If you like to view the video version of this blog post, you can click on the video.
Exam Registration
Use only Chrome browser to
check exam requirements to be able to access all peripherals including webcam (I used MS Edge and it was giving the test is ok although the webcam test was not performed!!!).
Make sure the laptop is fully charged and plugged.
I prefer to use a wired USB keyboard, and mouse, and avoid wireless devices, as you never know the behavior of the new terminal and browser.
Please make sure to have an external good-quality webcam with an autofocus feature, you will be asked to scan the room, under the table, under the keyboard, under the laptop, or behind the monitor, it is better to have movable webcam. Autofocus is required as you will need to scan your id/passport with a clear name displayed. I used Logitech C922.
Make sure the room is well-lit as normally webcam needs good lighting.
You will need to disable the following features/applications (Other software might be listed by the browser before you begin your exam session):
Doc -> Reference -> One-Page API Reference for Kubernetes
Make sure to run the context command before answering the question, you should find a red warning on every question with the correct cluster.
Make sure to use the correct namespace while answering the question, after answering, please verify the creation in the correct namespace.
Read the question carefully, some can be tricky to understand.
Partial scoring is supported. The Linux Foundation will calculate a score based on successful subtasks. Also, they will consider if some subtasks are harder than others.
Edit ~/.vimrc to
include either the following:
Short form
Long form
:set ai cuc cul
:set autoindent cursorcolumn cusrsorline
Execute the following
command to create 20 folders:
mkdir `seq 20`
Every time you want
to copy text from Firefox into Terminal it shows a warning “Unsafe Paste”.
You can just confirm this. You can also disable this in the Terminal
Preferences -> General -> Show unsafe paste dialog.
Time management tips
Use imperative
commands as much as possible to get things done quickly, you can add using dry generate the output to yaml file as initial step then you edit the yaml file
answering the question requirements:
kubectl run nginx --image=nginx --labels="app=hazelcast,env=prod" --dry-run=client –o yaml > pod.yaml
Try to use short
names (ns, pv, pvc, cm, cj, hpa, as, svc, quota, deploy) as much as possible.
Don’t wait for a
graceful deletion of objects.
kubectl delete pod nginx --force
Consider using replace instead of deleting and then creation or apply.
kubectl replace --force -f pod.yaml
Use the following
command to search for fields/specs quickly:
My strategy in solving question was to solve easy quick questions first to gain as much as I can quickly as I know some topics will require more time to solve or troubleshooting, so I decided to skip and mark quetions of these topics for review later as usually require lengthy changes or validation: Network Policy, Ingress, Custom Resource Definition (CRD).
I hope this post will help someone out there, see you soon, bye.
If you like to view the video version of this blog post, you can click on the video.
CKAD is an online, proctored, performance-based test consisting of a set of performance-based items (problems) to be solved in a command line within two hours. It is not a multiple-choice exam.
You will be given access from a Ubuntu terminal to 4 clusters (Details), and you will have 15 - 20 questions to be answered with different weights. Partial scoring for each exam is calculated so your sub-tasks to achieve an answer are supported.
On Jun-2022, the testing platform received a massive change in the exam environment, I have collected the most important links to show the changes and new restrictions:
36 hours, so you can check your answers, plus during these hours your environment is evaluated again (Every 7 or 8 minutes) if you make changes, your exam score will change based on your modification.
2 hours (Exam only), I was not able to check my actual answers with the exam answers
Partial scoring supported as a real exam
Yes
No, you may score very low because of this.
Answer Explanation
Provided, and very comprehensive as a learning mode
If you like to view the video version of this blog post, you can click on the video.
Thanks to Allah; I passed "Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)" on 30-Oct-2022. In this blog post, I’m sharing my experience with the study path/material required for passing the certification.
Target Audience
This certification is targeting developers (No specific programing language) targeting cloud-native development either used on the cloud or on-premise.
Exam Info
Current exam release: Kubernetes v1.25 (Exam env updated: 2022-10-19, Specs: 2022-08-23, as per this tips link alignment with newer k8s versions happens approximately 4 to 8 weeks of K8s new version release date). Kubernetes releases currently happen approximately three times per year.
Exam nature: Performance-based not multiple choice. i.e. You will have scenarios including deployment, rollout, and network service you need to perform, or check the existing environment and do the troubleshooting for issues & resolve them. So, hands-on experience is a must.
