Exam Objectives and Commonly Referenced Documentation for Cloud Specialist Certification

Certifications
Audience
Public
Product
FlashBlade
FlashArray
FlashStack
Evergreen
Pure1
Portworx
Source Type
Documentation

The following tables list the Cloud Specialist exam objectives and how these objectives align to the corresponding commonly referenced product documentation and resources. Candidates are encouraged to review the applicable topics as part of their preparation for the exam.

Domain 1: Overview (10%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

1.01 – Differentiate public cloud storage solution types (e.g., dedicated vs. native services)

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare software components and resource integration with AWS and Azure

  • Distinguish between deployment approaches for resiliency and scalability

  • Differentiate between Everpure Cloud Dedicated and Everpure Cloud Azure Native offerings

1.02 – Recommend use cases based on workload and business requirements

Objective Subtopics:

  • Match solution type to application architectures

  • Recommend solutions based on Cyber resilience, compliance, and scalability needs

  • Assess tradeoffs between performance, cost, and operational model

1.03 – Analyze licensing and consumption models to determine cost effectiveness

Objective Subtopics:

  • Apply Evergreen//One and subscription models to real-world scenarios

  • Evaluate DRR (effective capacity use) in cloud deployments

  • Interpret cost structures for different consumption patterns

Domain 2: Design (15%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

2.01 – Evaluate public cloud storage architectures, resiliency, and availability

Objective Subtopics:

  • Analyze the architectural building blocks of PSC Dedicated

  • Understand public cloud component requirements

  • Evaluate resiliency mechanisms for continuity of operations

2.02 – Apply network design best practices

Objective Subtopics:

  • Apply secure network segmentation principles

  • Validate connectivity across cloud resources

  • Understand impacts of network design on the storage solution

2.03 – Implement security control best practices

Objective Subtopics:

  • Understand encryption mechanisms in PSC Dedicated and PSC Azure Native solutions

  • Configure identity, access, and authentication controls

  • Validate adherence to compliance standards

2.04 – Recommend strategies for optimizing costs

Objective Subtopics:

  • Recommend elasticity and tiering for efficient consumption

  • Align workloads with appropriate performance/cost tiers

  • Evaluate impact of scaling decisions on budget

2.05 – Analyze workload performance

Objective Subtopics:

  • Assess latency, throughput, and IOPS requirements

  • Balance design for cost vs. performance

Domain 3: Deployment Lifecycle (25%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

3.01 – Perform deployments in AWS environments

Objective Subtopics:

  • Deploy using UI, CLI, and Infrastructure as a Code (IaaC)

  • Configure cloud permissions, security, and network prerequisites

  • Validate successful provisioning and readiness

3.02 – Perform deployments in Azure environments

Objective Subtopics:

  • Deploy using UI, CLI, and Infrastructure as a Code (IaaC)

  • Configure cloud permissions, security, and network prerequisites

  • Validate successful provisioning and readiness

3.03 - Plan and perform lifecycle activities

Objective Subtopics:

  • Understand and perform Customer-driven Purity upgrades, Non-disruptive controller scaling and validate outcomes

  • Perform Suspend/Resume operations in AWS environments

  • Perform PSC Dedicated decommission in Azure and AWS environments

Domain 4: Management (Solutions) (30%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

4.01 – Access PSC Dedicated and PSC Azure Native environments using available interfaces

Objective Subtopics:

  • PSC Dedicated via the Azure/AWS Portals and Purity UI/CLI

  • PSC Azure Native in the Azure Portal

4.02 – Integrate with Host VMs in the Public Cloud

Objective Subtopics:

  • Configure protocols (iSCSI, NVMe/TCP)

  • Implement multipathing (MPIO, NMP)

  • Provision storage volumes and validate workflows (Purity GUI, CLI, Fusion)

4.03 – Implement cyber resilience strategies

Objective Subtopics:

  • Apply replication models (async, sync)

  • Use snapshots, backups, CloudSnap, SafeMode, and clustering

  • Evaluate effectiveness of recovery strategies

4.04 – Enable cloud-specific integrations

Objective Subtopics:

  • Configure and Manage integrations (AVS, EVS)

  • Setup and Utilize CSI drivers for Kubernetes

4.05 – Plan and execute migrations to cloud storage

Objective Subtopics:

  • Select appropriate migration tools

  • Evaluate risks and dependencies

  • Validate migrated workloads for performance and functionality

Domain 5: Monitoring (10%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

5.01 – Monitor health, performance, and events

Objective Subtopics:

  • Use Pure1 and cloud native monitoring tools (Azure Monitor, CloudWatch, CloudTrail and others)

  • Utilize dashboards and alerts for proactive monitoring

  • Interpret monitoring data for operational health

5.02 – Monitor and analyze cost

Objective Subtopics:

  • Track cost with cloud provider and third party tools

  • Correlate usage with billing data

  • Recommend cost optimization actions

Domain 6: Troubleshooting (10%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

6.01 – Identify Resources Available for Troubleshooting

Objective Subtopics:

  • Determine available documentation, tooling, KBs, and reference guides to resolve issues

  • Identify issues in Cloud Provider and Everpure management interfaces

6.02 – Utilize Resources for Effective Tooling

Objective Subtopics:

  • Interpret logs, alerts, and telemetry

  • Correlate issues across cloud and storage layers

  • Differentiate between misconfiguration and infrastructure failure

6.03 – Remediate issues related to configuration and usability

Objective Subtopics:

  • Resolve host/storage misconfigurations

  • Register the Account for Everpure Cloud Dedicated correct configuration issues related to requirements