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Just got the awaited email from Linux Foundation this morning saying that I passed the CKAD (Certified Kubernetes Application Developer) exam that I took on Sunday. I’m so glad that I passed so that I don’t have to retake exam (even though it’s free). 🙂

A summary of my experience when I took the exam:

• My computer setup:
  • Linux Ubuntu 18 on a laptop.
  • External 28″ 4K monitor (set to 2560×1440 resolution) as primary display and the laptop screen as secondary display.
  • External keyboard + mouse
  • External webcam
  • Main Chrome window for test on the external monitor, and use laptop monitor for K8s docs
• Joined 15 minutes early before the schedule
• Went through webcam and screen sharing, ID verification, room/desk inspection, and guidelines in about 5-10 minutes
• Had internet connection issues for the first 30 minutes 😢

Test Taking Strategies

• Started with the questions having 5 points ≤ first
• I used the exam notepad to track the questions that I’ve answered and their points:

#Example 
1 - done - 5pts 
2 - 2 pts # skipped
3 - done - 9 pts 
...

• By the end of the exam, I had enough time to try to answer all of the questions having 5 pts or above (although I wasn’t able to fully complete one). When the time is over, I didn’t get a chance to answer only two questions having 2-3 pts.

Shortcuts

• Use mainly these two shortcuts:

$ alias k=kubectl
$ export do='--dry-run=client -o yaml'

• If I had to redo it, I’d add this one too:

$ alias cs='kubectl config set-context --current --namespace'

• Another handy command to remember:

$ kubectl command help (-h)

• Didn’t use any of the vim settings. Maybe they would help save some more time, but I didn’t practice using them enough.

Chrome bookmarks

• I used bookmarks I created myself and make sure I know where they link to before the exam.
• The bookmarks that I think everyone must have:
  • PersistentVolume and PersistentVolumeClaims YAML
  • Readiness and Liveness probes YAML
  • kubectl cheatsheet
  • Using ConfigMap and Secret (per env variable, all values, and using volume)
  • Job and CronJob YAML
  • NetworkPolicy YAML

Tmux

• I used Tmux for 1-2 questions.
• Not a must, but can be quite handy when we need to open more than one manifests at the same time.
• Just knowing basic Tmux commands is enough for me:

# start tmux
$tmux

# split screen horizontally
Ctrl+b %

# navigate between two tmux console
Ctrl+b (up) or (down)

My learning and practice resources

• Kubernetes Certified Application Developer (CKAD) with Tests on Udemy by KodeKloud
  • Great course that have a single purpose; make all of their students pass CKAD. I think almost everyone who have taken the course and the exam would agree with me.
• CKAD exercises questions on github by dgkanatsios
  • The best list of exercise questions. You’ve probably read this somewhere else, but I’m going to repeat it again; go through all the questions a few times. When you can answer all, or at least most, of the questions correctly, you should be ready for the exam.
• CKAD Practice Challenge on katacoda by liptanbiswas
  • Great extra practice questions on katacoda.

Summary

• Though it’s not easy, I like how CKAD questions are all lab questions, and not multiple choices. This make sure all the candidates have Kubernetes hands-on knowledge to pass the exam, not just knowing the theories.
• Thanks to other candidates before me who have shared their experiences and tips on how to pass the exam.
• Good luck for those who are going to take the exam.