Certified Kubernetes Administrator CKA Learning Path
The journey continues in the container world with the Certified Kubernetes administrator CKA certification. I recently cleared it with 90%. It was fascinating and interesting to learn about Kubernetes internals as well as how the entire system works.
CKA focuses specifically on the skills required for success as a Kubernetes administrator
CKA is an open-book test that allows you to access the Kubernetes documentation exam. However, it focuses more upon hands-on experience.
Contrary to AWS and GCP certifications you will need to provision, solve, debug, and provision resources on a Kubernetes Cluster.
It is an open-book test, but you must know where the information is.
CKA Exam Pattern
These general domains are included in the CKA exam curriculum and their weights: Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration – 25%
Workloads & Scheduling – 15%
Services & Networking – 20%
Storage – 10%
Troubleshooting – 30%
CKA requires that you solve 24 questions within 3 hours.
CKA exam has been upgraded. You will need to answer 15-20 questions in two hours.
CKA was already upgraded for the k8s 1.22 edition.
You can open another tab in your browser. This can be from kubernetes.io, Falco documentation, or any other product documentation. Do not open other windows.
Exam questions can be attempted in any order. They don’t need to be in a specific order. Keep moving and come back later.CKA Exam Preparation Tips
I used the KodeKloud courses for practice and it was sufficient to cover the requirements for the exam.
Killer.sh offers 2 exam simulator sessions when you book your exam. These mock exams are very difficult compared to the real thing, but they provide a great learning experience. If you fail to complete this exam on time, don’t let that discourage you.
CKA was easy for me. I completed my first attempt in 90 mins. I then took 30 minutes to review the questions and was done in 2 hours. Although I skipped the question with 8%, it shouldn’t have had any significant impact.
Each question on an exam carries weight. Be sure to attempt the higher weighted questions first, before you focus on the lower ones. You should focus on the heavier questions and find faster solutions, such as debugging.
Killer.sh provides the exam with 6-8 preconfigured K8s clusters. Each question is specific to a Kubernetes cluster and the context must be changed. You will need to execute the kubectl context command. It is included with every question.
To find resources or create resources, check the namespace in the question. Use the -n
Most of the interaction would be performed from the client node. Pay attention to the master or worker node that you are using to perform the exams. Also, make sure to return to the base node.
It is important to use CKS to move the master server for any changes to cluster kubeapiserver
If necessary, SSH to nodes is allowed and root access is granted.
Pay attention to the information provided in the questions marked with an i mark. These would be very helpful hints to address the question and save you time. For example, Namespaces to be looked into. You should look at what is already in place, such as configmap, secrets, and network policies, so you don’t create another.
You won’t be able to create or edit YAML files if you don’t know the imperative commands.
You can edit the file further by using –dry-run –o yaml.
To avoid typing kubectlCKA Learning path, I use the alias kk=kubectl
Check out the CKA Curriculum
Mumshad Mannambeth Koloud course or Udemy Certified Kubernetes Administration (CKA) Practice TestsExcellent cour
