AWS DOP-C02 is the new exam code for the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional exam, and it had been available since March 7th, 2023. The AWS DOP-C01 had been decommissioned on March 6, 2023.
DevOps is a set of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that improves an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster rate than traditional software development and infrastructure management processes. This speed allows organizations to better serve their customers and compete in the market.
This blog will cover everything you need to know about the AWS DOP-C02.
- What is AWS DOP-C02 Exam?
- Exam Overview
- Difference between DOP-C01 & DOP-C02
- AWS DOP-C02 Exam Domains
- I recently received my DOP-C01 certification. Will it still be valid?
- Exam results
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is AWS DOP-C02 Exam?
The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer-Professional content outline is being updated. Registration for the updated exam opens on January 31, 2023, and the exam will be available on March 7.
This update is the result of a Job Task Analysis (JTA), and it reflects changes in trends, the industry landscape, and cloud professionals’ work practices. This aws devops certification validates your technical ability to provision, operate, and manage distributed application systems on the AWS platform.
Exam Overview
Format | Multiple-choice and multiple-response questions only |
Type | Professional |
Delivery method | Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored exam |
Number of questions | 75 |
Time | 180 minutes |
Cost | 300 USD |
Language | English, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. |
Passing Marks | 750 & above |
Difference between DOP-C01 & DOP-C02
In terms of exam domains, the old version of the AWS DevOps Engineer Professional (DOP-C01) has exactly the same number as the new DOP-C02 version. However, there are some differences in exam coverage and domain names for some domains.
The largest exam domain remains the SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) Automation domain, with 22% exam coverage. The same is true for the Monitoring and Logging domain, which still has 15%. This is followed by the Configuration Management and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) domain, which has decreased from 19% to 17% exam coverage. The Incident and Event Response domain has dropped by 4%, with only 14% coverage, down from 18% in the previous version.
You’ll also notice that the names of two exam domains have changed:
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The domain of High Availability, Fault Tolerance, and Disaster Recovery has been renamed Resilient Cloud Solutions.
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Security and Compliance have replaced Policies and Standards Automation.
Resiliency is associated with High Availability, Fault Tolerance, and Disaster Recovery. This is the main reason why AWS shortened this lengthy domain name to “Resilient Cloud Solutions” for brevity. This exam domain has a slight decrease in coverage from 16% to 15%.
IAM Policies, Service Control Policies (SCPs), Bucket Policies, VPC Endpoint Policies, and other types of policies can be used to implement security in AWS. In the IT industry, the terms “standards” and “compliance” are interchangeable. The Policies and Standards Automation exam domain name has been simplified and is now officially known as the Security and Compliance domain. It’s worth noting that in the previous DOP-C01 version, this domain had the lowest exam coverage at 10%, but it’s now the second largest exam domain for DOP-C02 with 17% coverage.
Based on its new exam domain content distribution, the AWS DevOps Professional exam has significantly included many security-related topics. This means you must concentrate on various security topics and AWS security services.
AWS DOP-C02 Exam Domains
The AWS DevOps exam guide also includes a comprehensive list of exam domains, task statements, and knowledge areas; see the exam domains and task statements listed below for more information.
Domain 1: SDLC Automation (22%)
You will be required to automate the software development lifecycle by configuring code repositories and CI/CD pipelines in this domain. You should understand how to integrate these pipelines with various application environments and how to use automated testing to ensure that applications are ready for deployment. You should be able to create and configure various artifact repositories, as well as understand the various deployment strategies involved in the container or serverless architectures.
Domain 2: Configuration Management and Infrastructure as Code (17%)
In this domain, you’ll need to use AWS CloudFormation, AWS CDK, and AWS SAM to configure and deploy infrastructure as code, or IaC templates. You should understand how to use CloudFormation StackSets across multiple AWS regions and accounts. To that end, you should also be familiar with best practices for multi-region and multi-account environments, such as how to use AWS Organizations and Control Tower to manage accounts centrally.
You’ll also need to use services like Systems Manager, Step Functions, and OpsWorks to design, build, and configure automated solutions that can perform tasks across large-scale environments.
Domain 3: Resilient Cloud Solutions (15%)
This domain is all about implementing robust, scalable, and highly available solutions. Configuring multi-AZ and multi-region deployments, as well as leveraging auto-scaling, load balancing, and caching to help meet performance and availability requirements, is required. You should also be able to implement, test, and configure automated backup, restore, and failover processes, as well as understand the concepts of recovery time objective and recovery point objective (RTO/RPO).
