How I passed Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Exam (quick tips)
Tags: kubernetes, devops
Published: 2021-10-04 13:05:43

Exam Score: 93. Passing score: 66.

## 4-6 weeks before Exam
Since CKA is an "open book" exam, you should be preparing with the mindset of knowing where to find stuff in the Kubernetes documentation.

#### Mumshad Mannambeth CKA course
* If you are stuck while doing the practice questions after each chapter, dive into the official Kubernetes documentation to find your answer.
* Don't rely on the course content to find your answers. Use it to understand concepts.
* Begin **bookmarking documentation** pages you find helpful.
* Run through the jsonpath practices.
* After finishing the Killer.sh simulators, come back this course to run through as many practice questions as you can.

#### Killer.sh CKA simulator
* Comes with 2 free tries after you've registered for the CKA exam
* Only use official Kubernetes documentation to find your answers
* Take the opportunity to **bookmark documentation** pages you find helpful
* Do not panic if you find yourself struggling, I did too. The simulator is very tough.
* **Practice** setting up your Vimrc configuration, Kubectl autocomplete and alias.

#### Administrative stuff
* Register for the CKA exam
* Purchase a magnifying glass if you don't have one, in case you have issues with your webcam not being able to focus on your identification proof clearly. I faced this issue personally.
* Ensure you have read through the [Candidate Handbook](https://docs.linuxfoundation.org/tc-docs/certification/lf-candidate-handbook) and [Important Instructions](https://docs.linuxfoundation.org/tc-docs/certification/tips-cka-and-ckad).
* Buy a decent webcam if you do not have one.
* Get a second monitor (or a monitor extension for your laptop). This is extremely helpful and reduces time required to alternate between windows.
* Run the compatibility check tool and make sure everything is good.

## Less than 1 Day Before Exam
* Clear out your desk, including speakers. You don't need speakers for the exam.
* Get a clear cup for water
* Run the compatibility check tool again and make sure everything is good.
* Go through the entire Kubernetes Cheat Sheet and get familiar with every line in it.

## During the Exam
* Always execute the switch context command displayed at every question before attempting the question, even if you think you are already on the correct context.
* Do not get stuck on a question. Mark/Flag it and move on to the next.
* Open a second browser window with a single tab on your second monitor, with all the bookmarks you need on the bookmark bar. Remember to let the proctor know that you have a second monitor.

## Bonus: My List of Bookmarks
These bookmarks have also been named according to what you see in the list.

* [Cheat Sheet](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/cheatsheet/)
* [Kubectl Cmds](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/generated/kubectl/kubectl-commands)
* [Debug Svcs (nslookup,exec,iptables,run)](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/debug-application-cluster/debug-service/)
* [Debug DNS](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/dns-debugging-resolution/)
* [Certs openssl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/certificates/)
* [PV hostPath](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/configure-persistent-volume-storage/#create-a-persistentvolume)
* [Affinity](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/scheduling-eviction/assign-pod-node/#affinity-and-anti-affinity)
* [Kubeadm upgrade](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/kubeadm/kubeadm-upgrade/)
* [Kubeadm cmds](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/setup-tools/kubeadm/)
* [Kubelet cmds](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/command-line-tools-reference/kubelet/)
* [etcd backup](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/configure-upgrade-etcd/#snapshot-using-etcdctl-options)
* [Taints & Tolerations](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/scheduling-eviction/taint-and-toleration/)
* [Mutli-scheduler](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/extend-kubernetes/configure-multiple-schedulers/)
* [Svc Acc](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/configure-service-account/)
* [ConfigMap](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/configure-pod-configmap/)
* [CSR](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/access-authn-authz/certificate-signing-requests/)
* [Secrets](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/secret/)
* [Security Contexts](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/security-context/)
* [Liveness, Readiness Probes](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/configure-liveness-readiness-startup-probes/)

## After the Exam
Results usually come within 24 hours. For me, it was published almost exactly 24 hours later. 

Good luck and all the best!