Kubernetes, container runtime, service mesh and cloud native project certifications.
Container certifications are unusual in this catalog because the flagship exams are performance-based: you are given a live cluster and a task list, not multiple-choice questions. Speed with the command line and familiarity with the official documentation matter as much as knowledge.
The surrounding ecosystem — GitOps tooling, observability, service mesh and policy engines — now has its own associate-level exams, which makes a sensible on-ramp before attempting the hands-on administrator credentials.
The entry point to the cloud native ecosystem: Kubernetes fundamentals, container orchestration concepts, cloud native architecture, observability and application delivery.
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15 exams
4 with practice · 11 guide only
The benchmark Kubernetes administrator exam, taken entirely in a live cluster: architecture and installation, workloads and scheduling, networking, storage, and troubleshooting under time pressure.
The entry point to the cloud native ecosystem: Kubernetes fundamentals, container orchestration concepts, cloud native architecture, observability and application delivery.
Cloud security posture and workload protection with Prisma Cloud: onboarding cloud accounts, policy and compliance, container and serverless defence, and integrating with CI/CD.
Deploying Palo Alto software firewalls in virtual and containerised environments: VM-Series and CN-Series design, cloud deployment, automation and licensing models.
The developer-focused Kubernetes lab exam: designing and building application workloads, configuring them, exposing them through services, and observing and debugging what you deploy.
The hardest of the Kubernetes lab exams: cluster hardening, system hardening, supply chain security, runtime security with behavioural tooling, and minimising microservice vulnerabilities.
Administering an OpenShift cluster in a live lab: managing users and RBAC, configuring networking and storage, deploying applications, and operating cluster components.
Security fundamentals for Kubernetes: cluster component security, the cloud native threat model, platform security controls, and compliance frameworks for containerised platforms.
Monitoring fundamentals with Prometheus: observability concepts, Prometheus architecture and instrumentation, PromQL querying, and alerting and dashboarding practice.
A hands-on container exam using Podman: building images, running and managing containers, working with registries, and running containerised services under systemd.
Deploying and managing applications on OpenShift as a developer: building images, using source-to-image, configuring application resources, and troubleshooting running workloads.
Service mesh fundamentals with Istio: installation and configuration, traffic management, resilience and fault injection, securing service traffic, and mesh observability.
Service networking with Consul: service discovery and health checking, the key-value store, service mesh with sidecar proxies, and securing communication between services.
The Argo project family: Argo CD for GitOps delivery, Argo Workflows for pipelines, Argo Rollouts for progressive delivery, and Argo Events for event-driven automation.
Running virtual machines on OpenShift: deploying the virtualisation operator, creating and managing VMs, configuring VM networking and storage, and migrating existing workloads.
How many exams each provider contributes here.
Where each exam sits, so you can plan a progression rather than a single jump.
Multi-exam credentials in this category.
The CNCF recognition awarded for holding all five Kubernetes certifications — CKA, CKAD, CKS, KCNA and KCSA — at the same time.
CNCF
15 exams from 4 vendors are tagged to Containers & Kubernetes. Exams appear in this category when it is either their primary focus or a substantial secondary one.
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer is the most common entry point. The developer-focused Kubernetes lab exam: designing and building application workloads, configuring them, exposing them through services, and observing and debugging what you deploy.
Certified Kubernetes Administrator, Certified Kubernetes Application Developer and Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist are the most frequently pursued in this category.
DevOps & SRE
Continuous delivery, infrastructure as code, observability and site reliability engineering exams.
Cloud Computing
Certifications covering public cloud platforms, architecture, migration and cost management.
Linux & Open Source
System administration, automation and enterprise Linux platform certifications.