Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) Certification Exam: Everything You Must Know

Everything is moving towards containers these days, and in the IT world, you should not fall behind in adopting new technologies like Kubernetes. Kubernetes, as you all know an open-source tool, had the fastest growth in job searches, rising 173% from a year before. So, the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer certification will for sure take your career to a whole new level.

In this blog, we discuss in detail the following topics:

•  What is the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam?
•  Pre-requisites for Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam
•  Certified Kubernetes Application Developer Certification Benefits
• CKAD Basic Exam Details
• CKAD Exam Topics
•  CKAD Learning Path
•  Exam Retake Policy
•  Who is this certification for?

What Is The Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam?

The Certified Kubernetes Application Developer certification is designed to guarantee that certification holders have the knowledge, skills, and capability to design, configure, and expose cloud-native applications for Kubernetes and also perform the responsibilities of Kubernetes application developers. Hence, it also assures that the Kubernetes Application Developer can use core primitives to build, monitor, and troubleshoot scalable applications in Kubernetes.

Pre-requisites For CKAD Exam ^

It is a bit surprising but really there are no prerequisites for taking the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer exam. Although experience in software development will be an add-on. There is no experience in Docker or container required either!

 CKAD Certification Benefits ^

• Kubernetes is one of the most sought after skills that companies need in today’s world since almost every company is converting their legacy applications into cloud-native apps or building new apps that are cloud-native.
• Kubernetes is the only option of a container orchestration framework available in the market other than the Docker swarm. So, this is the right time for anyone to take this exam and get certified.
• The companies are looking for certified Kubernetes developers, as the majority of them are moving their application towards containers.

Since the Kubernetes is quite new in the industry, there is a huge market gap for certified professionals.

Find out about what is Kubernetes Label here.

CKAD Exam Basics ^

• Certification Name: Certified Kubernetes Application Developer
• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites needed apart from the software development experience.
• Number of questions: 19 questions
• Exam Duration: 2 hours
• Passing score: 66% or above
• Exam Cost: $395

If you want to apply for CKAD, click  here

Also read: Difference between Kubernetes vs docker.

Learning Path for CKAD ^

The below image gives an idea of the Learning path:

CKAD Exam Topics ^

The CKAD exam curriculum includes the following general domains and their weightage on the :

1) Application Design and Build – 20%

• Define, build and modify container images
• Understand Jobs and CronJobs
• Understand multi-container Pod design patterns (e.g. sidecar, init and others)
• Utilize persistent and ephemeral volumes

2) Application Deployment – 20%

• Use Kubernetes primitives to implement common deployment strategies (e.g. blue/green or canary)
• Understand Deployments and how to perform rolling updates
• Use the Helm package manager to deploy existing packages

3) Application Observability and Maintenance – 15%

• Understand API deprecations
• Implement probes and health checks
• Use provided tools to monitor Kubernetes applications
• Utilize container logs
• Debugging in Kubernetes

4) Application Environment, Configuration and Security – 25%

• Discover and use resources that extend Kubernetes (CRD)
• Understand authentication, authorization and admission control
• Understanding and defining resource requirements, limits and quotas
• Understand ConfigMaps
• Create & consume Secrets
• Understand ServiceAccounts
• Understand SecurityContexts

5) Services and Networking – 20%

• Demonstrate basic understanding of NetworkPolicies
• Provide and troubleshoot access to applications via services
• Use Ingress rules to expose applications

Also Read: Our blog post on Kubernetes Architecture, to know how it is working.

Exam Retake Policy ^

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation offers one (1) free retake per exam purchase in the event that a passing score is not achieved and the candidate has not otherwise been deemed ineligible for certification or retake.

Who Is This Certification For? ^

If there is a doubt in your mind that if this certification is right for you, well here is the answer to that,

• For candidates who are interested in software development.
• People who are interested in containers.
• Engineers who have some experience of development.
• Candidates having an idea about Kubernetes.
• Those who are looking for new career-changing opportunities.
• For those who are looking for adapting to new technologies.

If you feel you are the one for Certified Kubernetes Administrator role, please visit our blog on CKA

Related / References:

• Visit our YouTube channel on “Docker & Kubernetes” 
• [Video] Containers (Docker) & Kubernetes In Azure For Beginners
• Docker & Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Training
• (CKA) Certification: Step By Step Activity Guides/Hands-On Lab Exercise & Learning Path
• (CKAD) Certification: Step By Step Activity Guides/Hands-On Lab Exercise & Learning Path
• CKA Certification Exam (Certified Kubernetes Administrator)
• To know frequently Asked Questions on CKA & CKAD, click here
• Certified Kubernetes Application Developer Certification Exam: Everything You Must Know

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