Certified Kubernetes Exams: Tips and Tricks to Pass the CKA and CKAD Exam
Tags: kubernetes, cka, ckad, beginners
Published: 2020-02-05 04:52:47

If you do a quick search online, you would quickly notice that a lot of people are claiming that they have taken and passed the CKA and CKAD examinations. In case you are wondering, the CKAD is the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam, while the CKA is the Certified Kubernetes Administrator exam. 

Some people might feel that they need a whole lot of resources and even so much time to prepare for this exam. You can successfully pass both exams within a month as long as you have adequate study materials.
The details about the examinations and their curricula
The focus of CKAD is on managing and deploying applications to the Kubernetes cluster. The CKA exam focuses on managing and operating the Kubernetes cluster, including troubleshooting. 

What many students fail to understand is that a comprehensive review is essential and vital for the entire curriculum of the examinations. Visit the site Kubernetes.io and go through all the relevant pages there. It is because all the issues you are expected to know and topics you are expected to comprehend, exist in the curriculum. A test would be carried out during this examination to gauge your knowledge. 

####The websites to review the curriculums are as follows:
* [kubernetes.io](https://kubernetes.io/)
* [CKA and CKAD Curriculums](https://github.com/cncf/curriculum)

###Helpful tips before the examination 

1] On Kubernetes.io, you should read the entire exam curriculum and its relevant pages to understand it properly. you are allowed during the test to view the following websites:
* [github.com/kubernetes](https://github.com/kubernetes/)
* [kubernetes.io/blog/](https://kubernetes.io/blog/)
* [kubernetes.io/docs](https://kubernetes.io/docs)

2] There are a couple of books that are useful for anyone who plans to write these exams. They are going to help you to prepare appropriately, especially if you want a deeper understanding of the Kubernetes cluster. With them, you can operate and manage the Kubernetes cluster. You do not need all of them. Make a selection of one or two and concentrate your studies on those selections:
 
* Free PDF by Heptio. You can get this [here](https://go.heptio.com/rs/383-ENX-437/images/Managing_Kubernetes.pdf). 
* Book by Heptio - [Managing Kubernetes](http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920146667.do) 
* Book – [Kubernetes: Up and Running](http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920043874.do)
* Book – [Kubernetes](https://gihyo.jp/book/2019/978-4-297-10438-2)
* Book – [Kubernetes Azure](https://www.shoeisha.co.jp/book/detail/9784798157849)
* Book – [Kubernetes](https://book.impress.co.jp/books/1118101055)


3] For CKAD – the Github report below is beneficial for preparation for the CKAD exam:
* [CKAD Exercises](https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises)

4] For CKA – you should learn how to troubleshoot the cluster. When you are on Kubernetes.io, I recommend reading the following pages:
* [Debug Services](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/debug-application-cluster/debug-service/)
* [Application Introspection and Debugging](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/debug-application-cluster/debug-application-introspection/)
* [Determine the Reason for Pod Failure](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/debug-application-cluster/determine-reason-pod-failure/)

5] For CKA – learn how the installation, configuration, and validation of the Kubernetes cluster. Some excellent materials to study on these concepts are:
* [Kubernetes the hard way on Azure (Azure)](https://github.com/ivanfioravanti/kubernetes-the-hard-way-on-azure)
* [Kubernetes the hard way (GCP)](https://github.com/kelseyhightower/kubernetes-the-hard-way)
 
6] For CKA – the Github report below is quite useful
* [Kubernetes-Certified-Administrator](https://github.com/walidshaari/Kubernetes-Certified-Administrator)
* Mumshad's [CKA course with practice tests](https://kodekloud.com/p/certified-kubernetes-administrator-with-practice-tests) is the popular on the internet

7] For both the CKA and CKAD examinations – it is essential to find a quick route to achieve your goals through the use of Kubectl. During the tests, you can look-up the website Kubernetes.io. However, it is always better to know the fastest ways and shortcuts. The duration of the exams is limited. CKAD is usually 2 hours, while CKA is 3 hours. Knowing shortcuts is going to help you work faster.
* [Kubectl Cheat Sheet](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/cheatsheet/)

8] In addition to the above-listed resources, it would also be helpful to take a course online. Some guidance would be necessary if you do not know the subject at hand. The following courses will be beneficial to you:

* [Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) with Practice Tests](https://kodekloud.com/p/certified-kubernetes-administrator-with-practice-tests)
* [Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)](https://kodekloud.com/p/kubernetes-certification-course)

The courses above are worth the money because they are thorough and well-structured. You can also redo the hand-on laboratory until you can recite them by heart. 

9] It would be best if you practiced some free exercises. A fantastic resource to check out your overall knowledge is [https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises](https://github.com/dgkanatsios/CKAD-exercises). There is also https://github.com/wiewioras/k8s-labs. Both resources have excellent tasks to review, whether you are taking the CKAD or the CKA exam. 
 
10] Take my top-rated [certified Kubernetes application developer course](https://kodekloud.com/p/kubernetes-certification-course) and [certified Kubernetes administrator course](https://kodekloud.com/p/certified-kubernetes-administrator-with-practice-tests) with practice tests involved. Both will give you an enormous amount of confidence to pass the exams. 
 
###Helpful tips during the examination
1. Identification – before the exam, all candidates are supposed to present a photo identification that is issued by the government. In most cases, your international passport is sufficient. You can read the [Candidate Handbook](https://www.cncf.io/certification/candidate-handbook) for more information.

2. Testing Room – for the test, you need to prepare a room. This room should be well lit, private, and quiet.

3. Virtual screen – tmux and screen is a virtual screen to get. The use of multiple monitors is going to be helpful to you. In such a situation, you can look up Kubernetes resource state and logs on one screen while deploying Kubernetes resources on the other one.

4. Command aliases – to further reduce the time you require to type in commands, it is helpful to set up an alias or aliases.

5. Searchability – you can search and make use of the Kubernetes.io pages. Never give up when you do not have an idea on any of the exam questions. Search through the Kubernetes.io pages by typing some keywords and searching. On this website, you could get lucky with discovering some right answers or hints.

6. Manage your time well – avoid awkward questions. In other words, save your time and do not waste time on any questionable items. You can spend the remaining time you have on these difficult questions. However, it would be best if you endeavored to attempt all the easy questions first. To pass the exam, you do not have to beat everything. Passing the exam requires scores of at least 66% in the CKAD and at least 74% in the CKA.

In this video below Mumshad also explains about the Kubernetes Certifications - CKA and CKAD and how it can help your career. 
{% youtube Y-CupBJBUHA %} 

Further, in this video below, he has also explained how to register for the exams and how much time it would take to prepare and attempt the exams.
{% youtube PlHUjS4JxRg %}

####Conclusion
Reviewing and understanding all the relevant pages on kubernetes.io and the exam curriculum is an essential tip. You only have to understand and not memorize the information you get. During the examination, you can look-up and check out the appropriate pages assuming you do not come up with the exact Kubernetes resource objects or command options for the examination questions. Another point to remember is that you should familiarize yourself with basic management commands, cluster operations, and Linux commands. 
 
In summary, you should take a course. Work on several practice exams. Work on as many exercises as you can create resources as fast as possible.