Hello everyone! My steady steps towards becoming a ‘Golden Kuberstronaut’ have finally reached the 9th milestone! After the thrill of passing ICA with a super high score of 98 points, alongside the miracle of my fourth child’s birth, this time I challenged myself with the CILIUM (CCA) certification, which is key to Kubernetes networking. π₯³
This review is a record of a short but intense cram session and an unexpected pass, different from my ICA experience.
π 6 Working Days: A Short but Focused Preparation Period
Encouraged by the success of my 4-hour cram session for ICA, I prepared for CCA intensively over a short period of approximately 6 days, including working days. Due to the nature of Cilium, there were many concepts that needed to be firmly grasped, so I utilized two efficient official courses.
π Key Learning Resources
- LFS146: Introduction to Cilium
- Learning Assessment: Surprisingly, many exam questions overlapped significantly with Linux Foundation’s practice problems. Thoroughly studying the content of LFS146 and clearly understanding the provided practice problems is key. It was a great help in establishing basic concepts and a practical framework.
- Link:https://training.linuxfoundation.org/training/introduction-to-cilium-lfs146/
- CCA Practice Problems (Purutuladhar)
- Learning Assessment: This resource is an important source mentioned by many in their pass reviews. It was excellent for getting a sense of what content is included in the exam scope and for identifying easily overlooked concepts. However, since the actual exam does not appear in this exact format, it’s crucial to thoroughly delve into the concepts presented here (e.g., basic principles of eBPF, Cilium’s Network Policy application methods, Hubble, etc.).
- Link:https://cca.purutuladhar.com/
A Twist on Exam Day: ‘Several Unexpected Concepts’
Throughout the preparation period, I studied sufficiently using LFS146 and CCA practice problems, but I went into the exam expecting some unusual questions that aren’t publicly disclosed, now that I’m familiar with the material.
The questions were not generally difficult, and many were drawn from the prepared content, but concepts not explicitly mentioned in the above resources appeared in a few questions. π I paused for a moment, thinking ‘What is this?’, but fortunately, I understood the overall operating principles of Cilium, so I was able to calmly deduce related concepts and formulate answers.
π‘ Pass Tip: Rather than simply repetitive practice in a ‘question-answer’ format, understanding the fundamental operating mechanism of how Cilium utilizes eBPF to implement networking and security features can be the key to solving unexpected problems.
π The Result? 75/75, A Close Call Pass!
24 hours later, I finally checked the results.
- Cut-off Score: 75 points
- My Score: 75 points
75 out of 75 points! Yes, it was literally a close call pass! π While I didn’t have the comfortable margin of 98 points like with ICA, I felt both relief and great joy at having precisely met the passing cut-off, despite the short time given and the unexpected questions. Honestly, right after the exam, I thought I might have failed.
I’d like to describe this pass as ‘lucky’. Despite the short preparation period, focusing intensively on key resources was effective, and not losing concentration at the last minute made all the difference.
β¨ Concluding: 9 out of 15 Completed!
With this CCA pass, I have achieved 9 out of 15 total goals!Β
If Istio (ICA) focused on the ‘management’ of service meshes, Cilium (CCA) was an exam that delved into the ‘depth’ of Kubernetes networking. Both exams are not hands-on like CKA, but they share the common requirement of being supported by basic K8s knowledge and the ability to refer to official documentation.
I will wisely prepare for my next 10th challenge, carving out time as a working dad/multi-jobber! Please look forward to it!
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