CKAD Certification: Your Complete Guide to Becoming a Certified Kubernetes Application Developer
CKAD: What Is it?
The Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) certification is a hands-on exam that tests your knowledge of building cloud-native applications and deploying them to Kubernetes environments. It is issued by CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation) and administered by the Linux Foundation.
CKAD is a live, command-line test based on real-world Kubernetes tasks done in an actual cluster — making it much more practical and usable than a number of multiple-choice tests available.
Who Should Pursue CKAD?
If you’re a developer, or if you deploy/manage workloads in a containerized environment, or if you’re a backend developer looking to transition to cloud-native development, or if you work with platform engineering/operations on Kubernetes-based infrastructure, or if you’re an IT professional looking to demonstrate your skill sets related to Kubernetes application development: CKAD is for you.
CKAD specifically looks at how developers build, configure, and troubleshoot applications on top of Kubernetes (the developer perspective), rather than how to manage the cluster itself, as is the case with CKA and CKS.
CKAD Exam Overview
Candidates for a CKAD certification must pass the examination, which consists of 15 to 20 performance-based tasks, performed in a live environment with the use of a 2-hour time period in which they must successfully complete each task. The candidate's score on the CKAD exam is calculated by divided the total points awarded to them for each task completed by the total available points for all tasks in the examination. A passing score is 66 percent; and the registration fee is $395 USD, which includes a one-time free retake of the exam. The CKAD certification is valid for a two-year period and is an online proctored certification through PSI. There are no restrictions to taking the CKAD certification; so that anyone who is knowledgeable in the use of Kubernetes should be able to successfully complete the CKAD certification.
Exam Domains (Weightings)
All five domains of the CKAD certification exam share the following core domains, and each of these core domains has a different impact upon the candidate's total score on the examination.
Application Design and Build - 20% will be awarded for the candidate's ability to create and maintain container images, define and utilize multi-container pod patterns (e.g. sidecar, init containers, ambassador), create and manage jobs and cron jobs, for the purpose of executing batch workloads. Application Deployment - 20% will be awarded for the candidate’s ability to deploy Kubernetes workloads using Deployments, implement rolling update strategies, and implement methods of rolling back previously deployed workloads. The candidate will demonstrate an understanding of how to work with Kubernetes namespaces, Helm charts, deploy applications using Helm charts, and provide
Application Observability and Maintenance - 15% will be awarded to the candidates for their understanding of the API deprecation policy, use of liveness, readiness and startup probes for testing the health of a running application, understanding the functionality of logging and debugging tools to troubleshoot applications while they are running, and monitoring the health of an application during normal operation.
Application Environment, Configuration and Security - 25% is one of the most heavily weighted domains. This domain includes defining resource requirements and limitations; using ConfigMaps and Secrets to manage your application’s configuration; understanding ServiceAccounts, SecurityContexts, and RBAC for your applications; and working with admission controllers.
Services and Networking - 20% covers understanding Kubernetes networking, creating and configuring services, working with ingress controllers and ingress resources, and managing network policies to control traffic between pods.
What Are The Major Areas Of Focus
Kubernetes has many core concepts that you need to have a good grasp of in order to do well on the CKAD exam. You will want to be intimately familiar with Pods and Deployments, the foundational building blocks of Kubernetes applications. Also, you will want to be comfortable using ConfigMaps and Secrets, which allow you to keep configuration information separate from your code, as well as keep sensitive information, such as passwords, out of your application code. To ensure that your application can run efficiently without using too much of the cluster resources, you will want to know how to set Resource Requests and Limits on behalf of your applications. Kubernetes monitors the application's health and automatically takes appropriate action through Liveness and Readiness Probes. An understanding of Multi-container Pod Patterns (sidecar and init container) can be expected for many questions on the exam; therefore, it is imperative to have a solid conceptual understanding. Services and Ingress control how users are able to access the application from both within the cluster and from outside the cluster. Network Policies can be put in place to limit the ability of one pod to communicate with another pod for security purposes and isolate resources. Helm, as the package manager for Kubernetes, is becoming more important in modern-day deployments.
Tips to Prepare for CKAD
Develop a Solid Foundation in Kubernetes — Before preparing for CKAD, establish a solid foundation of learning the basic fundamentals and basics of working with Kubernetes. This means getting acquainted with the basics (e.g., pods, deployments, services, and namespaces) before moving on. If you're completely new to Kubernetes, you can get familiarized with it through beginning-level Kubernetes tutorials first for a period of two or three weeks, prior to starting preparation for the CKAD.
Practice in Real Time — The CKAD consists of practical tasks only, so simply reading will not be enough to prepare for CKAD. A good idea is to create a Kubernetes cluster at home with tools like Minikube, Kind, or kubeadm, and practice the topics you learn with your hands on each day.
