Four Best Kubernetes Certifications In 2021

Introduction

In the conventional development environments, any application developed in one computing system mostly malfunctioned or under-performed on other computing systems. There was one more issue associated with the physical servers, which is continuous resource allocation, as multiple applications were hosted on the same server.

There have been scenarios in which one application would allocate a high number of resources due to which the other applications would strive and ultimately crash. Virtualisation was recommended as a solution for the starvation issue allowing multiple virtual machines to be hosted on a single CPU.

Containerisation is presently widely popular in the industry and is further being adopted by other firms. At the manufacturer level, a contemporary software ecosystem is being devised for supporting containerisation. Kubernetes is being recognised along with containers, cloud computing, and other concurrent technologies.

With this, the job prospects for Kubernetes enthusiasts who are inquisitive about the technology and possess the relevant skills to use it are increasing. Read below, to know more about Kubernetes and its scope.

What is Kubernetes?

Devised and designed by Google Kube or Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform used for automating a set of manual processes that include deploying, managing, and scaling containerised applications.

Kubernetes is used for optimising app development for the cloud as it allows the platform to schedule and run containers on clusters of physical or virtual machines (VMs).

The Main Benefits to Kubernetes

• Orchestrate containers across multiple hosts.
• Optimum utilisation of hardware to maximise the resources required for executing apps.
• Automate and control deployment and upgradation of launched applications.
• Adding storage for running apps. 
• Scaling container-based applications.
• Declaratively managing services, which ensures that the deployed applications are always running in the desired way.
• Enabling Health-check and self-heal of apps with auto-placement, auto-restart, auto replication, and autoscaling paradigms.

Why is Kubernetes Important?

In the production ecosystem, managing containers profusely is a necessary requirement. Kubernetes is an open-source platform and a container-orchestration system used for automated application deployment, scaling, and container management. Kubernetes comes with a framework that allows distributed systems to run with flexibility.

Prime functionalities of Kubernetes

• Deployment of container
• Load Balancing, Service Discovery and Auto Scaling
• Persistent Allocation

What is the Kubernetes Certification?

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation focuses on the expansion of the community of Kubernetes Administrators by providing a continuous learning environment across organizations with the help of Kubernetes.

Certification is the initial step of this process, which allows administrators to acknowledge their credibility and present it in front of the recruiters. It even assists companies to hire efficient team members for the growth of their organisation.

The prime agenda of the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) program is to ensure that all CKA holders possess the relevant skills, knowledge, and competency to carry out the responsibilities of Kubernetes administrators. It is a virtual, proctored, performance-based assessment that requires solving multiple problems using the command-line interface.

Difference between Virtual Machines and Containers

“Virtual Machines are an abstraction of the hardware layer, meaning each VM has its copy of the operating system, CPU, filesystems, processing power, and memory.”

In layman’s terms, “each Virtual Machine could be considered as a computer system running with all required hardware and software components.”

Containers are analogous to Virtual Machines. Though containers are an abstraction of the Application Layer, this implies that they simulate software applications while sharing a standard operating system. Containers are portable across clouds and Operating Systems because they decouple from the hidden infrastructure.

Containerised environments are more suitable for running applications because they consume less space and memory. A typical virtual machine is a few gigabytes in size and requires a handful of minutes to start. Containers, on the other hand, are just a few megabytes in size and start in a couple of seconds.

Scope of Kubernetes Certification in the IT sector

Currently, job titles do not emphasize Kubernetes hiring. Hence, when you seek job roles for Kubernetes, focus on the job descriptions rather than the job titles.

Certification in Kubernetes allows to be front-runners for the below-mentioned job profiles :

• DevOps Engineer 
• Cloud Engineer
• Systems Engineer
• Site Reliability Engineer
• Java Architect [Senior]
• Python Developer [Senior]
• Software Escalation Engineer

Best Kubernetes Certifications

CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation – the authorising body responsible for developing and maintaining Kubernetes is offering a few Kubernetes certification programs. CNCF offers a total of four Kubernetes certifications, two for aspirants and professionals, and two for organisations using Kubernetes

Kubernetes Certificates for students/professionals

1. Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Developed by a collaborative effort of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and The Linux Foundation for expanding the Kubernetes ecosystem, the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) certification allows developers to display their credibility in the job market and enable companies to appoint them for performing Kubernetes-based tasks.

