@Piks I think we may be having a perception issue but lets walk through this and see for sure. When looking over the certification page, the question format is explained:   Exam Question Format   Each CCA question requires you to solve a particular scenario. Some of the tasks require making configuration and service changes via Cloudera Manager, while others demand knowledge of command line Hadoop utilities and basic competence with the Linux environment.   Looking further down the page, the required skills (see below) should be interpreted as potential questions on the exam. So for instance the first item listed Set up a local CDH repository signifies that you will need to be able show proficiency in setting up a local CDH repository. By looking at the required skills list in this manner, there should be sufficient information available to prepare for the exam. The video with the one example is simply to provide greater context for how the questions will be asked and answered. You should be able to take it from there.    Is there something particular you are looking for in terms of guidance over and above this?   Required Skills   Install   Demonstrate an understanding of the installation process for Cloudera Manager, CDH, and the ecosystem projects.   Set up a local CDH repository Perform OS-level configuration for Hadoop installation Install Cloudera Manager server and agents Install CDH using Cloudera Manager Add a new node to an existing cluster Add a service using Cloudera Manager   Configure   Perform basic and advanced configuration needed to effectively administer a Hadoop cluster Configure a service using Cloudera Manager Create an HDFS user's home directory Configure NameNode HA Configure ResourceManager HA Configure proxy for Hiveserver2/Impala Manage   Maintain and modify the cluster to support day-to-day operations in the enterprise Rebalance the cluster Set up alerting for excessive disk fill Define and install a rack topology script Install new type of I/O compression library in cluster Revise YARN resource assignment based on user feedback Commission/decommission a node Secure   Enable relevant services and configure the cluster to meet goals defined by security policy; demonstrate knowledge of basic security practices Configure HDFS ACLs Install and configure Sentry Configure Hue user authorization and authentication Enable/configure log and query redaction Create encrypted zones in HDFS Test   Benchmark the cluster operational metrics, test system configuration for operation and efficiency Execute file system commands via HTTPFS Efficiently copy data within a cluster/between clusters Create/restore a snapshot of an HDFS directory Get/set ACLs for a file or directory structure Benchmark the cluster (I/O, CPU, network) Troubleshoot   Demonstrate ability to find the root cause of a problem, optimize inefficient execution, and resolve resource contention scenarios Resolve errors/warnings in Cloudera Manager Resolve performance problems/errors in cluster operation Determine reason for application failure Configure the Fair Scheduler to resolve application delays   ... View more

@Piks,   I think I have seen this before. Check your /opt directory on the zookeeper hosts to make sure that it has "execute" for other. I reproduced what you see by setting the following:   drwxr-xr--.   3 root root   21 Feb  7 13:50 opt   Try running:   chmod 755   So that it looks like this:   drwxr-xr-x.   3 root root   21 Feb  7 13:50 opt   Try starting services again after that.   Regards,   Ben ... View more