Pass CKAD Exam in 33 days 

• From my experience, I must tell you that CKAD is not just about learning the syllabus. Studying all the topics of CKAD will not take much time. The real challenge is to apply your understanding/learning and solving the problems during exam time duration. This exam tests your time management skills while implementing your learnings. Before the exam, I went through multiple blogs where people shared their experience with CKAD certification process. I practiced/applied some of them during my preparation and exam.
  
  
  Before I enter the technicalities of the exam, I would assert on the point that the most powerful mantra to clear this exam is practice, practice and practice. My recommendations are only over and above this mantra. I set out below some of the ways in which I practiced and prepared:
  
  
  Before exam
  
  
  Cluster Setup:I set up a Kubernetes cluster with a master and 2 worker nodes using the Vagrant tool in my Windows OS  to practice and get my hands extremely comfortable with kubectl commands(link ). You can also use cloud provisioned Kubernetes clusters for practice .
  
  
  Linux & Vim: As I was new to the Linux environment, I got myself familiar with some basic Linux commands like grep, wget, curl, apt-get. I learnt a few keyboard shortcuts to edit faster in Vim. 
  
  
  Imperative command and dry run: I utilized the imperative commands as much as possible. Used Short names of the resources (e.g.: po for pod, deploy for deployment, sa for service account). Also, used  --dry-run -o yaml which  is very much handy to create yaml resources.
  
  
  Kubernetes documentation: The exam allows you to keep only one extra tab in your browser for referring to Kubernetes official sites. You can always refer to it while solving problems. I planned to reduce using it as it would consume more time. Hence, I practiced problem with limited usage of it . However, there are some resources like Persistence volume, Network policy which can’t be created using imperative commands. Under such situations, I have relied on the Kubernetes documentation.
  
  
  Use of ‘kubectl explain’ command: If you forget some yaml properties, use ‘kubectl  explain’ command to get details. It is much faster than searching in documentation and hence, developing an habit of using it will save your time during exam.
  
  
  During Exam
  
  
  Once the exam started, before attempting the question I did the following:
  
  
  • Autocompletion set up: Autocompletion set up will save you some time during the exam. You will find the steps to do it in the Kubernetes documentation.
  • Vim Editor Set up: There were  a lot of yaml file editing during the exam. So setting up the vim editor made the task easier. The command below turns on line numbering, sets the tab to two spaces.Edit the vim configuration fle .vimrc  and add
  
  
             Edit the vim configuration fle .vimrc  and add
  
  
             Autocmd FileType yaml nu et ts=2 sts=2 sw=2
  
  
             Syntax on
  
  
  Create alias and variable: Creating the following alias is another timer saving technique which I used during the exam.
            Alias kgp=’k get po -o wide’
  
  
            Alias kn=’k config set-context –current –namespace’
  
  
           Alias krm=’k delete –force  -- grace-period=0’
  
  
            Export do=’—dry-run -o yaml’
  
  
  Things to be kept in mind  during the exam: 
  
  
  • CKAD exam environment provisions 4 clusters. You have to create resources in the clusters specified in each question. While moving to a new question, I executed the command to switch the cluster which was already provided above each question. Also, I made sure that I work on the correct namespace. You won’t get any score if you perform your answer in the wrong cluster and namespace.Hence, this mistake is unforgivable after all those hard work.
  • The weight of score is not evenly distributed. Strangely, I found a couple of questions which were time consuming but had just 2 % weight. To save time, I flagged such questions and moved to the next one to come back if I have time at the end.
  • Time management is the most critical and toughest part in this entire process. Never be stuck with a question and miss attempting the easier ones due to shortage of time. Move on to the next question if you have spent decent time on one question.
  
  
  The best part of this exam was that none of the questions came as a surprise. All I had to do was keep calm, read the question carefully and create the right resources at the right place with a strict attention to timer.
  
  
  Besides the above technical tips:
  
  
  • Before the exam, ensure you have a clean desk. I just kept a glass of water and identification card  on my desk besides the computer and related accessories
  • An external keyboard and mouse will make you faster.
  • Go through the candidate handbook
  • According to me, morning time is best to take the exam.
  Resources I have used for preparation:
  
  
  1.  Udemy Course: Kubernetes Certified Application Developer (CKAD) with Tests by Mumshad Mannambeth:
  
  
  My work experience helped me to get the basic understanding of Kubernetes . But this Udemy course gave me confidence to take the exam. The lightning labs and mock tests were the good platform to practice for the real exam. 
  
