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+---
+title: "3 weeks, 1 CKA"
+subtitle: "How to rock the k8s certification in no time"
+date: 2022-10-29
+draft: false
+tags: [ops, containers, certifications, devops, kube]
+---
+
+## Kube & the CKA
+
+![k8s logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Kubernetes_logo.svg)
+
+[Kube](https://kubernetes.io/), **k8s** or Kubernetes is the industry leader
+when you need to orchestrate some containers at scale. The **containers war** is
+over : Swarm, Mesos and all other alternatives are dead (except
+[Nomad](https://nomadproject.io) under some circonstances).
+
+The **Certified Kubernetes Administror** (CKA) is a certification delivered by
+the **Cloud Native Coputing Fundation** (CNCF) and the **Linux Fundation** that
+will ensure that the certified peoples have the skills and knowledge to operate
+as cluster administrators.
+
+As a certified kube nerd, I can now confirm that this certification is much more
+than a _cool line_ on your CV.
+
+## My CKA story
+
+My certification was funded (price is around 300$) by my previous job (a year
+ago). At that time, I was working as a DevOps/CI guy on a SaaS product based on
+Gitlab, Gitlab-CI and Docker. Containers at a high or low-level was part of my
+day to day job [^1].
+
+For various reasons I quit and I am now working as a fullstack dev (Rails/React)
+so I just use containers to spin up my dev env. Due to this change I did almost
+have no time to dig on kube and the deadline to pass my exam was getting closer
+and closer 🚨
+
+On October I kicked myself in the ass to rush out the CKA and pass my exam ASAP.
+
+**3 weeks later I am now certified ! YAY !** (with a 85% score)
+
+Enough about me, now I will share with you everything you need to know to
+prepare and pass your's !
+
+## Course Material
+
+When looking for learning materials, I focused my search on courses labelled as
+**CKA courses** only (other ones do not go deep enough). The best one out
+there is _Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) with Practice Tests_ by
+Mumshad Mannambeth on
+[Udemy](https://www.udemy.com/course/certified-kubernetes-administrator-with-practice-tests/)
+(reddit agrees with me so, it should the truth 🤷).
+
+The awesomeness of this course comes from on how the content is balanced between
+videos on theory and concepts around kube (architectures, entities and so on)
+followed by hands on-labs. Directly from your browser, you will be able to
+practice and
+**get your hands dirty** by typing some "kube cuddle" commands on a multi-nodes
+cluster setup. Tasks in each labs is clear enough for you to get the solution
+by yourself or by the official kube docs. Of course, you can always take a look
+at the associated video if you are stuck or want to confirm that your way of
+doing things is the right one.
+
+If you want to rush out, you should be able to finish the course by a week or
+two, the rest of the time will be labs, labs, labs and labs. This certification
+is a practical one and **you need to practice a lot**.
+
+## Exam Prep Materials
+
+When you starting to feel that you can control some **kube powers** with your
+hands it's time to go on practice tests. Starts with the one in the course by
+Mumshad. In order to pass the CKA you need to be efficient on a bunch of
+various tasks. Practice pratice practice in order to become fluent in a least :
+
+- cluster upgrades using kubeadm
+- etcd back/restore
+- pods scheduling (with PV and PVC)
+- deployments and scheduling (with PV and PVC)
+- roles setup (users, Role/RoleBinding, ClusterRole/ClusterRoleBinding)
+- troubleshooting pods
+- troubleshooting cluster components
+
+in order to sharpen your skills, use the labs on [killer.sh](https://killer.sh).
+You will have two "free sessions" attached to your Linux Fundation profile. Be
+careful, those exams are way more difficult that the real ones. Hopefully this
+will give you a very accurate feeling of your capabilities when times maters.
+Take time to review the answers as they will give you deep explanations on the
+how and why. Killer.sh interface is quite the same as the one you will use in
+the real exam so take time to check the setup and customize it the way you like.
+
+Now you are ready, go for the exam day !
+
+## Exam Day
+
+On the exam day, prepare yourself and your environment well. You can access the
+session 30 minutes before the exam starts. Use this time to setup your desk and
+your room. You need to be a in quiet and empty room with nothing on your desk to
+speed up the check-in. The exam proctor will first ask you for your ID. After
+that you will go for a room tour, an usb connected webcam is prefered since your
+need to turn it in all directions for the proctor to verified you're not
+cheating.
