Today’s IT professionals are not content with ordinary diplomas or degrees. They are keen to acquire specialized knowledge too. It helps them to enjoy splendidly lucrative careers. It is why they apply for diverse certification courses. Now, if you are also interested in furthering your career prospects, you had better join this crowd! Of course, the type of certification you select will depend upon what you are doing now. For instance, if you are a systems administrator, developer, tester, cloud professional, release engineer, or solutions architect, you should be going for the Docker Certified Associate Course (DCA course).
Now, several institutions offer training in this particular course, as well as in other courses of study too. However, the Docker Certified Associate course seems to be high on the popularity charts at present. Maybe, you should approach them before you visit other establishments.
Virtual Machines
Virtual machines held pride of place prior to the entry of Docker. Each machine was home to an isolated and organized application and its dependency. However, despite the separation, all these machines would run several applications simultaneously. They were the guest operating systems. The physical hardware that came into play for this task was the same for all. It was the host operating system.
Software developers referred to this entire process as virtualization. They loved it because it proved cost-effective. They did not have to worry too much about infrastructure, regular maintenance, or frequent recovery. Best of all, it was wonderful to get so many operating systems going at the same time.
The snag was that virtual machines tended to be rather bulky. Additionally, too many machines working together could result in unhealthy performance. In case, the developers had to engage in rebooting. It tended to be time-consuming. Above all, these machines were incapable of resolving specific issues. These issues included updating software, portability, continuous integration, and continuous deployment.
Docker and Containerization
When Docker arrived in 2014, businesses observed it with curiosity. However, they realized its worth over the years. Today, many organizations have sidelined virtualization and switched over to containerization.
Now, what does Docker do exactly?
Docker is a packaging platform. Every application, along with its accompanying libraries and dependencies, can move into a specific container. Every container, with its contents, is independent. This helps software developers to create and store their innovations safely. When a developer’s work reaches the quality assurance team, it can view the developer’s environment by running the container.
It also helps that every container takes care to maintain the bonding between an application and any situation. The IT world refers to this process as containerization. In actuality, you may call it a modified kind of virtualization. Containerization or Docker initiates abstraction in the operating system. Virtualization used to bring abstraction to the physical hardware.
Is Docker more advantageous in comparison to virtualization?
Yes, indeed, containerization focuses only on the host operating system. There is no entry of guest operating systems here. Therefore, it performs more efficaciously, in comparison to virtualization. Processing of applications is rapid, and so is their execution. Then again, the containers are smaller and lighter. Thirdly, the sharing of resources and libraries takes place only when there is a dire need to do so. As for rebooting, if it is necessary, it occurs within a couple of seconds or so.
DCA
We have already mentioned earlier about who can qualify for the course. If you are an ideal candidate for the training and certification course, do sign up immediately.
Prerequisites
It is all-important to have a thorough knowledge of Linux if you desire to get through the course successfully. Apart from this, you have to display some hands-on experience with Docker. In other words, you must have worked with Docker or containerization for at most six months and a maximum of one year. This means that you must have been an employee of some company, wherein you became aware of Docker.
The Course
There is no need to attend regular classes at an institution. Instead, you may opt for online, interactive courses. Well-qualified professionals will take you through the basics of Docker first, before advancing to other topics. By the end of the training, you should have clarity about the role that Docker plays in the DevOps life cycle. Then again, you will learn to design images, swarms, containers, networks, and volumes. Other areas of study include client-server authentication, Docker security client bundles, etc.
Examination and Certification
You will not receive a certificate merely by attending online sessions. You must show that you are worthy of it first. Towards this end, you will have to appear for an exam at the end of the course.
The examination will last for 80 minutes, enabling you to answer 55 questions. The question paper refers to the skills linked to the Docker Enterprise Edition. The document will be set in the multiple-choice style. The examiner does not take long to go through your paper, and you should be able to obtain your results quickly. You must obtain a high score in the exam. In case you get through, you will receive your certificate. The certificate is valid for two years. You will have to reapply for certification after that. In case you fail, you may take a test once again, albeit 14 days after the first exam’s results are out.
Gains from Acquiring Certification
You will enjoy displaying this credential on your resume when approaching potential employers. The diverse variants of Docker are part of it too. They are Docker, Docker Swarm, and Docker Enterprise Edition. No one may doubt that your skills are not genuine after viewing your DCA certification. A certificate is not the only thing that you will gain. You will acquire new talents too. They include skills in imaging, orchestration, security, and networking. Finally, you will have the freedom to use the DCA logo, join professional networks, and attend events for which you receive invites.
Restrictions on Usage of Mark/Logo
Now, you may display the Docker Certification Mark, once you achieve your DCA certification. It must be in alignment with the usage of the Docker Logo. However, you will have to follow strict guidelines while using them, precisely, the Mark. To begin with, you may download it only from an approved space. You cannot come up with your recreations, or even alter it in the slightest. There may be no unapproved translations, taglines, or abbreviations. Similarly, you may not use the Mark to highlight Docker company’s services or products negatively.
Do not even dare to think of bringing the Docker Mark and other photos, logs, numbers, graphics, slogans, icons or pictures together onto the same platform! You must remain loyal to the company that awards you a valuable certificate. You may not use the Mark to suggest or imply anything, either. In short, you must use the logo or the Mark ethically.
Any employer should be glad to have you onboard in the establishment. After all, you can streamline the developing and operations processes via Docker. In other words, you are an asset to the organization.
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