How to Pass the OTCA Exam

OTCA-specific tips and the most common pitfalls.

Duration

90 min

Pass mark

75%

Format

multi-choice

OTCA exam tips

API vs SDK distinction: the API is stable and framework-neutral; the SDK adds configuration and export capability. Questions often test which layer a concept belongs to.
Propagator questions: know W3C TraceContext (traceparent, tracestate headers) as the default, and B3 as the legacy format.
Collector configuration questions often ask about pipeline topology — which component type (receiver, processor, exporter) handles what.
zPages is the built-in Collector health/debug extension — know it exists and what it exposes.

Treating OTCA as a pure tracing exam — metrics and logs are equally in scope. The OTel API covers all three signals.
Confusing auto-instrumentation with manual instrumentation. Auto-instrumentation injects at runtime; manual instrumentation requires code changes. Both are tested.