The syllabus for the Confluent Certified Administrator for Apache Kafka (CCAAK) certification is structured to validate your knowledge and skills in managing and maintaining a Kafka cluster. The exam covers a wide range of administrative and operational topics.

Key Exam Domains and Topics

The CCAAK exam is broken down into the following key sections:

• Apache Kafka Fundamentals (15%): This section tests your understanding of core Kafka concepts, including brokers, topics, partitions, producers, and consumers. You need to know how these components interact and the purpose of each.

• Apache Kafka Security (15%): This covers the security aspects of Kafka. It includes authentication, authorization, and encryption. Topics include using SSL/TLS for encryption in transit and SASL mechanisms for authentication.

• Deployment Architecture (12%): This domain focuses on the deployment of Kafka clusters, including understanding different architectures, network configurations, and how to set up and manage brokers.

• Kafka Connect (12%): This section is dedicated to Kafka Connect, a framework for scalably and reliably streaming data between Kafka and other systems. You should understand source and sink connectors, configuration, and scaling.

• Apache Kafka Cluster Configuration (22%): This is the largest section of the exam. It requires a deep understanding of broker, producer, and consumer configurations. You'll be tested on concepts like replication factor, leader election, and clean-up policies.

• Observability (10%): This domain covers monitoring and metrics. You need to know how to use tools like JMX, Prometheus, and Grafana to monitor the health and performance of your Kafka cluster.

• Troubleshooting (15%): This final section tests your ability to diagnose and resolve common issues. Topics include consumer lag, broker failures, and network-related problems.

Apache Kafka Fundamentals (15%): This section tests your understanding of core Kafka concepts, including brokers, topics, partitions, producers, and consumers. You need to know how these components interact and the purpose of each.

Apache Kafka Security (15%): This covers the security aspects of Kafka. It includes authentication, authorization, and encryption. Topics include using SSL/TLS for encryption in transit and SASL mechanisms for authentication.

Deployment Architecture (12%): This domain focuses on the deployment of Kafka clusters, including understanding different architectures, network configurations, and how to set up and manage brokers.

Kafka Connect (12%): This section is dedicated to Kafka Connect, a framework for scalably and reliably streaming data between Kafka and other systems. You should understand source and sink connectors, configuration, and scaling.

Apache Kafka Cluster Configuration (22%): This is the largest section of the exam. It requires a deep understanding of broker, producer, and consumer configurations. You'll be tested on concepts like replication factor, leader election, and clean-up policies.

Observability (10%): This domain covers monitoring and metrics. You need to know how to use tools like JMX, Prometheus, and Grafana to monitor the health and performance of your Kafka cluster.

Troubleshooting (15%): This final section tests your ability to diagnose and resolve common issues. Topics include consumer lag, broker failures, and network-related problems.