CKA Certification Training Plan
Target Audience
Experienced professionals with strong networking background, already working with Kubernetes in production environments.
Training Objectives
By the end of this training, students will be able to:
- Pass the CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator) exam
- Confidently manage, troubleshoot, and secure Kubernetes clusters
- Understand the full lifecycle of cluster administration
Exam Overview
| Detail |
Info |
| Duration |
2 hours |
| Format |
Performance-based (hands-on CLI tasks) |
| Passing score |
66% |
| K8s version |
Check CNCF for current version |
| Allowed resources |
Kubernetes official docs (kubernetes.io) |
| Retake policy |
1 free retake |
Exam Domains & Weights (CKA 2024)
| Domain |
Weight |
| Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration |
25% |
| Workloads & Scheduling |
15% |
| Services & Networking |
20% |
| Storage |
10% |
| Troubleshooting |
30% |
Training Modules
Module 1 — Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration (25%)
| # |
Topic |
File |
| 1 |
Control plane components (API Server, etcd, Scheduler, Controller Manager) |
01-cluster-architecture.md |
| 2 |
Worker node components (kubelet, kube-proxy, container runtime) |
01-cluster-architecture.md |
| 3 |
Communication flows between components |
01-cluster-architecture.md |
| 4 |
Installing a cluster with kubeadm (init, join, phases) |
02-cluster-installation-kubeadm.md |
| 5 |
Choosing and installing a CNI plugin |
02-cluster-installation-kubeadm.md |
| 6 |
High-availability control plane considerations |
02-cluster-installation-kubeadm.md |
| 7 |
Upgrading a cluster with kubeadm (control plane + workers) |
03-cluster-upgrade.md |
| 8 |
Version skew policy |
03-cluster-upgrade.md |
| 9 |
Draining and uncordoning nodes |
03-cluster-upgrade.md |
| 10 |
etcd architecture and data model |
04-etcd-backup-restore.md |
| 11 |
Backing up etcd with etcdctl snapshot |
04-etcd-backup-restore.md |
| 12 |
Restoring etcd from a snapshot |
04-etcd-backup-restore.md |
| 13 |
Role, ClusterRole, RoleBinding, ClusterRoleBinding |
05-rbac.md |
| 14 |
ServiceAccounts and token management |
05-rbac.md |
| 15 |
Practical RBAC policy design |
05-rbac.md |
| 16 |
kubeconfig file structure |
06-kubeconfig-contexts.md |
| 17 |
Managing multiple clusters and contexts |
06-kubeconfig-contexts.md |
Module 2 — Workloads & Scheduling (15%)
Module 3 — Services & Networking (20%)
Module 4 — Storage (10%)
Module 5 — Troubleshooting (30%)
| # |
Topic |
File |
| 1 |
Diagnosing control plane failures (API server, scheduler, controller manager, etcd) |
15-troubleshooting-clusters.md |
| 2 |
Diagnosing worker node failures (kubelet, kube-proxy, container runtime) |
15-troubleshooting-clusters.md |
| 3 |
Checking component logs (journalctl, crictl, kubectl logs) |
15-troubleshooting-clusters.md |
| 4 |
Node conditions and status |
15-troubleshooting-clusters.md |
| 5 |
Pod troubleshooting (CrashLoopBackOff, ImagePullBackOff, Pending, etc.) |
16-troubleshooting-applications.md |
| 6 |
Service and endpoint troubleshooting |
16-troubleshooting-applications.md |
| 7 |
DNS resolution debugging |
16-troubleshooting-applications.md |
| 8 |
Resource quota and LimitRange issues |
16-troubleshooting-applications.md |
| 9 |
Debugging connectivity between pods and services |
17-troubleshooting-networking.md |
| 10 |
Verifying kube-proxy rules (iptables/ipvs) |
17-troubleshooting-networking.md |
| 11 |
CNI troubleshooting |
17-troubleshooting-networking.md |
| 12 |
Using tools: kubectl exec, nslookup, curl, netcat, tcpdump |
17-troubleshooting-networking.md |
Module 6 — Exam Strategy & Practice
Files Summary
Recommended Lab Environment
| Option |
Description |
| killer.sh |
CKA simulator (2 free sessions included with exam purchase) |
| kubeadm + VMs |
3-node cluster (1 control plane + 2 workers) on VirtualBox/Vagrant or cloud |
| kind / minikube |
Local lightweight clusters for quick practice |
Key References
Next step: Start developing Module 1 — Cluster Architecture