Domain 4: Monitoring and Logging (15%)
This domain will put your knowledge of configuring the collection, aggregation, and storage of application logs and metrics to the test. You should be able to design event-driven architectures that use SNS, EventBridge events, or Lambda for alerting and automating various actions in various environments using AWS Config, CloudWatch, and CloudTrail.
Domain 5: Incident and Event Response (14%)
This domain is concerned with how to handle application events as well as incidents such as system and application-level failures. You should understand how to set up notification and alerting processes in response to various events, including various types of failures. When analyzing failed deployments or processes, you’ll also need to know how to perform root cause analysis and make the necessary configuration changes and remediations to return things to a desired state.
Domain 6: Security and Compliance (17%)
This final domain necessitates the implementation of large-scale security solutions, such as identity and access management, security and access controls, and security monitoring and auditing solutions. You should be able to identify security vulnerabilities and protect against common security threats using AWS services such as GuardDuty, Inspector, and Config.
Domains | %age |
SDLC Automation | 22% |
Configuration Management and Infrastructure as Code | 17% |
Resilient Cloud Solutions | 15% |
Monitoring and Logging | 15% |
Incident and Event Response | 14% |
Security and Compliance | 17% |
I recently received my DOP-C01 certification. Will it still be valid, or will I have to take the New Exam (DOP-C02)?
When AWS releases an updated aws devops certification, there is always cause for concern, and with reason! You may have just spent months studying for an exam only to learn that AWS will be revising it soon. We have some good news for you: you will not be required to retake the most recent certification in order to keep your credentials current.
The certification certificate or digital badge does not include the exam version. Even if you took the AWS DOP-C01 test on its final date (March 6, 2023), your certification would be valid for three years. The newly updated certification does not necessitate a retake.
AWS DOP-C02 Exam Results
The AWS DevOps Engineer – Professional (DOP-C02) exam is graded on a pass/fail basis. The exam is graded against a minimum standard established by AWS professionals who adhere to best practices and guidelines in the certification industry.
The exam results are reported as a scaled score of 100-1,000. A passing score of 750 is required. Your score indicates how well you did on the exam as a whole and whether or not you passed. Scaled scoring models aid in equating scores across multiple exam forms with varying degrees of difficulty.
A table of classifications of your performance at each section level could be included in your score report. This data is designed to provide general feedback on your exam performance. Because the exam employs a compensatory scoring model, you do not need to achieve a passing score in each section. You only need to pass the overall exam.
Because each section of the exam has a different weighting, some sections have more questions than others. The table includes general information about your strengths and weaknesses. When interpreting section-level feedback, proceed with caution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Will the DOP-C02 exam include an Exam Lab section?
A1. The most recent AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional exam does not include any Exam-Labs. The official exam guide for the DOP-C02 test confirms this.
Q2. What is the passing score for the AWS DevOps Professional exam?
A2. The exam results are reported as a scaled score of 100-1,000. A passing score of 750 is required. Your score indicates how well you did on the exam as a whole and whether or not you passed.
Q3. Do AWS exams expire?
A3. Certifications from AWS are valid for three years. To keep your AWS Certified status, you must periodically demonstrate your continued expertise through a process known as recertification. Recertification increases the overall value of your AWS Certification by demonstrating to individuals and employers that your credential covers the most up-to-date AWS knowledge, skills, and best practices.
Q4: Have the courses on k21academy been updated?
A4: Yes, We have updated the Course along with hands-on and Now using the revised content for live sessions covering AWS DOP-C02 topics/services.
Q5. What if I fail an AWS exam?
A5. Exam attempts are not limited. However, for each exam attempt, you must pay the full registration fee.
Q6: AWS DOP-C02 exam format?
A6: Multiple choice questions (single or multiple choice) and there is no negative marking.
Related Links/References
- AWS DOP-C02 Exam Guide
- AWS DOP-C02 Sample Questions
- AWS DOP-C02 Official Practice Questions Set
- AWS Certified Solution Architect Associate SAA-C03.
- Overview of Amazon Web Services & Concepts
- AWS Management Console Walkthrough
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C01
- AWS Certified DevOps Professional DOP-C02 Step-By-Step Activity Guides
Next Task For You
Begin your journey towards becoming an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional by checking our FREE CLASS. Click on the below image to register for our FREE CLASS.
Anu says
Any prerequisite certification before taking DOP-C02 exam?
Rahul Dangayach says
Hi Anu,
There is no pre-requisite before going for the AWS DevOps certification exam.
Hope this helps.
Thanks and Regards
Rahul Dangayach
Team K21Academy