Mixed Deck — All CDM Topics Flashcards

What is 'GitOps' and how does it relate to Kubernetes deployments?

Answer: An operational model where the desired state of infrastructure and applications is declared in Git, and automated agents continuously reconcile the live cluster to match that state

GitOps (popularized by tools like ArgoCD and Flux) uses Git as the single source of truth for cluster state, with controllers that automatically apply changes when the Git repo is updated.

What is an incident response plan?

Answer: Procedure for managing incidents

An incident response plan is a documented set of procedures and guidelines that an organization follows when a security breach, system outage, or other critical incident occurs. It outlines the steps for identifying, containing, eradicating, recovering from, and analyzing incidents. A well-defined plan ensures a coordinated and effective response, minimizing damage and recovery time.

Which assessment method provides the MOST reliable data for CDM professionals making critical decisions?

Answer: Standardized tools combined with professional observation

Combining standardized tools with professional observation provides the most comprehensive data.

What is the MOST important reason for maintaining equipment maintenance logs in CDM practice?

Answer: To track maintenance history, predict failures, and demonstrate compliance

Maintenance logs track history, predict failures, and demonstrate regulatory compliance.

What is the PRIMARY purpose of obtaining CDM certification in Certified DevOps Master?

Answer: To demonstrate verified competency and adherence to professional standards

Certification demonstrates verified competency and adherence to professional standards.

What is Static Application Security Testing (SAST)?

Answer: Analyzing source code or binaries for security flaws without executing the application

SAST tools analyze source code, bytecode, or binaries at rest to find security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection or buffer overflows before the code runs.

What is 'log sampling' and when is it most appropriate to use in a high-throughput system?

Answer: Recording only a fraction of log events to reduce storage and processing costs at very high volume

Log sampling records a representative subset of events (e.g., 1 in 100) to manage cost and volume in systems generating millions of events per second.

In DevSecOps, what is the primary purpose of a Web Application Firewall (WAF)?

Answer: To filter, monitor, and block malicious HTTP traffic targeting web applications

A WAF sits in front of web applications and inspects HTTP/S traffic to block common exploits such as XSS, SQL injection, and OWASP Top 10 attacks.

A DevOps team wants to detect when a cron job has silently stopped running. Which alerting pattern is designed specifically for this scenario?

Answer: Dead man's switch (heartbeat alert)

A dead man's switch fires an alert if it stops receiving an expected periodic signal, detecting silent failures like a cron job that simply never runs.

What is a 'protected branch' in platforms like GitHub or GitLab?

Answer: A branch with restrictions preventing direct pushes or requiring status checks and reviews before merging

Protected branches enforce policies such as requiring pull request reviews, passing CI checks, and disallowing force pushes, safeguarding critical branches like main.

What is the MOST important factor when selecting assessment tools for CDM certification work?

Answer: Validity, reliability, and appropriateness for the specific context

Assessment tools must be valid, reliable, and appropriate for the specific context.

In PagerDuty or Opsgenie, what feature ensures that if the primary on-call engineer does not acknowledge an alert within a set time, it automatically notifies the next person?

Answer: Escalation policy

An escalation policy defines the ordered chain of responders and timeouts so unacknowledged alerts automatically escalate to backup on-call personnel.

What distinguishes a Certified DevOps Master certified professional from a non-certified practitioner?

Answer: Certification validates competency through standardized assessment against benchmarks

Certification provides objective validation of competency through standardized assessment.

In Certified DevOps Master practice, what is the CORRECT sequence when performing a technical procedure?

Answer: Plan, prepare, execute, verify, and document

The correct sequence follows: plan, prepare, execute, verify, and document.

Which statement BEST describes the relationship between Certified DevOps Master certification and industry evolution?

Answer: Requirements evolve periodically to reflect advances in knowledge and practice

Certification requirements evolve to keep pace with professional and technological advances.

In a blameless postmortem, what is the primary goal of the 'five whys' technique?

Answer: To iteratively ask 'why' to trace from symptoms to root systemic causes

The five whys technique drills past surface symptoms by repeatedly asking 'why' until the underlying systemic or process failure is identified.

Which preventive maintenance approach is MOST effective for CDM professionals?

Answer: Schedule regular maintenance based on manufacturer recommendations and usage

Scheduling based on manufacturer recommendations and usage patterns optimizes reliability.

What is 'secrets sprawl' and why is it a security concern in DevOps?

Answer: The uncontrolled proliferation of credentials and API keys across codebases, configs, and systems, increasing exposure risk

Secrets sprawl occurs when credentials end up hardcoded in repos, config files, or CI logs, making it difficult to audit, rotate, or revoke them and creating multiple attack surfaces.

Which of the following is the best approach for managing secrets (API keys, passwords) in a CI/CD pipeline?

Answer: Use a dedicated secrets manager such as HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager

Dedicated secrets managers provide access control, auditing, rotation, and dynamic secret generation, keeping credentials out of source control entirely.

Which practice supports rapid feedback in CI/CD?

Answer: Automated testing and builds

Automated testing and builds are crucial practices that support rapid feedback in CI/CD. When developers commit code, automated systems immediately build the application and run tests, providing instant feedback on whether the changes introduced any regressions or issues. This quick feedback loop allows developers to address problems promptly, maintaining code quality and accelerating development.