ProfessionalCNCF

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) — Study Guide & Exam Overview

The CKA is the gold standard certification for Kubernetes administrators. Unlike multiple-choice exams, it tests real hands-on skills in a live cluster environment — making it one of the most credible and respected certifications in the cloud-native ecosystem.

Duration

120 min

Passing Score

66%

Level

Professional

Provider

CNCF

What This Certification Covers

  • Installing, configuring, and upgrading Kubernetes clusters with kubeadm
  • Managing workloads: Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets, Jobs, and CronJobs
  • Configuring Kubernetes networking: Services, Ingress, Network Policies, and CNI plugins
  • Implementing storage: PersistentVolumes, PersistentVolumeClaims, and StorageClasses
  • Diagnosing and resolving cluster failures across nodes, pods, and network components

Exam Domain Breakdown

  • Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration (25%)
  • Workloads & Scheduling (15%)
  • Services & Networking (20%)
  • Storage (10%)
  • Troubleshooting (30%)

Exam Format

15–20 performance-based tasks in a live Kubernetes environment, 2 hours, passing score 66%

Study Tips to Pass CKA

  1. 1This is a fully hands-on, command-line exam — practice speed with kubectl until commands are muscle memory
  2. 2Use killer.sh (two free attempts included with registration) — it is harder than the real exam and the best prep available
  3. 3Master imperative kubectl commands: create, run, expose, scale, set, and rollout
  4. 4Focus on Troubleshooting (30% of the exam): practice diagnosing broken nodes, crashing pods, and failed deployments
  5. 5The exam environment allows Kubernetes documentation — know which pages to find quickly

Ready to test your knowledge? Take a free timed mock exam below.

Official CKA exam page