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Question 1

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Which custom resource does cass-operator directly reconcile to manage a single Cassandra datacenter?

K8ssandraCluster

CassandraDatacenter

StatefulSet

CassandraCluster

to track

2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Cassandra K8s Exam

100

Practice Questions

OpenExamPrep

66%

Passing Score

Linux Foundation

2 hours

Exam Duration

Linux Foundation

$445

Exam Fee

Linux Foundation

Content Domains

K8ssandra ecosystem

3 years

Certification Validity

Linux Foundation

This is a 2-hour performance-based exam with a 66% passing score and a $445 fee. It tests hands-on operator-level Cassandra-on-Kubernetes skills: K8ssandra and cass-operator architecture (20%), CassandraDatacenter deployment and StatefulSet management (25%), storage and persistence (15%), Reaper/Medusa/upgrade operations (20%), networking/Stargate/security (10%), and monitoring/troubleshooting (10%).

Sample Cassandra K8s Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Cassandra K8s exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which custom resource does cass-operator directly reconcile to manage a single Cassandra datacenter?

A.K8ssandraCluster

B.CassandraDatacenter

C.StatefulSet

D.CassandraCluster

Explanation: Cass-operator owns the CassandraDatacenter CRD. It watches CassandraDatacenter objects and creates the underlying StatefulSets, headless services, and pods. K8ssandra-Operator sits above cass-operator and owns the K8ssandraCluster CRD, but it delegates per-DC reconciliation to cass-operator by creating CassandraDatacenter resources.

2Which K8ssandra-Operator deployment mode should be used in the cluster that creates and manages K8ssandraCluster resources?

A.Data-Plane mode

B.Control-Plane mode

C.Standalone mode

D.Federated mode

Explanation: Control-Plane mode is the default and is required in the cluster where K8ssandraCluster resources are created. The Control-Plane instance reconciles K8ssandraCluster resources and creates CassandraDatacenter objects in local or remote (Data-Plane) clusters. Only one Control-Plane instance should exist per K8ssandraCluster.

3Which Kubernetes workload resource does cass-operator create to run the Cassandra pods for a CassandraDatacenter?

A.Deployment

B.DaemonSet

C.StatefulSet

D.Job

Explanation: Cass-operator creates one or more StatefulSets per CassandraDatacenter. StatefulSet is required because Cassandra pods need stable network identities, ordered startup, and stable persistent volumes — all guarantees Deployments do not provide. There can be multiple StatefulSets per DC, typically one per rack.

4What is the default headless service name pattern that cass-operator creates for in-cluster CQL contact points?

A.<clusterName>-svc

B.<clusterName>-<datacenterName>-service

C.cassandra-<namespace>-headless

D.<clusterName>-cql

Explanation: Cass-operator creates a headless service named <clusterName>-<datacenterName>-service. In-cluster clients connect to this service to round-robin across Cassandra pods as CQL contact points. Because it is headless (clusterIP: None), DNS resolves to the individual pod IPs.

5Which initContainer renders per-pod Cassandra configuration before the main containers start?

A.cassandra-init

B.server-config-init

C.config-renderer

D.yaml-init

Explanation: server-config-init is the initContainer in every Cassandra pod. It reads the CassandraDatacenter spec and renders cassandra.yaml, jvm-options, and other config files specific to that pod (rack, seeds, etc.) into a shared volume that the cassandra container then consumes.

6Cass-operator does NOT call the Cassandra binary directly. Which interface does it use to perform lifecycle operations on each pod?

A.JMX over port 7199

B.Native CQL on port 9042

C.Management API for Apache Cassandra (HTTP REST)

D.SSH on port 22

Explanation: The cassandra container starts the Management API for Apache Cassandra first, which exposes a REST interface that cass-operator calls to start, stop, drain, and decommission Cassandra. This decouples lifecycle control from JMX and gives cass-operator a robust HTTP-based control plane per pod.

7Which CRD is the top-level resource a user creates to deploy a multi-datacenter Cassandra cluster with K8ssandra-Operator?

A.CassandraCluster

B.K8ssandraCluster

C.CassandraDatacenter

D.CassandraTopology

Explanation: K8ssandraCluster is the top-level CRD owned by K8ssandra-Operator. It encompasses Cassandra datacenters, Stargate, Reaper, Medusa, telemetry, and ReplicatedSecret configuration in one manifest. K8ssandra-Operator reconciles it by creating CassandraDatacenter resources for cass-operator to handle.

8In a K8ssandraCluster manifest, which field connects a datacenter to the Kubernetes cluster where it should run?

A.k8sContext

B.kubeContext

C.remoteCluster

D.clusterRef

Explanation: The k8sContext field on a datacenter entry tells K8ssandra-Operator which kubeconfig context (and therefore which Kubernetes cluster) to deploy that datacenter into. This is the key primitive that enables multi-cluster Cassandra deployments from a single K8ssandraCluster manifest.

9How does cass-operator typically map Cassandra racks to Kubernetes infrastructure for fault tolerance?