  
  2.      Kubernetes official site:
  
  
   I went through the documentation(tasks section specially) to get better idea of creating Kubernetes resources
  
  
   3.      https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises: 
  
  
  It provides a variety of problems and solutions.
  
  
  4.      Golden Guide to Kubernetes Application Development by Mathiew palmer: 
  
  
  It has 30 useful  questions and set up commands to create exam environment
  
  
  5.      https://github.com/bmuschko/ckad-crash-course/tree/master/exercises:  
  
  
  6.      https://killer.sh/: This test is almost similar to the real CKAD test. A good one to measure your preparation.

I recently passed the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) exam. I started my journey approximately a month and a half back in April. I started by watching Mumshad's course on CKAD on Udemy. It gave me quite a starting point. I liked his explanations of different complex topics.

I used to dedicate 2 hours each day for the course. I finished the course in around 15th May and booked the exam for 29th May.  For the 2 weeks, I used to practice using practice tests present in Mumshad's course. Soon, I finished them and I had nothing to more to practice or so I thought. Then I used Linux Academy's practice exams and labs given in their courses and they were quite helpful.  Both of these courses were aligned with the exam and helped me a lot in passing them. I noted which sections I was weak in and went back to their specific Labs.

Format of Exam:

Click here to book the exam

This exam consists of 19 questions that are needed to be solved on the Kubernetes cluster practically. This exam is 100% practical based. You can still open an additional tab for Kubernetes documentation.

Total TIme: 2 hours 

Price: 300$

Total Questions: 19 

Tips for Exam:

1. Use alias and autocomplete for alias

alias k=kubectl
complete -F __start_kubectl k

 No need to remember it. The exam allows you to open an extra tab to visit kubernetes.io. Just type alias in the search bar in Kubernetes .io and visit the first link. It's all given in there. Sometimes the names of pod and namespaces are too long and using full command name will just make it look unreadable something like :

Kubectl get deployment deployments.app mysql-buster-12414325235135 -n alpha-beta-gamma -o yaml > deploy.yaml

using alias kgd='kubectl get deployment -o yaml ' You can shorten this in the following manner

kgd deployments.app mysql-buster-12414325235135 -n alpha-beta-gamma > deploy.yaml

You can also make custom aliases for your ease. I made aliases for common commands that I knew I will be using a lot definitely.

These were,

  alias kg='kubectl get pod'

  alias kga='kubectl get pod --all-namespaces'

  alias kc='kubectl create -f'

  alias kd='kubectl delete -f'

2. Use documentation effectively. This is where solving problems from the mock tests will help you. The answer to your questions are given in the documentation, you just need to know where.

3. Use the --dry-run command. This command is used to check whether your command is correct and if it is you can use -o yaml flag to get the yaml code for the component and store it in a YAML file.

4. The exam uses the latest version so better if you read the latest documentation as the courses I have mentioned use bit old versions of Kubernetes.

5. In the exam, there will be multiple clusters like k8s,n8s,d8s. There will be commands to change clusters. First, read the question and see which cluster it is working on and if it is different then copy and paste the command from the question to set the cluster. A precautionary method will be to copy-paste the command for every question if you don't know which cluster you are on.

I hope that was helpful to you. Here are some links that you might be interested in:

Links for Courses:

1. Mumshad Mannambeth: CKAD course

2. Linux Academy: linuxacademy.com CKAD Course

3. CKAD Exam booking 

4. Kubernetes official Documentation

The CKAD is a great and fun certification. If you like working on the command line then you'll love it. I actually had fun while sitting in the actual exam! :) It's hard, especially because of the time limit of 2 hours. So you need to be fluent in kubectl and know your way around vim a lot.

• Study all topics as proposed in the curriculum till you feel comfortable with all
• Do all of these, maybe 2–3 times: https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises
• Do all of these practical challenges
• Also imagine and create your own scenarios to solve
• Read this and do all examples: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/cluster-administration/logging
• Use a large screen so you have more space. Read about the browser terminal
• (maybe) use the CKAD simulator on https://killer.sh

To be upfront, I'm the creator of https://killer.sh where we offer a completely simulated CKAD Simulator environment. You'll get a very close replica of the CKAD environment and similar challenges to solve. Once you register you can also see free example challenges which might already be helpful.

