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m_sigismondi
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
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EX280 Objectives and DO280 preparation

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Hi to all,

after a tremendous experience with EX288 I'm preparing EX280.

I found some EX288 exam requirements very distant from DO288 course and labs and this surprised me since I passed easily and at the first attempt EX188 using DO188 course.

Now for EX288 I'm trying to take a lot of care with the objectives but I have some doubts: for example, the page https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/ex288-red-hat-certified-openshift-application-developer-... declare in the Study points for the exam section:

  • Deploy multi-container applications
    • Create and use Helm charts
    • Customizing deployments with Kustomize

Now the lab proposed by the DO280 course is only about creating different versions of the application by using different folders and git branches: should I create by myself some exercise to challenge myself with kustomize yaml syntax?

If someone successfully passed the exam can share how he/she practiced the objectives not covered by the labs?

Thank you,

Marco

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Travis
Moderator
Moderator
  • 4,854 Views

@m_sigismondi -

One thing to be careul of is there are multiple versions of the OCP courses and exams, so it is possible since you order a "versionless" exam, when scheduling you might have picked an incorrect exam. The other thing that can happen (infrequent, but possible) is that the exam and course content with newer courses and exams might not 100% align - this is extremely rare and in general, the courses cover much more than what are considered exam objectives.

The best advices ... look at exam objectives and compare to the course and further map those objectives to the course sections and guided exercises.

https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/red-hat-certified-openshift-administrator-exam?section=o...

I always go beyond the exercises and labs in the book and make up some of my own scenarios based on other exams I've taken ... think what else could I be asked to show how this works? Is there anything I covered in the section that isn't on the GE or EoC lab that I could practice with hands-on? What can I break so I can see error messages and figure out how to fix so if I make a mistake during the exam, I've seen it before and I don't lose the momentum going through the actual questions.

https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/red-hat-openshift-administration-ii-configuring-a-produc...

Again, Red Hat Training is a wonderful way to gain experience and learn the products and it is a 100% method I use to study and help prepare for an exam, but keep in mind that the training courses are not exam prep courses and are not designed to help you get the certification, so application of what is learned in the course is what is required to pass an exam (no memorizing how to do a GE or Lab and expecting to recall that for an exam).

Good luck with the EX280!! 

Travis Michette, RHCA XIII
https://rhtapps.redhat.com/verify?certId=111-134-086
SENIOR TECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR / CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR AND EXAMINER
Red Hat Certification + Training

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Travis
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@MoQachchaou -

What Chetan stated is correct. There may be times or certain instances you could be provided with "starter" files and resources, and other times you must create from scratch. So in essence you should be prepared for either. What I can state is that you can use OC commands to get starter files where you just replace items within the custom resource definitions. I believe there are other posts in the forum on using things like OC describe and OC explain and other hints to generate starter YAML files for various resource types. I encourage you to look in the community as well as the documentation on what is available.

Remember, in real life, you can't count on someone providing you with starter files that help you accomplish a solution to a problem. So it is best to look at system documentation, commands, and output to see if you can develop your own solution and way to get starter files. We do this for courses to speed up delivery of the course because we aren't as focused on the YAML file creation for that section and more just specific components.

Travis Michette, RHCA XIII
https://rhtapps.redhat.com/verify?certId=111-134-086
SENIOR TECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR / CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR AND EXAMINER
Red Hat Certification + Training

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Travis
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@Kalyan_0710 -

There is no use this or use that requirement (unless specified) for the exm. So the advice I have for you is to do what is easiest and what you are most comfortable with. I often find myself using both the CLI and the WebUI to complete tasks (even sometimes on the same task). The only time you need to worry is if you are asked specifically to create a YAML file for a given Custom Resource Definition and the if the exam specifically calls out create an OCP resource named My_Resource.yml and the resource should deploy X replicas of the application from the following Y image file. In that instance, you must have a My_Resource.yml file (but again, if you chose to create or modify something from the WebUI and then saving the YAML file) that deploys and runs as expected you are fine.

Basic advice I have is to check your work, do what is comfortable and quick because often time can be a big constraint on exams so if it saves 5 minutes to do some things in the GUI go for it. That is 5 minutes to spend elsewhere. Find man pages, find oc commands with describe/explain that can give you resources to COPY/PASTE/TWEAK/EXECUTE which also saves quite a bit of time.

At the end of the day, as long as you meet the exam criteria (within the specified amount of time) and it can be evaluated as expected (meaning if a resource is supposed to be named a certain way, it matches CASE and everything else) you are fine regardless of whether you used the CLI or the WebUI.

Hoep this helps!!