A.One rack per pod

B.One rack per Kubernetes namespace

C.One rack per failure zone or topology zone

D.Racks are ignored on Kubernetes

Explanation: Best practice is to map each Cassandra rack to a distinct failure zone (e.g., a cloud availability zone) using nodeAffinity or topologySpreadConstraints. This ensures replicas of the same token range are spread across zones so a zone failure does not lose a quorum.

10Which storage mechanism does Cassandra running under cass-operator use to persist SSTables across pod restarts?

A.emptyDir volume

B.PersistentVolumeClaim bound to a PersistentVolume

C.ConfigMap mounted as files

D.hostPath volume on every node

Explanation: Cass-operator configures the underlying StatefulSet with a volumeClaimTemplate so each Cassandra pod gets its own PersistentVolumeClaim, which Kubernetes binds to a PersistentVolume from the configured StorageClass. This guarantees SSTables and commit logs survive pod restarts and rescheduling.

About the Cassandra K8s Exam

The Linux Foundation Certified Cassandra Operator on Kubernetes credential validates the skills required to deploy, operate, and troubleshoot Apache Cassandra clusters on Kubernetes using K8ssandra-Operator and cass-operator. The performance-based exam covers CassandraDatacenter and K8ssandraCluster CRDs, StatefulSets, persistent storage, repair scheduling with Reaper, backups with Medusa, Stargate APIs, and Prometheus monitoring.

Questions

100 scored questions

Time Limit

2 hours

Passing Score

66%

Exam Fee

$445 (performance-based exam) (The Linux Foundation)

Cassandra K8s Exam Content Outline

20%

K8ssandra & Cass-Operator Architecture

Control vs data plane, K8ssandra-Operator vs cass-operator responsibilities, CassandraDatacenter and K8ssandraCluster CRDs, reconciliation flow, and multi-cluster setup

25%

Cluster Deployment & StatefulSet Management

Deploying CassandraDatacenter, StatefulSets, headless services, racks, anti-affinity, NodeSelectors, topology spread constraints, scaling, and rolling restarts

15%

Storage & Persistence

PersistentVolumeClaims, StorageClasses with IOPS, additionalVolumes for commit logs, volume expansion, replication factor, and durability guarantees

20%

Reaper, Medusa & Upgrades

Reaper repair scheduling, Medusa backups to S3/GCS/Azure, restore workflows, Cassandra version upgrades, JVM tuning, and kubectl exec/cqlsh patterns

10%

Networking, Stargate & Security

Stargate REST/GraphQL/Document/gRPC APIs, services, Ingress, NetworkPolicies, TLS, superuser/JMX secrets, and ReplicatedSecret CRD

10%

Monitoring & Troubleshooting

Metrics-collector (MCAC/Vector), ServiceMonitor for Prometheus, Grafana dashboards, status conditions, log triage, and pod-failure recovery

How to Pass the Cassandra K8s Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 66%
Exam length: 100 questions
Time limit: 2 hours
Exam fee: $445 (performance-based exam)

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Cassandra K8s Study Tips from Top Performers

1Master the relationship between K8ssandraCluster, CassandraDatacenter, and StatefulSets — the operator delegates control downward in that exact order

2Practice editing CassandraDatacenter manifests to add racks, change replication factor, and trigger rolling restarts via kubectl apply

3Memorize the Cassandra pod containers: server-config-init initContainer, then cassandra and server-system-logger application containers

4Learn how the Management API for Apache Cassandra (port 8080) is what cass-operator actually talks to, not Cassandra directly

5Study Reaper repair schedules (incremental vs full) and how Reaper segments token ranges to avoid overloading the cluster

6Practice Medusa backup/restore to a real S3 or MinIO bucket — schedule, verify, and restore at least once before exam day

7Know the headless service naming pattern: <clusterName>-<datacenterName>-service for in-cluster cqlsh contact points

8Prepare a kubectl exec cheat sheet for nodetool status, nodetool repair, and cqlsh — these are the diagnostic workhorses

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Cassandra Operator on Kubernetes exam format?

The exam is a 2-hour performance-based test where candidates complete hands-on tasks in a live Kubernetes environment. The passing score is 66%. There are no multiple-choice questions — every task requires running kubectl commands, editing YAML manifests, and validating real cluster state.

How much does the Cassandra K8s certification cost?

The exam fee is $445 USD, consistent with other Linux Foundation performance-based certifications. One free retake is included with the registration. Optional THRIVE training bundles can raise the total to roughly $625-$1,000.

What is the difference between K8ssandra-Operator and cass-operator?

Cass-operator manages a single CassandraDatacenter CRD and translates it into StatefulSets, services, and pods. K8ssandra-Operator sits above cass-operator, owns the K8ssandraCluster CRD, and orchestrates multi-DC and multi-cluster deployments while delegating per-DC reconciliation to cass-operator.

Does the exam cover Reaper, Medusa, and Stargate?

Yes. Candidates are expected to enable Reaper for repair scheduling, configure Medusa for S3, GCS, or Azure backups and restores, and provision Stargate to expose REST, GraphQL, Document, and gRPC APIs over a Cassandra datacenter.

What jobs use the Cassandra Operator on Kubernetes credential?

The credential targets Site Reliability Engineers, Platform Engineers, Database Reliability Engineers, Cloud-Native Database Administrators, and DevOps Engineers running Cassandra workloads on Kubernetes in production.