Examination Details:

• Name – Certified Kubernetes Administrator exam
• Duration – 3 hours
• Language(s) – English, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish
• Passing Percentage – 74%
• Price – $300
• Questions Type – Performance-based tasks using the command-line interface
• Validity – Three years
• Recommended for – Beginners

You can register here.

2. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)

The CKAD certification is focused on the development of Kubernetes Application Developers. It recognises the capability of a developer to build, configure, design, and expose native cloud applications for Kubernetes.

An ideal candidate for clearing the CKAD certification exam should be able to: 

• Implement code in multiple programming languages, such as Go, Java, Node.js, or Python
• Understand the concepts about cloud-native applications and architectures
• Work on an OCI-Compliant Container Runtime

Examination Details:

• Name – Kubernetes Certified Application Developer Exam
• Duration – 2 hours
• Mode – Web Protocotered
• Language(s) – English, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish
• Passing Percentage – 66%
• Price – $300 (including one free retake)
• Questions Type – Performance-based tasks using the command line interface
• Validity – Three years
• Recommended for – Intermediate/ Experts

You can also register here.

Kubernetes Certifications for organisations

3. Software Conformance (Certified Kubernetes)

Any organisation that offers Kubernetes-based software needs to acquire the Software Conformance (Certified Kubernetes) certification.

Advantages of the Software Conformance (Certified Kubernetes) program:

• Consistency when interacting with any installation of Kubernetes
• Timely updates on a yearly basis or even earlier
• Confirmability to make sure that the distribution or platform remains conformant

The certification process includes four basic steps:

• Step 1: Prepare your product for certification
• Step 2 – Carry out the certification test with the help of Sonobuoy

Step 3 – Prepare a PR and submit the results to the Conformance repository on GitHub. Fill up the terms & conditions form.

Step 4 – Wait for the review and results of your product certification

You may register here.

4. Kubernetes Certified Service Provider

The KCSP or Kubernetes Certified Service Provider program intends to assist enterprises in getting the essential help for bringing up new applications swiftly and effectively.

A Kubernetes Certified Service Provider helps with

• Consulting
• Professional services
• Support
• Training

Prerequisites:

1. CNCF membership
2. A business model for supporting enterprise end-users which involves placing engineers at a client site
3. Three or more CKA engineers

The KCSP certification process just involves three basic steps:

• Step 1: Fill out the KCSP form
• Step 2: Submit the Certified Kubernetes Administration (CKA) certifications of at least three employees. You may submit these either via filling the KCSP form or sending a mail to kcsp@cncf.io
• Step 3: Wait for the review process to be completed and the results.

You can register here.

Recommendations for attaining Kubernetes Certification

We highly recommend learners select one of the best online platforms for gaining virtual access to the Kubernetes environment for cracking the Kubernetes certification. Some entrepreneurs such as Intellipaat, Google have ranked as the most popular picks of the year 2021 by the students as these provide an interactive experience required for qualifying Kubernetes Certification exams.

You should carefully evaluate the prices, course period, mentors, remarks, and reviews of the ex-learners prior to making your choice so that you can pick the one that meets your requirements and expectations to the maximum extent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Key Takeaways

Google is the dream company for most software developers. Kubernetes Certification provides you an opportunity to work with Google eventually and understand the working paradigm of the container’s architecture.

The time invested by the developer and their efforts is duly acknowledged by giving the credits and an acknowledgment certificate for it. It is a very remarkable achievement for any Software developer who has cleared the Kubernetes certification as it is accredited by Google and is acknowledged worldwide.

The students get a professional working organisation along with well-written tutorials that teach them every minute detail of the container paradigm. Post this, students have earned hands-on experience in container and cloud development.

In the future, there is a very high probability of students with Kubernetes certification getting shortlisted by top-notch companies for internships and job opportunities.

By Vanshika Singolia