Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
The Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) is a performance-based certification exam administered by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) in partnership with The Linux Foundation. It validates a candidate’s ability to install, configure, and manage production-grade Kubernetes clusters.
Exam Details (2025)
| Attribute | Specification |
|---|---|
| Format | Performance-based, online proctored |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Tasks | 16–20 practical hands-on problems |
| Passing Score | 66% |
| Kubernetes Version | Aligned with latest minor release (~1.30.x at time of study) |
| Cost | ~$395 USD (includes one free retake) |
| Validity | 2 years |
| Curriculum Version | v1.30 |
Exam Domains & Weightings
| Domain | Weight | Key Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration | ~25% | kubeadm, HA, etcd, upgrades, version skew, RBAC |
| Workloads & Scheduling | ~15% | Deployments, DaemonSets, Jobs, scheduling |
| Services & Networking | ~20% | Services, Ingress, NetworkPolicies, CoreDNS |
| Storage | ~10% | PVs, PVCs, StorageClasses, volume mounts |
| Troubleshooting | ~30% | Node failures, pod crashes, networking, control plane |
What Makes CKA Unique
- Hands-On Only: No multiple-choice questions. Every task requires executing real
kubectlcommands or editing YAML in a live cluster. - Speed & Accuracy: You must solve problems quickly. Practicing YAML creation and
kubectlshortcuts is essential. - Open Book (Limited): You can access the official Kubernetes documentation (
kubernetes.io/docs) during the exam, but searching efficiently is a skill.
Key Tools & Resources
- kubectl: The primary CLI for cluster interaction
- kubernetes.io/docs: The only allowed external resource during the exam
- kubeadm: The standard tool for bootstrapping clusters
- kind / minikube: Local cluster tools for practice
Sources
- CKA Day 0: Introduction & Roadmap
- CKA Day 8: Deployments, ReplicaSets & Replication Controllers
- CKA Day 9: Kubernetes Services Explained
- CKA Day 10: Kubernetes Namespace Explained
- CKA Day 11: Multi Container Pod Kubernetes — Sidecar vs Init Container
- CKA Day 12: DaemonSet, Job & CronJob Explained
- CKA Day 13: Static Pods, Manual Scheduling, Labels, and Selectors
- CKA Day 14: Taints and Tolerations in Kubernetes
- CKA Day 15: Kubernetes Node Affinity Explained
- CKA Day 16: Kubernetes Requests and Limits
- CKA Day 17: Kubernetes Autoscaling Explained — HPA vs VPA
- CKA Day 18: Kubernetes Health Probes Explained — Liveness vs Readiness Probes
- CKA Day 19: Kubernetes ConfigMap and Secret Explained
- TLS Works
- CKA Day 21: Manage TLS Certificates In a Kubernetes Cluster — Create Certificate Signing Request
- CKA Day 22: Kubernetes Authentication and Authorization Simply Explained
- CKA Day 23: Kubernetes RBAC Explained — Role Based Access Control
- CKA Day 24: Kubernetes RBAC Continued — ClusterRole and ClusterRoleBinding
- CKA Day 25: Kubernetes Service Account — RBAC Continued
- CKA Day 29: Kubernetes Volume Simplified — Persistent Volume, Persistent Volume Claim & Storage Class
- CKA Day 31: Understanding CoreDNS In Kubernetes
- CKA Day 32: Kubernetes Networking Explained | Container Network Interface (CNI)
- CKA Day 33: Kubernetes Ingress Tutorial | Ingress Explained
- CKA Day 34: Step-By-Step Guide To Upgrade a Multi Node Kubernetes Cluster With Kubeadm
Related Pages
- CKA 40-Day Study Roadmap
- Kubernetes Concepts Index
- Kubernetes Resource Requests and Limits
- TLS Fundamentals — Certificates and encryption underpinning Kubernetes control plane security
- Kubernetes Authentication & Authorization — The two-gate security model for API server access
- Kubernetes RBAC — Role-based access control for cluster and namespace-level permissions
- Kubernetes Storage — PVs, PVCs, StorageClasses, and the ~10% Storage domain
- Kubernetes Ingress — Layer 7 routing in the ~20% Services & Networking domain
- Kubernetes Cluster Upgrade — Rolling update strategy and kubeadm commands in the ~25% Architecture domain
- Node Maintenance: Drain, Cordon, Uncordon — Evacuation mechanics required before any node upgrade
- Kubernetes Versioning & Version Skew — Support window, component compatibility, and the no-skip-minor-versions rule
- CKA Progress Tracker