Hello everyone! On my journey to conquer 15 certifications to become a ‘Golden Kuberstronaut’, I’ve finally passed the 10th hurdle, CBA (Certified Backstage Associate)! π₯³
If I barely scraped by with a 75-point ‘pass by the skin of my teeth’ on the last CCA exam, I’m happy to share the news of passing this time with a stable score of 90 points. I’m sharing this review of my preparation, which was slow but solid, overcoming the unique languor(?) of the year-end.
π οΈ “Is it okay if I’ve never used Backstage before?” : Direct Deployment as a Head-on Breakthrough
To be honest, I had never used Backstage in a real-world work environment. Although CBA is a multiple-choice exam, I felt that simply memorizing wouldn’t be enough if I didn’t understand the system’s structure. So, this time, I chose to ‘learn by doing’.
- Hands-on Practice (3 days): I performed hands-on practice deploying the Backstage system and running it on Kubernetes (K8s). Seeing it in action rather than just reading about it gave me a clear overview of the entire architecture.
- Key Practice Content: I went through the process of registering a Catalog to ensure documents were properly loaded into TechDocs and applying skeleton templates (Software Templates). This process became a major framework for understanding the conceptual questions asked in the exam.
π Key Learning Resources
1. Backstage Official Tutorial (LFS142) – 3 days This is an introductory course provided by the Linux Foundation. It explains in great detail the parts I practiced, making it a must-take course for beginners. The plugin structure and knowledge check questions were particularly helpful.
2. Udemy Mock Exam (5 days) After the hands-on practice, to save time, I solved practice questions from Udemy that were based on past exams. The questions were composed of professional terminology used in the actual exam, which made it much easier to read and solve problems in the test environment without feeling unfamiliar.
π‘ Passing Tip: ‘Slowly’ but ‘Accurately’ during the Year-End
Perhaps because it was the year-end, it was harder to concentrate on studying than usual, but I took advantage of that by setting aside ample time (8 days in total) and slowly grasping the concepts.
- Practice First: Rather than simply memorizing dumps, the key to my high score of 90 points was hands-on learning through 3 days of intensive practice, truly understanding ‘how Backstage functions as a developer portal’.
- Familiarize with Terminology: Get accustomed to the unique terminology used in the exam through the Mock Exam.
π The Result? 90/100, a Comfortable Pass!
I passed with a score of 90, well above the 75-point cutoff! It was a different kind of thrill than the nail-biting 75-point pass on the last CCA, a satisfying result that reflected my preparation.
β¨ Concluding: 10 out of 15 Completed, Now at the 2/3 Mark!
With this CBA pass, I’ve finally reached double digits! 10 out of 15 goals completed.
Through this study, I once again realized that Backstage is a wonderful tool that maximizes ‘Developer Experience’. As the Kubernetes ecosystem expands, understanding such portal systems seems increasingly essential.
Now, I will continue the remaining 5 journeys, splitting my time as a working dad and a multi-jobber. Please look forward to my 11th challenge! Thank you! π
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