Helm on Micha Kops' Tech Notes

CKAD Certification Snippets

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Introduction

The Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) exam is a hands-on, command-line-heavy challenge that tests your ability to design, build, and deploy applications in Kubernetes - all while racing the clock.

I recently took the CKAD and passed with an overall score of around 82%. Not perfect - but let’s be honest, in a terminal-only, time-boxed environment, "running" is the new "succeeding" 😄.

This article collects the practical snippets, workflows, and quick references I used during my preparation.

Quick Kafdrop Setup with Helm Charts

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Figure 1. Kafdrop Topic Viewer

In the ever-expanding world of data streaming and event-driven architecture, Apache Kafka has emerged as a cornerstone for reliable and scalable data processing. However, managing and monitoring Kafka clusters can often present its own set of challenges. This is where Kafdrop, a web-based Kafka consumer group and topic viewer, comes to the rescue. With its intuitive interface and insightful visualizations, Kafdrop offers developers and operators an efficient way to gain valuable insights into Kafka clusters.

Helm Snippets

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Common operations

Add Helm Repository

helm repo add NAME URL

e.g. for the Bitnami repository:

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami                                                                                                                                                         1 ↵
"bitnami" has been added to your repositories

List Repositories

helm repo list                                                                                                                                                                                                 130 ↵
NAME    URL
bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami

Searching in a Helm Repository

helm search repo wordpress
NAME                    CHART VERSION   APP VERSION     DESCRIPTION
bitnami/wordpress       15.2.30         6.1.1           WordPress is the world's most popular blogging ...
bitnami/wordpress-intel 2.1.31          6.1.1           DEPRECATED WordPress for Intel is the most popu...

Postgres Snippets

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Administration & Configuration

Connections

Show Max Connections (value and source)

SELECT setting, source, sourcefile, sourceline
FROM pg_settings
WHERE name = 'max_connections';

Set Max Connections

ALTER system SET max_connections = 250;

Kill Connections for a Database

SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pid)
FROM pg_catalog.pg_stat_activity
-- we don't want to kill our own connection
WHERE pid != pg_backend_pid()
-- we don't want to kill connections to other databases
AND datname = 'MYDATABASE'

Show Statement Timeout Settings for All Users

SELECT r.rolname,
       (SELECT unnest(s.setconfig) FROM pg_db_role_setting s WHERE s.setrole = r.oid AND s.setconfig::text LIKE '%statement_timeout%' LIMIT 1) AS statement_timeout
FROM pg_roles r
WHERE r.rolcanlogin
ORDER BY r.rolname;