Recertifying AWS Certified SysOps Administrator
Recently I had to take the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate exam again to recertify. Even though I have done recertification exams before, there was a big change in the current version of the SysOps Administrator associate exam. For the first time, AWS has introduced exam labs and this exam is the first to get this addition. Now in addition to the usual Multiple choice/response questions you get exam Labs to validate skills required to building solutions with the AWS Management Console and AWS CLI.
During the exam registration, I could only select Pearson VUE as the provider. I guess PSI doesn’t support the new labs as of this writing. However, the registration went smoothly with VUE, and I received an email with detailed instructions on how to prepare for the new exam.
Multiple choice/response questions
I got about 53 usual multiple-choice and multiple-response questions for the first section. Something I noticed was that questions seem to be asking more specific things such as names of metric values and about not well-known things you only find in the manuals. I don’t know if these questions are experimental or just random for my exam. However, I did notice significant number of these questions.
I found it bit concerning that there is no specified time allocated for the first section and the labs section. This means you need to keep track of the time and should know when to finishing the first section leaving enough time for the labs section. Once you go to the labs section you will not be able to return to the first section. Exam guide recommends leaving 20 mins for each lab. However, on the exam instruction page I recall seeing 1:10 mins recommendation for the labs. Whatever the case I suggest you decide on a hard finish time for the first section, so you don’t get stuck there and run out of time for the labs section.
Exam Labs
Lab environment runs on a virtual machine windows desktop with an open browser. Browser has a logged in AWS console with CLI support. This is an actual AWS management console not a simulated environment. There is a column on the right side with Lab instructions and exam control buttons that is not part of the VM desktop. Copy paste function from right side to the VM didn’t work on my exam. However, they also keep the same instructions on a text file that is located on the VM desktop. Also, you can use Windows notepad to take notes. I suggest you use copy paste when the instructions ask you to name something specifically. This will reduce the chance of incorrectly entering these values. Unlike the first section, once you complete a lab and hit the next button you are not able to go back to the previous lab. Again, here you’re responsible for managing remaining time between the three labs.
If you are planning to take the exam you don’t need to worry much about the lab environment. Because when you register for the exam, you get a confirmation email with access to a free sample exam lab. You are allowed to take this sample lab three times over a 90-day period from your first exam lab attempt. I suggest you get some hands-on experience with the sample exam lab environment before you take the exam.
On my exam I had three labs. While I can’t disclose the exact information, labs I got included deploying, configuring, and troubleshooting AWS services. Some of the labs I got I haven’t done before, and I didn’t know exactly how to complete all the steps. However, after going to the services from the management console and clicking around I managed to figure out how to complete all the steps. I think this is the best thing about labs over multiple choice questions. Even if you don’t know what is asked, there’s still a good chance that you will be able to figure it out by going through the console. I managed to complete all three labs and finish the exam before 20 minutes.
Preparation
My learning strategy was to find out what new services that have been added to the exam and work on those new additions. However, I couldn’t find any place AWS keeps changes to the exam! There is no easy way to know what new changes have been added to the exam. However, AWS now has site called skillbuilder for official self-paced learning.
Inside skillbuilder you can find some tutorials and even practice exams for most certs. Some of these videos even mention what is expected on the exam and some new topics that have been added. Please note that questions you get in the actual exam are much harder than practice questions you get in the skillbuilder. However, skillbuilder is still much better than previous study material they had in the official AWS site. If you’re preparing for the exam, I highly recommend you go through skillbuilder. Also, I recommend that you go read the user guides for popular AWS services such as S3 and EC2.
Here are some topics I found useful:
S3 Storage classes – this has changed. Some previous classes removed.
S3 static web hosting – Learn how to configure your own domain and sub-domain
S3 object upload intergrity checking
AWS Scaling Plans – relatively new
AWS Firewall Manager – relatively new
Traffic Mirroring on an Amazon EC2 instance
Conclusion
I think Labs are a welcome addition to the AWS exams. Let’s face it, labs are a much better way to evaluate real-life skills than answering multiple choice questions. I believe AWS will eventually add labs to other exams.
If you find this article useful, please share and comment below. Thank you.
Leave a Reply