This is how I actually studied and succeeded in the exam, I created my own challenges and environments to get practical knowledge. Because many people liked my shared content I created a simulator around it.

Happy learning and good luck for your certifications!

Kim

1. Which organization/authority issues the Kubernetes Certifications?

Ans: CNCF( Cloud Native Computing Foundation)

2. How many Kubernetes certifications exist as of date?

Ans: 2 Certifications ( CKA, CKAD)

CKA: - 24 questions 3 hours

CKAD: 19 question 2 hours

3. What kind of exams are they?

Ans: Kubernetes, is a performance-based exam just like your Red Hat Exams. You are given practical real-world questions, and you solve them in the Linux Console.

4. What kind of prior knowledge do I require to take up the exam?

Ans: A strong foundation in Linux is essential.

5. Which exam should I take first?

Ans: Possibly CKAD which is the easiest of the 2 exams.

6. What’s the best course out in the market for Kubernetes?

Ans:  Mumshad Munambad’s course on Udemy is the top course. Each course cost anywhere between A$12-15

CAKD Course Link

CKA Course Link

Don’t be terrified to see a price of A$200 as the course fee. Once you create a udemy account and find the right coupons, it should come down to A$15.

7. How do I prepare for the exams?

Ans: Practice, Practice, and Practice. If you are new to the world of containers, a good starting point is Kubernetes for Absolute Beginners Course

    8. Online Blog

Last week I earned my first Kubernetes certification named CKAD ( Certified Kubernetes Application Developer ). It was one of the most challenging exams I appeared in recent times. The main reason is, unlike other MCQ ( Multiple Choice Questions ) exams, CKAD is a hands-on exam where you need to demonstrate your skills in one or more live environments. It is also an open book kind of an exam where you are allowed to refer to K8s documentation (only one tab).  

In this post, I will share some tips which helped me sail through the exam. Some of these tips/tricks are borrowed from people who have already cracked CKAD .

Kubernetes Resource:

1. Udemy course by Mumshad Mannambeth : This is an excellent course in which you can practice commands on the exam-like environment.  https://www.udemy.com/course/certified-kubernetes-application-developer/
2. Must-Try below exercises 2-3 times before you appear. Time management tips. https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises  
3. Must practice all the mock tests until you will get 100 percentage including lighting tests also. https://kodekloud.com/courses 

4. Practice Enough With These 150 Questions for the CKAD Exam at least 2-3 times https://medium.com/bb-tutorials-and-thoughts/practice-enough-with-these-questions-for-the-ckad-exam-2f42d1228552

5. 13 weekly challenges by Kim Wuestkamp that would help you dig deeper and troubleshoot some problems https://codeburst.io/kubernetes-ckad-weekly-challenges-overview-and-tips-7282b36a2681    

6. if possible, complete all the relevant “Tasks” given on the Kubernetes documentation https://github.com/twajr/ckad-prep-notes#tasks-from-kubernetes-doc

The biggest challenge in the CKAD exam is time management. We have only 2 hours to complete 19 questions. On top of that, you need to write/edit YAML files is one of the default Linux editors ( nano, vim, etc ) which is not going to help in saving time. So here are some tips to save time.

Master kubectl imperative commands: 

While YAML is good for Infrastructure as a Code, it won't help you in saving time in the exam

SO PLEASE DON'T WRITE YAML FILES FROM SCRATCH!

kubectl run and generators are the only saviors in this case. Remember that searching through K8s documentation will also be time-consuming, practice imperative commands so that you refer to documentation as less as possible. 

Things to remember during the exam

1. Proctors are very strict about the exam code of conduct. I was warned a couple of times just for covering my mouth and reading out questions aloud.
2. Note down questions and their percentage ( only in the note pad provided by exam environment ) if you want to skip the question for later. This strategy really helped me when there was a time crunch and I had to cover as much ground as possible 
3. if possible cover a higher weight percentage question first.

Conclusion

CKAD exam demands a lot of hands-on practice and skills. However, it is also one of the most rewarding experiences. And even if you don't crack it in the first attempt, there is a free retake!  

I started preparing for cka in 2019 and took 3-4 months.

Cka and ckad cover same topics only difference ckad need indepth knowledge.

I started with srinath challa videos on youtube then followed his course on udemy.