The number of questions: (15 - 20 questions)
Exam duration: 2 hrs
Passing score: 66%
Time/question: 6 - 8 mins/question, some are easy, and few are hard.
Validity duration / Expiry: 3 years
Location: Take from home as online proctored.
Pre-requisites / Path to CKAD (Personal opinion)
Officially, there are no pre-requisites for the certification, but I think you need to have a look at the below pre-requisites from my point of view. It is based if you are new in the field, you can skip if you are aware about the content and have hands-on experience. Initially, I selected to go for the online self-paced "Cloud Native Developer Bootcamp" from Linux Foundation (There are always discounts, just you need to subscribe (Free) and you will receive notifications on Sale).
#
Requirements
My selected courses
My opinion / Alternative
1
Good Linux Foundation and hands-on experience focused on Ubuntu distribution
Good preparation course, that was supporting multiple distros of Linux, and the instructor is very knowledgeable and very responsive in the forum.
/
There are several Linux courses in the market, your target should be to be familiar with Linux, Vim, basic bash scripting.
PROS: 1- The instructor is great 2- I learned a lot in DevOps while I was learning Docker, and Docker compose. 3- The course is full of hands-on experience with lots of labs. 4- Many tools (Jenkins, Spinnaker, ...) were used in labs.
CONS: 1- I was receiving delays in replies in the forum. 2- I like visual representation in a more structured way as PowerPoint, but the instructor uses hand-drawn diagrams which I don't think are the best in my opinion.
It is a short sufficient video to know YAML, there are several videos on the Internet. YAML is quite easy but the troubleshooting sometimes gets tricky.
Thanks, Nana Janashia for sharing your knowledge with the world.
I think these two courses are simply the best in the market and you don't need to look for alternatives. For many reasons: 1- The visual presentation is great and easy to understand 2- The courses are full of labs. 3- There are also lab challenges to get you hands-on experience with K8s. 4- There is a lightning-speed test, to get you faster in answering questions. 5- It includes tests for the exam. 6- The instructor is great.
It is free. Although the reference is considered old; I think it is the best out there, it includes link to very good video (I recommend seeing it first before solving questions).
Thanks, Ahmet Alp Balkan for such a great video, and GitHub repository.
This certification is targeting enterprise, business, application, data, solution, and integration architects working in FSI (Financial Services Industry) domain. It is not for infrastructure, technology architects.
Pre-requisites (Personal opinion)
Officially, there are no pre-requisites for the certification, but I think you need to have a look at the below pre-requisites from my point of view.
Category
Pre-requisite
Mandatory / Preferred
Rationale
Experience
Have Enterprise Architecture experience or knowledge, such as
a certificate or working experience in TOGAF Standard.
Must
The material considers you have knowledge in Enterprise Architecture and multiple domains are classified based on TOGAF standard. Even book chapters is addressing multiple domains and relations with TOGAF.
Experience
Having working experience in bank, Fintech or FSI service provider.
Must
Understanding BIAN artifacts (APIs, Service Domain landscape, ... etc) requires that you have working experience in FSI.
Experience
Understanding of ArchiMate as a modeling language.
Must
It is used as standard notation in most diagrams (Strategy, Business, Application, Composite).
Experience
Basic understanding of UML (Class, Sequence diagrams).
Preferred
It is used as standard notation.
Version releases
I found two versions of the certification in the store as of the time of writing this blog. I wanted to highlight the difference for you to make sure you are selecting the latest version.
The version in descending order
Exam Link / Certification Logo
Included book version
Book publish date
Book ISBN
Exam price
Service landscape version
Latest as of Feb-2022
19-Jun-2021
978-9401807685
Euro: 449.95
V9
Older
31-Jan-2019
978-9401803151
Euro: 544.44
Older
Exam information
Current code: BNF
Title: BIAN Banking Architecture Foundation.
Exam language: English - ESL has no time extension (There is a feature “Language aid” where you can set the language, and the exam engine provides Google translate feature in page content).
Open book: No
Supervised: No
The number of questions: 60 MCQ (Question include negation) (Single & Multiple correct answers (The number of correct answers is mentioned in the question)).
Exam duration: 60 mins
Passing score: 42/60 (70% confirmed score from certN platform).
Time / question: 1 min
Cost: 449.95 EUR (Excluding taxes).
Exam location: Online (There is an option for an on-site exam, but not aware of the details).
