Kubernetes Cluster
- Kubernetes Pod overview
- Kubernetes Client
- Creating and modifying ConfigMaps and Secrets
- Replication Controller and Replica Set
- Deployment
- DaemonSet
- Jobs
- NameSpaces
- Dashboard
- Services
- Exploring the Kubernetes API and Key Metadata
- Managing specialized workloads
- Volumes and configuration data
- Scaling
- RBAC
- Monitoring and logging
- Maintenance and troubleshooting
- The ecosystem
Prerequisites
- Basic command knowledge of Linux
- Basic understanding of DevOps
- Basic knowledge of YAML programming language (beneficial, not mandatory)