I am also following nigel poulton for 2 years started with his dockers courses.

2 months before one of my friend suggested me to follow kodekloud and when i completed that course it helped to prepared for certification.

Good course content with perfect labs and at last very well designed mock exams.

Was able to crack cka with 90% and ckad with 80% .

Attempted both certification within month time.

Please follow these courses and share feedback

Thanks and best of luck guys

Summary

Kubernetes is the most popular orchestration system for automating containerized application deployment and management. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer also known as CKAD is the certification that validates knowledge of an application developer on Kubernetes.

CKAD exam is a true performance based test in opposed to other common MCQ type tests. You sit online with your computer, having some requirements met and a proctor siting on the other side monitoring you for the whole time. You are given access to the test platform from the Chrome browser where you have questions and terminal to solve or troubleshoot scenario based questions within 2 hours. The test questions cover varrying percentage of k8s (Kubernetes) core concepts, configuration, multi-container pods, observability, pod design, services & networking and state persistence topics.

To learn and clear the exam, I have primarily prepared based on a Udemy course and lots of practice at work and home. Here I will share few details about them.

Kubernetes Certified Application Developer (CKAD) with Tests

This is the course I mainly followed first to learn about Kubernetes and prepare for the exam. The instructor, Mumshad Mannambeth has done a great job covering everything I needed to know to pass the test. Animated explanations, real world scenarios and most importantly lots of quiz questions & practice tests in a live environment (Katacoda) helped me a lot to understand the topics better. The course is based on 6 hours of on-demand videos but it takes way longer as I did practical tests plus my own research.

Kubernetes Documentaion

In the exam, you are allowed to open one extra tab with either the k8s documentation or k8s github page to use as reference. While studying, there were many situations when I needed to dig deeper on a topic and the documentation is very good on that. Besides, using documentation regularly proved to be handy in the exam time when I needed to quickly navigate to some topic for references.

Workplace Experience & Home Lab

Since we use Kubernetes at work, I regularly got chance to work in Kubernetes clusters, deploying or troubleshooting applications, specially working with prometheus-operator (consisting of prometheus, grafana, alertmanager and the operator itself) and many other interesting helm charts, also got help from others at work - all of those helped a lot in many ways to be prepared for the test. Additionally, I installed minikube on my laptop and whenever felt inspired, deployed different resources and played with various bits of pieces to understand different topics. 

More Practice Tests

I realized that I still wasn't ready as the exam period is too tight to be able to answer all questions. I recall to be able to answer a little above 90% and I am thankful to @dgkanatsios for these exercises, https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises which helped me to be faster and revise all the topics before the exam.

Other Mentions

There are many other resources to help prepare for the exam. I heard that LinuxAcademy practice tests, LinuxFoundation CKAD specific training and there are books that are good to be prepared for the exam but haven't tried them.

A quick note at the end that this is not to be used as a guide on how someone should prepare but purely to be considered as my experience of the preparation journey for CKAD. You can benefit from this as is or can modify/add more resources as needed to pursue the credential. As the use of Kubernetes growing alongside cloud native applications, Engineers who are not yet exposed to should surely benefit from Kubernetes knowledge & I can highly recommend to aim for this certification first.

Wish you a good luck.

I started preparing for CKAD in January 2020 and had some hands-on already on Kubernetes and Helm before I started actual preparation for certification.

Though I did a course on Udemy by Mumshad for CKAD at https://udemy.com/course/certified-kubernetes-application-developer. Wonderful course with hands-on exercises.

I did the exercises about 2-3 times to quicken my speed and also did exercises on https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises

And few random exercises on internet to do more hands-on practices.

Few tips:

- Exam is of 19 questions and you need to be really quick to complete all of them - try using imperative commands and less of yaml from scratch

- Prepare you vim settings as 1st step to avoid using lot of "spacebar" clicks

- Don't spend much time on questions with low weightage

- Mark the questions in provided notepad and come back to them if any question takes more than 10 minutes.

- Trust yourself and don't revalidate each and everything. Make use of commands like "kubectl get logs", "kubectl get po,deploy,..." instead of describe and get -oyaml everytime unless you are troubleshooting something.

- You can open 1 chrome tab with kubernetes.io docs and blogs - so bookmark all the links you may need.

This should be enough to clear the exam.

All the best - remember the test is not that difficult but it validates your confidence on Kubernetes, your speed, accuracy.