Docker Certified Associate Exam Preparation Guide (v1.0.1)

This guide is intended to be a point of knowledge for everyone who wants to pass Docker Certified Associate Exam. The main idea is to provide the right answer/link to every "question" in every domain. Feel free to add useful links below.

Table of Contents:

1. Orchestration
2. Image Creation, Management, and Registry
3. Installation and Configuration
4. Networking
5. Security
6. Storage and Volumes
7. Links

Content

Domain 1: Orchestration (25% of exam)

• Complete the setup of a swarm mode cluster, with managers and worker nodes
• State the differences between running a container vs running a service
• Demonstrate steps to lock a swarm cluster
• Extend the instructions to run individual containers into running services under swarm
• Interpret the output of "docker inspect" commands
• Convert an application deployment into a stack file using a YAML compose file with "docker stack deploy"
• Manipulate a running stack of services
• Increase number of replicas
• Illustrate running a replicated vs global service
• Mount volumes
• Add networks, publish ports
• Identify the steps needed to troubleshoot a service not deploying
• Apply node labels to demonstrate placement of tasks
• Sketch how a Dockerized application communicates with legacy systems
• Paraphrase the importance of quorum in a swarm cluster
• Demonstrate the usage of templates with "docker service create"

Domain 2: Image Creation, Management, and Registry (20% of exam)

• Describe Dockerfile options(add, copy, volumes, expose, entrypoint, etc)
• Show the main parts of a Dockerfile
• Give examples on how to create an efficient image via a Dockerfile
• Use CLI commands such as list, delete, prune, rmi, etc to manage images
• Inspect images and report specific attributes using filter and format
• Demonstrate tagging an image
• Utilize a registry to store an image
• Display layers of a Docker image
• Apply a file to create a Docker image
• Modify an image to a single layer
• Describe how image layers work
• Deploy a registry (not architect)
• Configure a registry
• Log into a registry
• Utilize search in a registry
• Tag an image
• Push an image to a registry
• Sign an image in a registry
• Pull an image from a registry
• Describe how image deletion works
• Delete an image from a registry

Domain 3: Installation and Configuration (15% of exam)

• Demonstrate the ability to upgrade the Docker engine
• Complete setup of repo, select a storage driver, and complete installation of Docker engine on multiple platforms
• Configure logging drivers (splunk, journald, etc)
• Setup swarm, configure managers, add nodes, and setup backup schedule
• Create and manager user and teams
• Interpret errors to troubleshoot installation issues without assistance
• Outline the sizing requirements prior to installation
• Understand namespaces, cgroups, and configuration of certificates
• Use certificate-based client-server authentication to ensure a Docker daemon has the rights to access images on a registry
• Consistently repeat steps to deploy Docker engine, UCP, and DTR on AWS and on premises in an HA config 1, 2, 3
• Complete configuration of backups for UCP and DTR
• Configure the Docker daemon to start on boot

Domain 4: Networking (15% of exam)

• Create a Docker bridge network for a developer to use for their containers
• Troubleshoot container and engine logs to understand a connectivity issue between containers
• Publish a port so that an application is accessible externally
• Identify which IP and port a container is externally accessible on
• Describe the different types and use cases for the built-in network drivers
• Understand the Container Network Model and how it interfaces with the Docker engine and network and IPAM drivers
• Configure Docker to use external DNS
• Use Docker to load balance HTTP/HTTPs traffic to an application (Configure L7 load balancing with Docker EE)
• Understand and describe the types of traffic that flow between the Docker engine, registry, and UCP controllers
• Deploy a service on a Docker overlay network
• Describe the difference between "host" and "ingress" port publishing mode (Host, Ingress)

Domain 5: Security (15% of exam)

• Describe the process of signing an image
• Demonstrate that an image passes a security scan
• Enable Docker Content Trust
• Configure RBAC in UCP
• Integrate UCP with LDAP/AD
• Demonstrate creation of UCP client bundles
• Describe default engine security
• Describe swarm default security
• Describe MTLS

Domain 6: Storage and Volumes (10% of exam)

• State which graph driver should be used on which OS
• Demonstrate how to configure devicemapper
• Compare object storage to block storage, and explain which one is preferable when available
• Summarize how an application is composed of layers and where those layers reside on the filesystem
• Describe how volumes are used with Docker for persistent storage
• Identify the steps you would take to clean up unused images on a filesystem, also on DTR
• Demonstrate how storage can be used across cluster nodes
• Identity roles
• Describe the difference between UCP workers and managers
• Describe process to use external certificates with UCP and DTR (UCP from cli, from GUI, print the public certificates), DTR)

Links

• Basic info about Exam
• Study guide (pdf) can be found here

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