Linux Foundation PCA exam guide covering metrics, alerts, Prometheus rules, and observability decisions.
This Prometheus Certified Associate guide helps Linux Foundation PCA candidates focus on what the exam tests, where close answers usually split, and which review page to use next.
Use the study plan to group Kubernetes, Linux, and platform choices, the cheat sheet for scenario decisions, the sample questions for mixed practice, the FAQ for scope checks, the resources page for Linux Foundation exam references, and the glossary when cluster terms blur together.
| Item | Guide value |
|---|---|
| Vendor | Linux Foundation / CNCF |
| Exam or credential | Prometheus Certified Associate |
| Code or shorthand | PCA |
| Study level | Associate observability |
| IT Mastery page | PCA exam page |
| Guide shape | Start-here page, study plan, cheat sheet, FAQ, resources, and glossary. |
| Lane | What to master | Common weak answer |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics model | Understand time series, labels, samples, counters, gauges, histograms, and cardinality. | Using labels that explode cardinality or make queries unmanageable. |
| PromQL | Filter, aggregate, rate, join, and reason about ranges and instant vectors. | Using raw counters instead of rate or increase for time-window behavior. |
| Scraping and service discovery | Configure targets, jobs, exporters, relabeling, and Kubernetes discovery. | Assuming a metric is missing when the scrape target is down or relabeled away. |
| Alerting | Build useful alert rules, thresholds, for durations, labels, routing, and silencing. | Alerting on noisy symptoms without runbook or ownership. |
| Operations | Understand retention, storage, federation, remote write, HA patterns, and dashboard usage. | Treating Prometheus as long-term storage without considering retention and scale. |
Prometheus questions reward metric-shape discipline: label design, correct PromQL, target health, alert quality, and scale limits.
Use the current Linux Foundation exam page for live exam details, including name, status, pricing, duration, delivery method, languages, retirement or beta changes, and domain weights where applicable.