This guide provides a structured learning path covering all official objectives for the CKA exam, designed to build practical cluster administration skills.
This guide works best as a loop: read a chapter, test yourself with practice questions, look up unfamiliar terms in the glossary, then move to the next chapter.
16 chapters covering every exam objective. Each chapter includes key concepts, exam tips, common traps, comparison tables, and a 5-question quiz at the end.
Start Chapter 1Free timed and untimed practice with instant feedback and full explanations. Pick 10–120 questions per session. Filter by domain to drill your weak areas.
Go to practice testEvery CKAterm defined and searchable. Use it when a chapter mentions a concept you haven't seen before or want a quick refresher on.
Browse glossaryExam blueprint, domain weights, passing score, duration, cost, and registration links. Start here if you're new to this certification.
View exam guideKubernetes Architecture Overview
Objective Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration - 25% · Understand the overall Kubernetes architecture, including control plane and worker nodes.
Installing Kubernetes with kubeadm
Objective Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration - 25% · Install a Kubernetes cluster using kubeadm.
Configuring Core Cluster Components
Objective Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration - 25% · Configure core components such as kube-apiserver, kube-controller-manager, kube-scheduler, and kubelet.
Managing Cluster Upgrades
Objective Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration - 25% · Perform cluster upgrades using kubeadm and manage version skew.
etcd Backup and Restore
Objective Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration - 25% · Backup and restore etcd cluster data.
Workloads and Pod Basics
Objective Workloads & Scheduling - 15% · Understand Pods and their lifecycle.
Deployments and ReplicaSets
Objective Workloads & Scheduling - 15% · Manage Deployments and ReplicaSets for application scaling and updates.
Configuring Scheduling and Affinity
Objective Workloads & Scheduling - 15% · Configure node selectors, taints, tolerations, and node/pod affinity.
Services and Networking Fundamentals
Objective Services & Networking - 20% · Understand Services, cluster DNS, and Ingress.
Network Policies and Secure Connectivity
Objective Services & Networking - 20% · Implement network policies to control pod-to-pod communication.
Storage Basics and Volumes
Objective Storage - 10% · Understand volumes, persistent volumes, and persistent volume claims.
Configuring Storage Classes and Dynamic Provisioning
Objective Storage - 10% · Configure StorageClasses and dynamic volume provisioning.
Troubleshooting Cluster and Node Issues
Objective Troubleshooting - 30% · Diagnose and fix issues with cluster components and node health.
Troubleshooting Networking and Services
Objective Troubleshooting - 30% · Resolve networking issues including DNS, Service endpoints, and connectivity.
Troubleshooting Storage Persistence
Objective Troubleshooting - 30% · Diagnose and fix issues with volumes, PV/PVC bindings, and storage classes.
Troubleshooting Cluster Security
Objective Troubleshooting - 30% · Identify and resolve security-related issues such as RBAC misconfigurations and certificate problems.
Free CKA practice questions with full explanations. Test what you learn chapter by chapter.
CKA Practice Questions