50.49 – 65 USD (Included in exam voucher, no need to pay)
Mandatory
Certification is based on this book. But, I found the below issues, I hope they can be corrected in the newer version:
1- Some diagrams' resolution is not good and should be enhanced, some of them were not readable.
Figure 2-14, 2-22, 2-27, 4-4, 5-5, 5-9, 6-3, 7-9, 9-6, A2-1
2- Some diagrams should be in color (Example: heat maps) and color has semantic but it is found diagram in greyscale.
Figure 2-20, 6-4
3- It seems that copyright and the watermarked document are not allowing rotating a page. This made it hard to view landscape-oriented pages.
Not related to certification rather very good examples of companies adapting to BIAN standard.
Study tips
The exam depends on understanding more than memorization.
The longest & most difficult chapter of the book "BIAN – A framework for the financial services industry" was "Chapter 2: Explaining the BIAN Architecture", my recommendation will be to read the first 3 chapters of "BIAN Semantic API Practitioner’s Guide" as a start before you read the official exam book for the following reasons:
It contains examples for BIAN, that illustrated the idea of every component of BIAN toolbox and meta-model. I missed some of these examples in the main book.
Uses simpler English and more straightforward wording than the original book.
Register for home online exam
Purchase the exam from the link (Payment: Credit cards, Invoice, iDeal, Paypal).
Separate email for download ebook, and you need to enter the voucher code for it.
You will be able to download a PDF with your email.
In the same email, you will get a link to "certn.global" for certification and subscription instructions.
It uses the email without a password (It sends a code for every login).
Log in and submit your name details, and agree on some terms & conditions.
Enter “exam voucher code” to activate a new exam.
You will get activated practice exams (12 attempts) & actual exams (2 attempts), these will be valid for 1 year since the day you added the voucher.
Practice attempts of exams are available for 3 months for review.
I have tried the exam on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge based on Chromium and both were working fine.
Getting exam results
Exam results are provided instantaneously, with the categorization of questions provided. You will be able to download the certification and share it on social networks as well.
If you like to view the video version of this blog post, you can click on the video.
Thanks to Allah; I have passed
ArchiMate Certification on Nov-2021. In this blog post, I’m sharing my experience on how you
can achieve this certification.
Target Audience (Personal opinion)
This certification is targeting Enterprise Architects and Domain
Architects.
Version releases
The below table lists versions for ArchiMate, listed below as there
are several resources on the Internet that are considered old and not
matching the current version v3.1.
Provide good introduction before you start learning if you are new
to the language. Not all videos are required. Voice quality for
some videos is not as expected 😌
The book is usually updated, download from the link. Introduces
patterns and examples of what you can do with ArchiMate. Many
thanks 🙏 to the author for making such a book free, it is simply
a treasure to any Enterprise Architect.
It is mentioned that you will receive vouchers within 3 days, in my
case it is 1 day but I didn’t know as I was expecting an email, but it
was sent. Just you need to check the website.
After the exam was completed and within 15 mins, I received an email
with the subject "Score Report Available Notification". You will need to
log in to Pearson with credentials of The Open Group, and you will find
the link "View score report" and you will see your score and detailed
report.
If you didn't receive an email from "The Open Group" having an email
with a link to agree on the Trademark License Agreement. You will
need to send an email stating your issue to certifications@opengroup.org
and it will be looked at only if 6 working days (US, UK timing) has
passed. When you agree on the trademark license agreement, you will have
your certificate ready as a soft copy and be able to download it.
In the same reply email, you will find that the open badge may take up
to 10 business days to get issued in
Credly platform. I
received mine after around 1 day of accepting the agreement.
The exam is covering 12 competencies recommended for digital business based on company size.
Company
Number of employees
Capital
Founder
1-3
< $1m
Team
8 - 12
> $1m
Team of teams
40 - 70
> $10m
Enduring Enterprise
350 - 500
> $50m
The exam is covering all company sizes, I think candidates considering the certification should have worked in enterprise to be able to understand the challenges at every company size. A fresh graduate or entry-level computing and digital business professionals might not face such challenges and my recommendation to them will be reading Digital Practitioner Body of Knowledge™ Standard related to their company size and not target the certification.
Exam information
Current code: OGD-001 DPBoK™ Part 1
Current release date: October 2019
Open book: No
The number of questions: 40 (Multiple choice, one correct answer).