Travis Michette, RHCA XIII
https://rhtapps.redhat.com/verify?certId=111-134-086
SENIOR TECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR / CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR AND EXAMINER
Red Hat Certification + Training

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Travis
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@m_sigismondi -

No preferred way at all. Do whatever is easiest and least error-prone for you to do. The only possible issue you might have is if it specifically requests for a resource to exist somewhere as a YAML definition file. Then you must make sure to have the files and components in the specified locations with the specified names.

Just like any other Red Hat exam, it is the end state that matters and it generally doesn't matter how you get there. As long as each objective and sub-objective is met in the checklist then it doesn't matter if you've completed with the CLI, the WebUI, or a combination of the two.

Travis Michette, RHCA XIII
https://rhtapps.redhat.com/verify?certId=111-134-086
SENIOR TECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR / CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR AND EXAMINER
Red Hat Certification + Training

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Wasim_Raja
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@m_sigismondi I would suggest you not be just dependent on the labs or Guided exercise but also go through the explanation before the exercises where almost all the stuff is covered.

And feel free to experiment yourself with different challenges as much as possible it always helps

All the very best with your preparations and exam, have a good one!!

 

Regards,

Wasim

 

m_sigismondi
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 4,870 Views

Hi @Wasim_Raja ,

thank you for your suggestions and this is effectively how I'm preparing for the exam.

I'll give another example: how deep do I have to know Helm template directives? On the Objectives page, it is mentioned: 

Deploy Applications

  • Deploy applications from resource manifests
  • Use Kustomize overlays to modify application configurations
  • Deploy applications from images, OpenShift templates, and Helm charts

My concern is about not remembering some specific Helm directive and scoring 0% on a whole requirement (this happened to me in EX288).

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

krahat
Cadet
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is this exam is free of cost??
Chetan_Tiwary_
Community Manager
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Chetan_Tiwary_
Community Manager
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Hello @m_sigismondi !

Thanks for reaching out! 

I could not understand the post - you are preparing for EX280 with corresponding DO280 course right ( since you have already cleared / taken EX288 exam with DO288 course & EX188 with DO188 course ) ?

Chetan_Tiwary__0-1701439691737.png

 

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m_sigismondi
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 4,858 Views

Hi @Chetan_Tiwary_ ,

that's correct. I'm preparing EX280 with the corresponding DO280 course. I cited EX188 and EX288 since I had different experiences with them.

Specifically in EX288 I found exam requirements that involved the use of specific Helm directives or properties I didn't remember so for EX280 I want to be sure to be prepared since just have a couple of months left in my RHLS.

I wondered how others who passed the exam prepared for it and if someone faced the same issues.

 

Thank you,

 

M.

Travis
Moderator
Moderator
  • 4,855 Views

@m_sigismondi -

One thing to be careul of is there are multiple versions of the OCP courses and exams, so it is possible since you order a "versionless" exam, when scheduling you might have picked an incorrect exam. The other thing that can happen (infrequent, but possible) is that the exam and course content with newer courses and exams might not 100% align - this is extremely rare and in general, the courses cover much more than what are considered exam objectives.

The best advices ... look at exam objectives and compare to the course and further map those objectives to the course sections and guided exercises.

https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/red-hat-certified-openshift-administrator-exam?section=o...

I always go beyond the exercises and labs in the book and make up some of my own scenarios based on other exams I've taken ... think what else could I be asked to show how this works? Is there anything I covered in the section that isn't on the GE or EoC lab that I could practice with hands-on? What can I break so I can see error messages and figure out how to fix so if I make a mistake during the exam, I've seen it before and I don't lose the momentum going through the actual questions.

https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/red-hat-openshift-administration-ii-configuring-a-produc...

Again, Red Hat Training is a wonderful way to gain experience and learn the products and it is a 100% method I use to study and help prepare for an exam, but keep in mind that the training courses are not exam prep courses and are not designed to help you get the certification, so application of what is learned in the course is what is required to pass an exam (no memorizing how to do a GE or Lab and expecting to recall that for an exam).

Good luck with the EX280!! 

Travis Michette, RHCA XIII
https://rhtapps.redhat.com/verify?certId=111-134-086
SENIOR TECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR / CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR AND EXAMINER
Red Hat Certification + Training
Chetan_Tiwary_
Community Manager
Community Manager
  • 4,838 Views

@Travis  +1 to what you just repllied !

Your reminder that the focus should be on applying the skills and knowledge gained from the courses rather than memorizing specific procedures highlights the importance of practical application and conceptual understanding. This approach fosters a more holistic learning experience that prepares learners for real-world challenges.

Thank you !

m_sigismondi
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 4,823 Views

Hi @Travis,

thank you for your detailed reply.

Effectively I always considered the DO* course as EX* preparation and this made me rely too much on Labs end Guided Exercise.

Thank you,

M.

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