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Introduction

Introduction​

This documentation and accompanying GtiHub Repo is my way of learning, making notes and in the same time giving back to great open source community. Try it yourself, just a few markdown files and you will have a useful handbook for learning and reference later on.

Sections below contain my notes and diagrams as well as sample commands, cheat sheets and tips and tricks. This is by definition an opinionated learning material, but I hope you will find it useful on your journey to learning and passing Docker Certified Associate exam.

Please let me know in comments if you spot an error and feel free to do a PR if you would like to contribute to the repo.

I wish you best of luck on getting all IT Certifications you set out to get :)

Each section corresponds to exam topics. Plantuml diagrams (component, sequence, minimap) help visualize and better understand architectural concepts in Docker, Docker Swarm and Kubernetes. All diagrams are available in Diagrams folder.

note

If you are new to Docker, check my post about Docker basics

For every exam I follow similar approach as outlined here below

Find good training material​

This is a key step, preparation for every exam requires focus and commitment. In reality we rarely have unlimited time on our hands and often lean on weekends, so having a training material that is tailored to our needs is essential. In each exam section, i have selected a few training materials that I used and were helpful in passing the exam.

Go though mock questions and exams​

It is important to exercise as much as possible and go thought questions and mock exams. Take advantage of free online sandboxes or your own test environments to experiment and practice. Here are examples of Kubernetes and Docker sandboxes:

tip

Just a small hint, once you bootstrap Kubernetes, you can use my portable kubectl in docker image to run kubectl with diagnostic tools and aliases.

Here are easy steps to run the container:

# Run container on same network as host
docker run -d --network=host --name=kubectl-host --rm -it piotrzan/kubectl-comp:zsh

# Copy over Kubernetes config file
kubectl config view --raw > config
docker cp ./config kubectl-host:./root/.kube

# Attach shell to running container
docker attach kubectl-host

Or simpler version with volume mount

# .kube/config is a symling to /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf
docker run --network=host --name=kubectl-host -v /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf:/root/.kube/config --rm -it piotrzan/kubectl-comp:zsh

Know documentation well​

Knowing the documentation of product/system you are learning about is critical. I usually arrange all topics into self-describing bookmarks. Most of them are available online.

If you would like to have same bookmarks, please use my gist below and import them from file. Bookmarks are arranged in subfolder corresponding to exam topics:

note

DCA Bookmarks GIST

Make notes​

Making notes is easy, making good notes a bit more difficult. To make best of learning notes, I follow this 5 step approach:

Notes LevelHow toWhen to use
1. Regular notesTypically copy and paste or direct link.Use for low importance/easy to remember topics.
2. Highlight with formattingUse highlighting or other formatting techniques.Use for topics with large volume of material to highlight important bits.
3. Visual representationCreate diagrams, mind-maps and other visual representation of the topic.Use for complex topics, typically architecture and high level design.
4. Visual representation with summaryCreate diagrams, mind-maps and other visual representation of the topic with summary in your own words.Use for complex topics that you need to understand on a deep level.
5. Design to teachUse all the above techniques, but always ask youself a question, how can I teach this topic to anyone in best possible way? Typically you would create a blog, youtube video or engage directly with communityUse for very complex topics or the ones you wish to became expert in. By far making notes and content in a way that is designed to teach someone is the best ways to learn.

Additional Resources​

Check out my GitHub profile where you can find links to other content I create

Other Content