Exam duration: 60 mins
Passing score: 26 / 40 (65%) Each correct answer scores a single point, no negative scoring.
Time / question: 1.5 mins
Cost: 360$ (414$ including VAT)
Retake: After 1 month
Exam location: Home (OnVUE Online Proctoring from Pearson VUE) or Testing center.
Validity duration / Expiry: Indefinite, no recertification or renewal requirements.
Note about ESL
When you are booking the exam from one of the ESL countries, you will get approval for 90 mins. But I found the actual exam time is 1 hour only. I opened a case with OnVue and the answer was that 90 mins is covering all duration including tutorials, agreements, ...etc. And this is actually mentioned in the email when I purchased the exam, as copied below:
Your appointment's time extension applies to all information presented on the computer, including any agreements and tutorials, in addition to your actual testing time. The total appointment length noted in this confirmation includes each of these components and is not equal to the actual testing time available to you.
Reasonable price: Sometimes discounts reach 50% (Summer, Black Friday, and Christmas sales you can get 50%).
The number of pages: 231.
The number of chapters: 14 chapters.
It includes a pocket guide (I didn’t use it as it was 151 pages, so I thought of reading the study guide again better).
It includes a reference cards summary (I didn't use it as it is considered briefer than the required information about the exam, and a smaller set of figures you need to memorize).
It includes one exam that is good but the actual exam is harder.
PROS: Every chapter ends with questions, answers provided.
Review personal information that is from the open group profile page that will be used to create or login to Pearson VUE, before clicking “Proceed to Pearson VUE”.
In the dashboard, click “View Exams”.
Select “OGD-001” “DPBoK part 1 Exam”.
Select “Online from my home or office”, click “Next”.
In agree to online exam policies, please read carefully, and mark checkboxes, click “Next”.
Click “Next”
Select a suitable date. Your local time zone will appear, select the best way to view the timing 12/24hr.
Value with estimated tax is $414
Click “Proceed to Checkout”.
Read and agree to policies, click “Accept”. (These important policies will be sent to you by email after completion).
Add card details, click “Next”, then “Submit order”.
ESL will be added after complete exam registration as long as you register from one of the ESL countries. Exam length 90 minutes!!!
Check-in time will be 30 mins earlier.
You will receive an email with details of the invoice, and policies / useful information.
After the exam completed and within 15 mins, I received an email with the subject "Score Report Available Notification". You will need to login to Pearson with credentials of The Open Group, and you will find the link "View score report" and you will see your score and detailed report.
If you didn't receive an email from "The Open Group" having an email with a link to agree on the Trademark License Agreement. You will need to send an email stating your issue to certifications@opengroup.org and it will be looked at only if 6 working days (US, UK timing) has passed. When you agree on the trademark license agreement, you will have your certificate ready as a soft copy and be able to download it.
In the same reply email, you will find that the open badge may take up to 10 business days to get issued in Credly platform. I received mine after around 1 day of accepting the agreement.
If you like to view the video version of this blog post, you can click on the video.
[8-Jan-2021: Blog created after passing the exam "TOGAF Business Architect Level 1" from "The Open Group"].
[3-Apr-2021: Blog updated after passing the exam "DPBoK foundation certification" from "The Open Group"].
[19-Nov-2021: Blog updated after passing the exam "ArchiMate certification" from "The Open Group"].
I passed my first Online Proctored Exams (OnVUE) exam for TOGAF Business Architect Level 1 certificate on 6-Jan-2021. In this post I'm trying to share a checklist for test-takers. I think the experience is the same regardless of the exam.
I will try to maintain this blog post if I found more tips in the future, as content is important.
Before Exam
Make sure to use a personal laptop with administrative rights not a work laptop as be revoked based on your company policy.
Use a Windows laptop, if you have Mac please check in the references section for steps to follow to make it work without issues.
The following software are allowed to run during the exam:
Norton Anti-virus.
The following software should be disabled/stopped before the exam:
My room was having mirrors and it was not an issue.
Clean desk (Laptop + Mouse only).
The room has enough light, and you may use a desk lamp. You need to make sure enough light so your picture is clear during the whole exam as usually, a computer webcam needs sufficient light to provide a good photo.
The room has a lock inside.
Prepare a "Don't disturb" sign to be hanged on your door from outside as a reminder to your family.
Prepare your ID: Passport, driving license, ... If you will use a passport, prepare a dark surface that will be used as background for it. If you get an email that you need to use your ID with your signature, just use your passport it is widely accepted (I have confirmed that with support prior to the exam).
