CKAD (Certified Kubernetes Application Developer) is one of the more recent and also more challenging certificates available in the market, Having just managed to pass it with a score of 90% I’m sharing my experience in this post for those who plan to attempt it soon.
Who CKAD is Meant For
CKAD is meant for those who would like to learn how to build cloud native applications on Kubernetes, at the very least you need basic working knowledge of Linux, YML and Vi/m.
It also helps if you freshen up on how to use tmux or screen.
The Exam Format
19 problems to solve using a web-shell in 2 hours, with the help of the Kubernetes documentation opened in a single additional tab, You aren’t allowed to use google or external resources other than kubernetes.io and its subdomains. The passing grade is 66%.
Not all problems have the same weight some carry a weight of 2% while others have a 13% weight. This is related to the covered area rather than the complexity of the question.
You can use an external screen but only one screen can be used at a time, one browser with two tabs (one of them running the web-shell). You also get a web based notepad that you can use to write notes.
Note that you need to mark the problems that you have solved there is no way to tell whether a problem that was resolved or not without going in and checking manually.
Almost nobody is able to complete the 19 problems within the allotted.
Why is CKAD Exam Challenging
As most of those who passed it will tell you the biggest challenge is the time, 2 hours is barely enough to go through the 19 question and some strategizing is required. Given how problems are scored you can easily spend 15 minutes solving a 2% question which might have a higher ROI if invested in other questions.
Another challenge is the web-shell, running ZSH some might find it challenging to work with especially with how unfamiliar it might feel compared to the local shell with all the customizations that many of us put into it to make it easier and faster to use.
Finally and this is a trivial one, each few problems are done within a different Context and namespace. That appears to be easy while prepping for the exam but while in the exam it is very easy to miss setting the context or namespace and losing the points and more importantly the time invested to solve the problem.
My Prep Approach
Solving all of the available problems I managed to come across and understanding the underlying principles behind the solution
https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises
I also familiarized myself with all of the commands in the cheatsheet
https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/cheatsheet/
I used the web-shell exclusively to train (Katacoda) to make sure I’m acclimated to the environment I’ll use in the exam. I also used the same configuration I’d use the exam a single open tab and a single screen being used.
I also practiced TMUX and Vi with focus on rapid copy and paste between different files.
My Exam Taking Strategy
I adopted a multi-pass approach with focus on the high valued questions first, in my initial scan I ignored any sub 5% questions focusing on the high valued questions first noting down the questions that I’ve deferred for later along with their weight and a brief description.
I made a point of running the context setting command at the beginning of each problem and dead a clear screen.
I reused as much as I could by running describe -o yaml command into files and then reusing that file rather than rebuilding the yaml file from scratch as there is no time for this.
One folder per problem and everything to run –dry-run mode and generate files mapped to problem number to make sure I could go back or reuse if needed.
I compiled my potential score after solving every question to make sure I’m on track towards hitting the score I wanted.
Final words
This exam feels like a race against time and by the end of the exam you feel both breathless and fatigued so keep that in mind while prioritizing the low scored problems, don’t leave anything too complicated for the end because your efficiency goes way down after 2 hours of continuous focus.
Passing the exam feels more of an achievement than other exams and is definitely much more fun than intentionally confusing MCQs.
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