Home labs & practical projects

Roll out an application with meaningful health probes

A project to do with your own tools, with guidance on what to create and capture.

Local lab Suggested time: 2–3 hoursYour own authorised environment

What you could create

An application starts slowly and briefly returns errors during updates. Its Kubernetes deployment needs probes and a rollout that respect startup behaviour.

Example evidence format

Project evidence map (example)

Deployment manifest with probe rationaleScope and inputs

Request trace and rollout observationsDecisions and reasoning

Evidence record (example)

Evidence	What to capture
Deployment manifest with probe rationale	Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. Traffic does not reach a replica before it is ready.
Request trace and rollout observations	Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. Slow startup is not confused with a dead process.

What you'll need

Local lab

Use a local cluster and a small application with configurable startup delay and health endpoints. Prepare working and failing image versions.

Project record

Keep the working files for deployment manifest with probe rationale and record assumptions as you go.

Current reference material

Use the linked provider resources to verify the features, access terms and version relevant to your project.

Access & cost

Uses your own computer. Confirm hardware capacity, software licences and download terms before setup.

Use disposable VMs, containers or a simulator. Keep the lab separate from your everyday machine and work network.

Suggested milestones

1
Plan and investigate
Define startup, readiness and liveness behaviour for the application.
2
Develop your approach
Configure a rolling update and observe requests during rollout.
3
Verify and explain
Deploy a deliberately unhealthy version and recover the previous release.

Evidence worth keeping

Keep clear, organised evidence of your design and any testing you carry out.

1
Deployment manifest with probe rationale
Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. Traffic does not reach a replica before it is ready.
2
Request trace and rollout observations
Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. Slow startup is not confused with a dead process.

Label design proposals and observed results clearly.

Explain your work

Use these prompts to reflect on your decisions and what you learned.

Which part of your deployment manifest with probe rationale needed the most judgement?
What observation or assumption changed your approach?
What would you improve, and what have you not verified?

Describe this as a personal project in your portfolio.

Useful resources

Use these resources to deepen your understanding and check key details.

Official certification objectives

Review the current provider requirements and relevant subject areas.

Explore external learning resources

Find relevant providers and check features, access requirements and costs.

A useful starting point

Use a local cluster and a small application with configurable startup delay and health endpoints. Prepare working and failing image versions.

What a good result looks like

Traffic does not reach a replica before it is ready.
Slow startup is not confused with a dead process.
The failed rollout has a visible explanation and a validated recovery.

Finish the project

Save sanitised evidence, then remove the lab instances or revert to the clean snapshot. Remove temporary accounts and credentials.

Independent home-project guidance, not an official vendor lab or a claim of complete exam coverage. Use your own tools and label the work accurately.