Charge your mobile (You will need it in the beginning & if they wanted to contact you during the exam).
Exam day
Prepare yourself:
Fully clothed.
No hat.
No hood.
No watch.
Final room preparation:
Close Window for no sound if possible.
Hang the "Don't disturb" sign outside.
Lock the door.
Start before 30 mins of the exam. From the dashboard, select your exam, and click "Checkin".
Very important: Take a note with exam access code on your computer, you might need it later to file any technical case.
Enter your mobile number.
Test your system (Microphone, Internet speed, Webcam).
Use your mobile to access the web browser for m.proctorcam.com?l=en-US
Follow the steps to take picture of:
You.
Identification (Passport with dark background).
Workspace (Front, Back, Left, Right).
Place mobiles, headphones and watches out of reach.
The above process consumed around 15 mins, then wait for the proctor facing the webcam.
In one of the exams, I was asked before the exam start to lift & rotate the laptop, and use the webcam to show the desk content I was using in the exam.
During Exam
Food, drinks, smoking and gum are prohibited.
You must stay within your webcam view all the time.
You cannot move your webcam once your testing session has started.
You cannot use scratch paper, take physical notes, or talk.
You cannot get up and walk around.
You cannot leave your testing environment for any reason.
No one can enter your testing environment.
You can use the scratchpad provided within onVUE software (It was slow, but recent versions (After Apr-2021) are near real-time and you can use them).
If you like to view the video version of this Blog, you can click on the video.
I have passed APMP Foundation in 25-Nov-2020. In this blog, I'm sharing my experience on how you can achieve this certification in 2 weeks.
Exam information
Current code: APMP (2015) Foundation
Current release date: 12-Feb-2016 (Exam option: 2015), updated every 5 years.
Number of questions: 75
Open book: Yes (Unrestricted material)
Exam duration: 1 hr – ESL (1 hr, 15 mins)
Passing score: 42/75 (56%)
Time / question: 48 secs – ESL (1 min)
Cost: 400$ Exam + 160$ Membership + Course fees
Validity duration / Expiry: 2 years (20 Educational Units CEU to renew, blogging, publishing articles, presenting).
Exam availability: 24/7
Exam location: Home / Authorized Training organization.
Training courses
On Oct-2020, I have checked all approved Training Organizations. I have made a quick comparison based on available information on these companies website:
Seems they are confident to sit for the exam in the same day after you finish the training.
Includes Study guide.
Includes glossary.
Include quick reference guide.
I have selected baachuscribble from the above list based on the notes mentioned above and reasonable course price.
Study plan
I will recommend you start by answering the free sample exam, and select "APMP Foundation" before studying to understand how the exam looks like.
I'm sharing with my MS project study plan to achieve both certifications in less than 2 weeks of study (Study time 20 hours / week ). If you don't have MS project, here is a link for Excel sheet having the same information. You can use it as a base for your study schedule.
Exam registration
1.Register on the apmp website. Offer 15 months for 12 months price 160$ (PayPal).
Enter last name, and APMP membership id so exam fee is 400$ (Without membership 600$).
If you didn’t register, you will need to register in this site. Fill your data.
Is exam in a second language? Yes (This will add an extra checkmark in same page that you won’t be able able to book your exam until APMG confirm your request by contacting you).
Click “Pay by card”.
Enter information and card details.
Gives you a booking reference with a validity of 1 year & sent by email (Login information will be sent within 24 hours unless further information is required as ESL).
5.Within 1 day, I received an email to register on the exam website after filling:
Personal information
Employer
Industry
Communication preference
Name appearance on certificate First, Middle, Last.
Data protection.
Confirm declaration about entered data is correct.
After this step, you are ready for an online exam at any time.
I received a receipt for purchase after 4 days.
Exam tips
The exam can be scheduled anytime, I prefer to have it during vacation or before work.
Silent Smartphone, no vibration, screen facing down.
Avoid conducting the test from your work network and use your home network.
Fully charged laptop not PC & connected to an electrical outlet.
Test your internet connection & have a backup connection up & running for an easy switch (Mobile Hotspot and set as a metered connection on your laptop).
Use Chrome browser.
Have Study guide, APMP Glossary website for quick reference, but use it as last resort as no time will be available in the exam.
Have google translate opened or its plugin installed to your browser.