Acquia Platform Certification Fundamentals
What the domain covers
This domain tests foundational knowledge of the Acquia platform as a hosting and management environment: environments (dev/stage/prod), code deployment workflow, configuration management, backups, and security/access concepts. You should understand how Acquia structures applications, environments, and the tooling used to move code and configuration between them.
Concepts you must know
Understand that Acquia environments are distinct and that code moves forward through a pipeline (typically dev → stage → prod), while databases and files are pulled/pushed separately via backup and copy operations. Know the role of Git-based deployment and that configuration (not just code) must be exported/imported to stay consistent across environments. Understand backups as point-in-time copies used for restore and for syncing environments. Know that SSL, domains, and access controls are configured per environment, and that production changes should follow the same tested path rather than being made ad hoc.
Traps in exam questions
- Assuming code deployment also moves the database or files - it does not; those are separate operations.
- Assuming configuration changes made in one environment automatically appear in another.
- Reversing the pipeline direction (pulling prod code backward as a normal workflow).
- Forgetting that environment-specific settings (domains, credentials) legitimately differ.
Rule of thumb
Separate the three streams: code (forward via Git), configuration (export/import), and content/files (backup/copy). Worked example: a settings change tested in stage should be exported as configuration and imported to prod after code deploys - never edited directly in prod, or the environments drift.