Become Familiar with kubectl Command - Speed is an essential factor in taking the exam. Being able to quickly retrieve resources using kubectl is critical. To accelerate your pace while developing your skills to take the exam, learn how to use the kubectl imperative command line method for creating resources, rather than creating resource definition files in YAML, before attempting to take the CKAD.
Take Structured Training Courses — Enrolling in a structured training course provides you with an opportunity of learning Kubernetes in all exam domains in a systematic, thorough manner. For more advanced training, consider joining Traincape Technology's CKAD structured training (expert trainer) program, which provides hands-on labs, real-world examples, and practical preparation support for successful completion of CKAD.
Learn to Write YAML - You will have to create many different resources in YAML while taking the CKAD. So it's important to learn how to write pod specs, deployment templates/configurations, secrets/configmaps, and network policies all by hand, until you're able to do it naturally.
Use Timed Practice Tests to Mimic Actual Test Conditions — Use Killer.sh for free when registering for your CNCF exam. It provides an excellent simulated environment that is somewhat more difficult than the test you will experience.
Practice Using the Official Kubernetes Documentation — The use of the official Kubernetes documentation is permitted during your exam, so get comfortable navigating this website quickly (e.g., kubernetes.io) so that you don't waste time looking for needed material.
Advice for Passing the CKAD Exam
Completing CKAD in a timely manner necessitates completing each task in under 3 minutes, which is why having both speed and accuracy are critical to being successful. To ensure that you maintain speed, use imperative kubectl commands rather than writing YAML files manually whenever possible; using the imperative command will generally be faster than writing a YAML file manually. Using an alias (e.g., use k as an alias for kubectl) instead of the full command will save you additional time in the terminal by not having to write out the entire command each time. If you are spending too much time on one question, make a note to revisit it later. Verify that you completed the previous question correctly by running kubectl get or kubectl describe before moving on. If you do not verify, you could incorrectly complete subsequent questions thereby losing points. Most questions will specify a specific namespace, so be sure to read through all namespaces that you will be using just before you begin answering the question. Lastly, make sure that you read and understand the question twice before attempting to answer it to avoid any needless mistakes when answering it's questions.
Career Prospects Following CKAD
Achievement of the CKAD credential greatly enhances one's employability; therefore, making you qualified for many of the most sought-after job positions. As an Application Developer for Kubernetes (K8S), you will design and deploy cloud-native applications at scale. As a DevOps Engineer, you will bridge the gap between development and operations teams when working in containerized environments. As a Cloud Native Developer, you will develop current-generation applications for use on (Cloud) based infrastructure. As a Platform Engineer, you will develop and support internal developer platforms built around Kubernetes technology. Lastly, as a Site Reliability Engineer, you will help ensure that production applications deliver on the promise of performance, reliability, and scalability.
CKAD-Certified individuals have average salaries in the United States of $100,000 to $145,000 per year, and they are highly sought after by companies in the technology, finance, e-commerce, and healthcare industries globally.
CKAD, CKA, CKS — What’s the Difference?
The three Kubernetes certifications offered by the CNCF are quite different from one another, in terms of what they require you to know. The CKAD is focused on Application Development using Kubernetes, specifically the design and deployment of applications on Kubernetes. The CKA looks from the system administrator viewpoint — covering topics such as cluster setup, maintenance, networking and resolving issues. Finally, The CKS looks from the perspective of security — defining how to secure resources within Kubernetes — by securing the cluster itself, its workloads and ensuring the supply chain is secured. Most professionals will follow a recommended progression of Preparing for and obtaining the CKAD first, then CKA second, and finally CKS will round things out. This ensures a logical growth path from Application Development, through to mastery of the cluster as a whole.
Next Steps After CKAD
Completing the CKAD opens up many options for you to continue your learning in Kubernetes. You can achieve the next certification level by obtaining your CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator), which focuses on cluster management. Afterward, you may want to obtain the CKS (Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist) certification to ensure that you are proficient in securing Kubernetes. To broaden your overall cloud-native skill set, consider pursuing certifications for AWS Certified Developer, Google Cloud Professional Cloud Developer or HashiCorp Terraform Associate.
In Conclusion
The CKAD is recognized as the gold standard certification for developers working in the cloud-native development space, demonstrating an understanding of Kubernetes as well as its successful use to build/deploy/manage production level applications. Cloud-native development and containerization are quickly becoming commonplace, making the CKAD one of the best investments you can make in your career.
With proper training, consistent practice and an effective preparation plan, there’s no reason you cannot earn your CKAD and move on to even greater accomplishments within the cloud-native arena.
