A free introductory course on the edX platform, which has just re-opened, can be the initial step on the route to Cloud Foundry certification. And even if you don't want to get certified it will help you discover how to create apps that are cloud-native.

If you are looking for reasons for gaining Cloud Foundry Certification here are two. More than half of the Fortune 500 have opted for the open source cloud application platform Cloud Foundry for their cloud application development. The 2017 Dice Salary Survey has Cloud Foundry proficiency as the third most lucrative technical skill.

The Cloud Foundry Foundation unveiled its Cloud Foundry Certified Developer (CFCD) program at its 2017 summit, explaining that it was:

conceived and developed to solve the demand of developer productivity for the many Fortune 500 organizations using Cloud Foundry

It comprises a suite of training and certification products expressly designed to equip developers with a valuable, marketable skill set across all distributions of the industry-standard cloud application platform (including Huawei FusionStage, IBM Bluemix Cloud Foundry, Pivotal Cloud Foundry, SAP Cloud Platform and Swisscom Application Cloud).

The CFCD program includes:

1. A free introductory course offered by the Linux Foundation via the edX platform 
   
   
2. A self-paced eLearning Cloud Foundry Developer class costing $500 offered by the Linux Foundation
   
   
3. A training partner program which includes licensed materials for in-person Cloud Foundry developer classes, offered by member companies including DellEMC, EngineerBetter, IBM, Pivotal, Resilient Scale, SAP, Stark and Wayne and Swisscom
   
   
4. A performance-based exam leading to “Cloud Foundry Certified Developer” Certification, awarded to individuals who pass a performance-based exam.

LFS132x: Introduction to Cloud Foundry and Cloud Native Software Architecture is a self-paced course on the edX platform that can be completed in 6 weeks at 3-4 hours per week. Its description states:

This course is an introduction to Cloud Foundry, including distributions available to end users, an overview of the platform's components, and what it means to be Cloud Foundry certified. The course also includes technical instructions on how to use the command line interface, how applications are deployed, what services are within the context of the system and basic debugging practices.

It covers the following:

• Explore the runtime, security and network of Cloud Foundry.
• How to build runtime and framework support with buildpacks.
• Learn "The Twelve Factor app" design patterns for resiliency and scalability.
• Get the steps needed to make your app "cloud-native".
• Understand how each component of Cloud Foundry combine to provide a cloud-native platform.
• Study techniques and examples for locating problems in distributed systems 

Like other edX offerings, the material is a mix of short video lectures and readings. These are distributed over fourteen chapters with Knowledge Check problems that are scored at the end of each, and in Chapters 4  and 9 there are Lab exercises for which sample code is provided for Linux/Unix/macOS and for Windows. There is a Final Exam with 30 problems. To pass the course you need 70% as a combination of knowledge check questions (20%) and the final exam (80%). There is no certificate for those following the free (audit) track and a verified certificate, which can be issued up until the end of the course on October 27, 2018 costs $99.

A question asked on edX as to whether successful completion of LFS132x was sufficient preparation to attempt the CFCD exam had this response:

This is an introductory course, which, by no means, prepares you for the upcoming Cloud Foundry certification. To prepare for the certification, you can enroll in LFS232 - Cloud Foundry for Developers (which is a paid course), as well as practice on your own following the guidelines and topics in LFS232. The topics covered by LFS232 are aligned with the knowledge domains tested by the Cloud Foundry certification exam, but, since the exam is hands-on, you will definitely need to practice as well.

According to the Linux Foundation, the online course LFS232, which can be purchased bundled with the exam, has been designed for developers that are new to Cloud Foundry or who want to broaden their Cloud Foundry skillset and improve their chances of becoming a Cloud Foundry Certified Developer. It is self-paced and is at Beginner to Intermediate level. Prospective students should be:

comfortable using command line tools and familiar with basic cloud computing concepts. Familiarity with Java/Spring, Node.js and/or Ruby is a plus.

Its rubric states:

This course is designed to equip developers with a valuable, marketable skill set across all Cloud Foundry certified platform distributions. You will learn how to use Cloud Foundry to build, deploy and manage a cloud native microservice solution. The course has extensive labs so developers can learn by doing. Some focus areas include: 

• Cloud Foundry architecture: what are the major components and how do they fit together so support developers?
• Applications and Services: what are best practices for deploying, scaling and managing applications? How are services made available and used by Cloud Foundry applications?
• Cloud Native design: how does Cloud Foundry enable creation of microservices, and support 12 factor application design principles?
• Troubleshooting & Debugging: Using Cloud Foundry’s features to diagnose and fix issues in applications and environment configuration.

It is expected to take 40-50 hours to complete the course, but being self-paced, you can move as quickly or as slowly as you like and have a full year from date of purchase to complete it.

The course is billed as excellent preparation for the Cloud Foundry Certified Developer exam which in turn demonstrates to employers that a successful candidate has the skills necessary to be productive developing applications on the Cloud Foundry platform.

The exam, which has to be completed with 4 hours, includes performance-based questions and multiple choice to test individual developers on their practical and conceptual knowledge of Cloud Foundry and general cloud-native architectural principles. The coding exercises in the exam offer students the choice of three language/ framework combinations and candidates are advised to be comfortable modifying simple Java, Node.js or Ruby applications.

Topics covered in the exam include:

• Cloud Foundry Basics
• Cloud-Native Architectural Principles
• Troubleshooting Applications on Cloud Foundry
• Cloud-Native Application Security
• Working with Services in Cloud Foundry
• Application Management on Cloud Foundry
• Container Management within Cloud Foundry

More Information

Cloud Foundry Developer Certifiication

Introduction to Cloud Foundry and Cloud Native Software Architecture

LFS232 - Cloud Foundry for Developers

Cloud Foundry

Related Articles

Why Predix Uses Cloud Foundry

Gain Linux Certification via online study

Google Provides Cloud Training on Coursera

Predix IoT for Developers 

To be informed about new articles on I Programmer, sign up for our weekly newsletter, subscribe to the RSS feed and follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin.

Comments

Make a Comment or View Existing Comments Using Disqus

or email your comment to: comments@i-programmer.info