DDF · ● Active · Entry · Datadog
This file documents the Datadog Fundamentals Certification — the foundational entry-level exam validating core knowledge of the Datadog observability platform. Every URL is live and specific to this cert. Status reflects 2026 reality.
Exam facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | $100 USD |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Questions | 90 (75 scored, 15 unscored pretest) |
| Passing | Percentage-based (vendor does not publicly disclose exact threshold) |
| Format | Multiple choice |
| Delivery | Kryterion Webassessor (proctored, remote or test center) |
| Languages | English, Japanese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, French |
| Valid | 3 years |
| Renewal | Retake exam before expiration |
| Prerequisites | None; recommended 6+ months Datadog platform experience |
| Released | 2022 (Datadog Certification Program launch) |
| Retiring | N/A |
Vendor source — Datadog Certification Overview ↗ Official exam guide — Datadog Fundamentals Exam Guide ↗ Exam page — Datadog Certification ↗
About
Datadog Fundamentals is the entry-level certification validating foundational knowledge of the Datadog observability and monitoring platform. Released in 2022 as part of Datadog's formal certification program, it tests core skills in Datadog architecture, Agent installation/configuration, infrastructure deployment, data collection, metrics, logs, events, dashboards, monitors, and troubleshooting. Aimed at observability professionals, DevOps engineers, SREs, and IT operations personnel adopting Datadog in production environments. No prerequisites required, though 6+ months hands-on Datadog platform experience is strongly recommended.
Domain context — Observability/Monitoring
Observability encompasses the three pillars of monitoring: metrics, logs, and distributed traces. The Observability/Monitoring domain includes vendor-specific platforms (Datadog, Prometheus, ELK, Splunk, Dynatrace) and vendor-neutral observability practices. Datadog is the market-leading SaaS platform for observability at scale.
Read full deep dive — Datadog Ecosystem →
Topics covered
The exam blueprint covers six major knowledge domains:
- Computer fundamentals (CPUs, RAM, storage, networking basics) (~10-15%)
- Datadog Agent installation, configuration, and troubleshooting (~20-25%)
- Infrastructure monitoring: hosts, containers, tags, service discovery (~15-20%)
- Metrics and custom metrics; DogStatsD (~10-15%)
- Logs, events, and log parsing fundamentals (~10-15%)
- Dashboards, monitors, alerts, SLOs, Synthetics, RUM, and Notebooks (~20-25%)
Source: Datadog Fundamentals Exam Guide ↗
Common skills at Observability/Monitoring · Entry
Shared foundational skills for observability professionals at entry level — not specific to Datadog.
- Metric collection and visualization fundamentals
- Log aggregation and searching
- Alert design and notification routing
- Basic distributed tracing concepts
- Dashboard creation and KPI selection
- Troubleshooting infrastructure and application issues
- Understanding SLOs and error budgets
- API and integration basics
Recommended courses at Observability/Monitoring · Entry
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datadog Learning Center | Datadog Fundamentals Certification Learning Path | Free | ↗ |
| Datadog Learning Center | Datadog Fundamentals Certification Practice Exam | Free | ↗ |
| Cloud Academy | Datadog Fundamentals (if available) | Not verified | ↗ |
| Udemy | Datadog Fundamentals Practice Exam | $10–$15 | ↗ |
| Whizlabs | Datadog Fundamentals | $19–$79 | ↗ |
Course-selection rule: Courses must be specifically for Datadog Fundamentals certification. The official Datadog Learning Center path is free and vendor-approved; third-party courses supplement practice and retention.
Practice exams
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datadog Learning Center | Datadog Fundamentals Certification Practice Exam | Free | ↗ |
| Whizlabs | Datadog Fundamentals Practice Tests | $19–$79 | ↗ |
| Udemy | Practice Exam - Datadog Fundamentals Certification | $10–$15 | ↗ |
Books
No published books specifically for Datadog Fundamentals Certification exist. Study relies on official Datadog Learning Center courses, practice exams, and vendor documentation. Relevant general observability references:
| Title | Author | Publisher | Year | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observability Engineering | Charity Majors, Liz Fong-Jones, George Miranda | O'Reilly | 2022 | ↗ |
| Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) | Betsy Beyer, Chris Jones, Jennifer Petoff, Niall Richard Murphy | O'Reilly | 2016 | ↗ |
Typical job titles at Observability/Monitoring · Entry
Observability Engineer · Site Reliability Engineer (Datadog-focused) · DevOps Engineer (monitoring specialization) · Infrastructure Engineer · Cloud Operations Engineer · Systems Engineer
(Job titles drawn from current job-board postings listing Datadog Fundamentals or observability skills as required/preferred.)
Salary
| Region | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| USD | $130,000–$202,000 | Glassdoor Observability Engineer ↗ |
| ZAR | R609,930–R1,080,877 (DevOps-aligned) | PayScale ZA DevOps Engineer ↗ |
| GBP | £60,000–£77,500 (SRE; observability-specific data limited) | IT Jobs Watch SRE ↗ |
Salary rule: USD figures reflect observability engineer market rates (2026 Glassdoor data). ZAR and GBP data are drawn from related DevOps/SRE roles due to limited observability-specific job-board data in those regions. Datadog-specific compensation varies by company size and role level; entry-level positions typically cluster toward the lower end of these ranges.
Skills validated
Cert-specific — concrete technologies and domains this exam tests.
- Datadog Agent: installation, configuration, troubleshooting on hosts and containers
- Metrics collection and custom metrics (DogStatsD)
- Log aggregation, parsing, and searching
- Event and alert management
- Dashboard design and visualization
- Monitor and SLO configuration
- Synthetic tests and Real User Monitoring (RUM)
- Notebooks and API usage
- Infrastructure tagging and service discovery
- Integration with AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes
Related certifications
- Stacks with: APM & Distributed Tracing Fundamentals ↗ · Log Management Fundamentals ↗
- Prerequisite for: Datadog specialty certifications (APM, Log Management, Cloud SIEM for AWS, Database Monitoring)
- Replaces: N/A (first iteration of formal Datadog certification)
- Vendor overview: Datadog Ecosystem Overview ↗
Sources
- Datadog Certification Overview
- Datadog Fundamentals Exam Guide PDF
- Datadog Certification Portal
- Datadog Fundamentals Learning Path
- Datadog Fundamentals Practice Exam
- Glassdoor Observability Engineer Salary
- PayScale ZA DevOps Engineer Salary
- IT Jobs Watch UK SRE Salary
- Whizlabs Datadog Fundamentals
- Observability Engineering (O'Reilly)
- Google Site Reliability Engineering
Last verified: 2026-05-01 Parent ecosystem: Datadog Parent domain: Observability/Monitoring