What to expect in the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam.

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What to expect in the CKAD Exam
Daniel Vaughan - 17th July 2019

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What am I?
@DanielVaughan

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What is it?
2 hour online exam overseen by a remote proctor
$300 registration fee comes with a free retest
19 hands on exercises in a Kubernetes environment
Open book
Kubernetes web
documentation is available
Tests proficiency with
Kubernetes
as well as knowledge of
concepts

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What it isn’t
You will not be asked to install or
provision a cluster
Knowing about admin will not help in the exam
It is not a test of what you remember, it is
a test of what you can do
You will not pass if you are not familiar with using
Kubernetes for real
You will not need to write a lot of YAML
from scratch
It is possible to generate most YAML and make
small change
You will not be asked about anything
outside of the CKAD Curriculum
Make sure you know everything it covers

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What does the exam cover?
https://github.com/cncf/curriculum/blob/master/CKAD_Curriculum_V1.14.1.pdf

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Background Concepts
The Kubernetes Book
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kubernetes-Book-
Nigel-Poulton/dp/1521823634
Kubernetes Up & Running
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kubernetes-
Running-Dive-Future-
Infrastructure/dp/1491935677
Kubernetes in Action
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kubernetes-
Action-Marko-Luksa/dp/1617293725/

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Online Courses
Linux Foundation
Official Training
$199
https://training.linuxfoundation.org/certification
/certified-kubernetes-application-developer-
ckad/
Linux Academy
Certified Kubernetes Application
Developer (CKAD)
$49.99 / month
https://training.linuxfoundation.org/certification
/certified-kubernetes-application-developer-
ckad/
Udemy
Kubernetes Certified Application
Developer (CKAD) with Tests
£10.99 - £199.99
https://www.udemy.com/course/certified-
kubernetes-application-developer/

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Where to practice?
Katacoda
Kubernetes Playground
Browser-based playground
https://www.katacoda.com/courses/ku
bernetes/playground
Google Kubernetes Engine
Trail Account
Create a small clusters
Turn off to save credit
https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-
engine/
IBM Cloud Private
Free Trial
Larger Clusters
Access to nodes
https://www.ibm.com/cloud/garage/dt
e/tutorial/ibm-cloud-private-hosted-
trial

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What else?
GitHub CKAD Exercises
https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD
-exercises
Kubernetes Slack
#ckad-exam-prep
https://kubernetes.slack.com/messag
es/CARH77JR2

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What is it actually like?
You are using your own laptop, bookmarks are allowed
You are watched on your webcam while completing the exam
You are allowed two browser tabs, the exam and Kubernetes documentation
You can cut and paste but only two lines at a time
The terminal used in the exam is not great

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Tips for passing
Manage your time wisely
Don't get stuck on a question, move on and come
back if there is time
Prioritise high mark questions
It is easy to spend a lot of time on questions with few
marks
Setup bookmarks before the exams
Really know your kubectl commands
Although you can look everything up you will not
have time
You get a free retake
understand exactly what the exam is like as soon as
you feel ready

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