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CNCF Certification
Professional Level

Certified KubernetesAdministrator (CKA)

Demonstrate your ability to administer Kubernetes clusters in production environments. The CKA certification validates skills in cluster architecture, installation, configuration, networking, storage, security, maintenance, logging, monitoring, application lifecycle, and troubleshooting.

AI-Powered

Personal Learning

Expert-Verified

Practice Questions

Comprehensive

Exam Coverage

Intelligent Practice Platform: Focused quizzes, live feedback, and performance insights - all powered by AI.

Zertly adapts to your progress, targeting weak spots with the right questions and crystal-clear explanations.

Exam Duration

180 minutes

Exam Cost

$395 USD

Question Format

15-20 Performance Tasks

Why Choose Zertly for Your CKA Preparation?

Our hands-on platform simulates the real CKA exam environment with performance-based scenarios and live cluster interactions.

Scenario-Based Practice Questions

AI-generated practice questions simulating real CKA exam tasks and cluster administration challenges.

Performance-Based Question Practice

Practice with realistic command-line scenarios that mirror the actual exam format through detailed explanations.

Comprehensive Progress Tracking

Track your progress across all CKA domains with detailed performance insights and weak area identification.

Expert Kubernetes Content

Access comprehensive AI-powered explanations covering advanced Kubernetes administration and best practices.

Exam Content and Breakdown

Master these essential domains to succeed in your CKA certification journey.

Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration

25% of exam
Manage role-based access control (RBAC)
Use kubeadm to install a basic cluster
Manage a highly-available Kubernetes cluster
Provision underlying infrastructure to deploy a Kubernetes cluster
Perform a version upgrade on a Kubernetes cluster using kubeadm
Implement etcd backup and restore

Workloads & Scheduling

15% of exam
Understand deployments and how to perform rolling update and rollbacks
Use ConfigMaps and Secrets to configure applications
Know how to scale applications
Understand the primitives used to create robust, self-healing, application deployments
Understand how resource limits can affect Pod scheduling
Awareness of manifest management and common templating tools

Services & Networking

20% of exam
Understand host networking configuration on the cluster nodes
Understand connectivity between Pods
Understand ClusterIP, NodePort, LoadBalancer service types and endpoints
Know how to use Ingress controllers and Ingress resources
Know how to configure and use CoreDNS
Choose an appropriate container network interface plugin

Storage

10% of exam
Understand storage classes, persistent volumes
Understand volume mode, access modes and reclaim policies for volumes
Understand persistent volume claims primitive
Know how to configure applications with persistent storage

Troubleshooting

30% of exam
Evaluate cluster and node logging
Understand how to monitor applications
Manage container stdout & stderr logs
Troubleshoot application failure
Troubleshoot cluster component failure
Troubleshoot networking

Key Tools and Technologies

Master these essential Kubernetes tools and concepts to excel in the CKA exam.

kubectl

CLI Tool

kubeadm

Cluster Management

kubelet

Node Agent

etcd

Key-Value Store

Container Runtime

Runtime

CoreDNS

DNS

Ingress Controllers

Load Balancing

CNI Plugins

Networking

Helm

Package Manager

YAML Manifests

Configuration

JSON Path

Query Language

systemctl

System Control

journalctl

Logging

crictl

Container Runtime

Linux fundamentals

Operating System

Networking concepts

Infrastructure

Storage concepts

Persistence

Security contexts

Security

Study Tips for CKA Success

Essential strategies to maximize your preparation efficiency and exam performance.

Practice kubectl Daily

The CKA exam is entirely command-line based. Practice kubectl commands daily, focusing on imperative commands and YAML generation shortcuts.

Master the Documentation

You can access Kubernetes documentation during the exam. Practice navigating kubernetes.io/docs efficiently to find answers quickly.

Focus on Troubleshooting

30% of the exam is troubleshooting. Practice debugging failed deployments, networking issues, and cluster component failures.

Time Management

Practice with time constraints. The exam is 180 minutes for 15-20 tasks. Skip difficult questions and return to them later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about the CKA certification exam.

What experience is recommended before taking the CKA exam?

The CNCF recommends having at least 6 months of hands-on experience with Kubernetes. You should be comfortable with Linux command line, container concepts, YAML manifests, and basic networking. Practical experience with kubectl and cluster administration tasks is essential.

What is the exam format for CKA?

The CKA exam is a 3-hour (180 minutes) performance-based exam consisting of 15-20 hands-on problems that must be solved in a command line environment. You will work with live Kubernetes clusters and must demonstrate practical skills rather than just theoretical knowledge.

What resources are allowed during the CKA exam?

You are allowed to access the official Kubernetes documentation (kubernetes.io/docs), kubectl help pages, and the Kubernetes GitHub repository during the exam. However, you cannot access external websites, forums, or any other documentation.

How does Zertly help me prepare for the CKA exam?

Zertly provides scenario-based practice questions that simulate real CKA exam tasks, detailed explanations for Kubernetes concepts, comprehensive study materials, and progress tracking to identify areas that need more focus.

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Join thousands of students who have successfully passed their CKA exam with Zertly's comprehensive preparation platform.

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