+
+During the exam, the only online resource accessible is the [kubernetes
+documentation](https://kubernetes.io/docs). No worry, this is the only thing you
+need. I can recommend enough to use it why you are learning to be very
+comfortable with it on the exam day.
+
+Do not stress out, take your time, at least you have a free retake if you miss
+the first one !
+
+## Tricks and Tips
+
+CKA is about speed and efficiency, here are some usefull tips.
+
+### UTFD : Use The Fucking Documentation
+
+k8s documentation is a gem, everything is already there but you have to know
+some shortcuts to quckly access the examples or articles your need. **USE THE
+SEARCH** to quickly find yaml manifests for things like PV, PVC. Just type PV
+and rush the first link!
+
+Another usefull page in the documentation is the [kubectl cheat
+sheet](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/cheatsheet/), as usual, just
+type "cheat sheet" and you are good to go!
+
+### kubectl : be imperative first
+
+k8s is about carefully handcrafted yaml manifest, right ? That's too slow in our
+case. You need to be fast. Hopefully, `kubectl` can do 90% of the job for you.
+
+Always use the **imperative approach** as a first intention. Let's imagine you
+need to run an ngnix POD:
+
+```sh
+kubectl run nginx --image=nginx
+```
+
+or if you need to create a service :
+
+```sh
+kubectl create service clusterip my-service --tcp=5678:8080
+```
+
+Sometimes, some of the options are not configurable using the cli, no worry,
+`kubectl` have your back too ! You can generate a yaml manifest directly from
+the cli :
+
+```sh
+kubectl run nginx --image=nginx --labels tier=frontend --dry-run=client -o yaml > pod.yaml
+```
+
+By redirecting it to a new text file, you will then be able to add the missing
+specs from a vim session followed by a `kubectl apply -f` to apply your changes.
+
+There is also a lot of examples in help messages from the cli ! Before loosing
+time changing windows from terminal to browser, append `-h` to your command !
+[^2]
+
+_Extra tip! If you need to generate a DaemonSet or StatefulSet, you can not do
+it directly from the cli but since thoose specs are similar to a deployment one,
+generate a deployment and edit it afterward._
+
+Finally practice some `jsonpath` stuff and play with it to output data from
+pods, nodes, the way you want.
+
+### Take the time to setup your env
+
+The vitual machine you will be working on is a simple Ubuntu with a stock XFCE
+config. Base setup for the shell/ssh and VIM (colors etc) will be applied by
+default. Here is the things I think is worth it to add in the bash config :
+
+```sh
+# optional, should already be setup
+alias k='kubectl'
+# for fast apply
+alias kaf='kubectl apply -f'
+# old habit..
+alias vi='vim'
+
+# save tedious typos
+export do='--dry-run=client -o yaml'
+# we are in a hurry, we do not want to wait for things to terminate gracefully
+export now='--force --grace-period 0'
+
+# just to organize things, useful while reviewing our answers
+function mkcd {
+	cd $HOME && mkdir -p $1 && cd $1
+}
+```
+
+### Known your VIM
+
+Due to the time constraint, I did not recommend working outside the terminal,
+except for Firefox and navigating the docs (since you are in a remote desktop,
+everything feels a little bit slow).
+
+Some efficiency with VIM will be a great plus for the overall exam. At least
+knowing the basic on how to edit/navigate/save the file is a must have. I also
+recommend getting confortable with :
+
+- basic moves: h,j,k,l,b,w,e
+- visual mode
+- copy/paste
+- advanced moves : t/T, f/F
+- search/replace
+- :N to jump to line N
+
+### Shell basics
+
+Some shell basics are also a great plus, the most important one is `Ctrl+R` for
+reverse searching a command in your history. Add to that some stuff like `!$` to
+recall the last arg from your previous command, you should be able to have a
+flow like this :
+
+```sh
+vi somestuff.yaml
+kaf !$
+```
+
+Sometime, you may need to filter/modify output provided by a command, some shell
+basic like `grep`, `cut`, `tail`, `head` may help you. If you already know some
+shit about `AWK`, be sure to also review it a little bit, this tool is dope and
+can archive very impressive stuff.
+
+Now, it's your turn.
+
+```sh
+kubectl apply -f goodluck.yaml
+```
+
+[^1]: Kudos @athoune
+[^2]: Another shell tip ! `!! -h` to recall your last command with the extra `-h`