The Red Hat OpenShift certification path in 2026
What each OpenShift exam tests, which ones stack toward RHCA, and the one retirement that catches people out when they plan a route through them.
Topic
Certifications
What each Red Hat and CNCF exam actually tests, what changed recently, and which one is worth your time first.
8 posts
EX480 is retired — EX432 is what you sit instead
The multicluster OpenShift exam changed. What happens to an EX480 you already hold, what EX432 adds, and how to re-plan a training budget around it.
CKA in 2026 — troubleshooting is now the biggest domain
The Certified Kubernetes Administrator curriculum, its domain weightings, what changed, and why the exam rewards speed at the terminal more than knowledge.
EX280 — what the OpenShift administrator exam actually tests
The exam objectives, the audience Red Hat has in mind, the version it targets, and the parts candidates consistently underestimate on the day.
EX380 — the OpenShift exam where you start owning the platform
Backup and restore, cluster partitioning, GitOps, monitoring and logging. What the advanced administrator exam covers and why one objective sinks people.
CKS — the Kubernetes security exam, and the CKA prerequisite trap
Curriculum weightings for the Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist, the prerequisite rule that is more ambiguous than people assume, and how to prepare.
CKAD — the Kubernetes exam for people who ship on it
Curriculum weightings for the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer, how it differs from CKA in character rather than difficulty, and how to prepare.
CKA, CKAD or CKS — which Kubernetes exam to take first
A side-by-side of the three CNCF Kubernetes certifications by cost, weighting and audience, plus the ordering constraint that decides it for most people.