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Ace Skills Consulting
The Linux Foundation (CNCF) logoIntermediatePopular

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Build, run and fix Kubernetes clusters from the command line — the way the CKA exam tests you.

  • 24 hours of live, trainer-led sessions
  • Your own multi-node cluster for every lab
  • kubeadm install, upgrade and etcd backup
  • Timed troubleshooting drills in exam style
  • kubectl speed techniques for a hands-on exam
Aligned to The Linux Foundation (CNCF) exam CKA
Duration
3 Days | 24 Hrs
Next batch
Batches on request
Delivery
Live Online · Onsite · Corporate
Level
Intermediate
Exam
CKA
Language
English

Why learn CKA with Ace Skills

  • Exam-style hands-on

    Practise in a real terminal against real clusters, exactly as the performance-based exam works.

  • Your own cluster

    Install, upgrade, break and repair a cluster that nobody else is using.

  • Troubleshooting focus

    The heaviest exam domain gets dedicated, timed drills with debriefs.

  • Networking demystified

    Trace traffic through Services, Ingress, DNS and network policies until it clicks.

Course overview

The CKA exam does not ask you to recognise the right answer — it gives you a terminal and a broken or incomplete cluster and asks you to fix it within a time limit. This course is designed around that reality. Almost every topic is practised hands-on in your own multi-node cluster.

Day one covers cluster architecture and installation: control-plane components, kubeadm, upgrades, etcd backup and restore, and role-based access control. Day two focuses on workloads and scheduling — Deployments, DaemonSets, StatefulSets, ConfigMaps and Secrets, resource requests and limits, taints, tolerations and affinity — followed by persistent storage with volumes, claims and storage classes.

Day three is about services and networking — Services, Ingress and the Gateway API, network policies and cluster DNS — and then troubleshooting, which carries the most weight on the exam. You will diagnose failing nodes, crashed pods, broken networking and misconfigured control-plane components under time pressure.

Throughout the course you will build the kubectl habits that save minutes in the exam: imperative commands, generating YAML, using the documentation efficiently and verifying your work.

This course is aligned to the CKA exam curriculum published by The Linux Foundation and CNCF. The exam is performance-based and online proctored; please confirm the current curriculum and Kubernetes version before booking.

Key features

  • Dedicated multi-node lab cluster per learner
  • Cluster install and upgrade with kubeadm
  • etcd backup and restore practice
  • Troubleshooting drills against the clock
  • kubectl shortcuts and documentation navigation
  • Mock tasks in the style of the exam
  • Course completion certificate from Ace Skills Consulting
  • Post-training doubt support

Who should attend

  • System administrators running container platforms
  • DevOps and platform engineers
  • Cloud engineers managing EKS, AKS or GKE
  • Site reliability engineers

Prerequisites

  • Confident with the Linux command line and a text editor such as vim
  • Working knowledge of containers (our Docker course or equivalent)
  • Basic networking: IP, ports, DNS

Curriculum

3 Days · 24 Hours · 9 Modules · 9 Labs

  1. Kubernetes architecture

    • Control plane and node components
    • API server request flow
    • Static pods
    • Container runtimes and CRI

    Installing and upgrading

    • kubeadm init and join
    • Highly available control planes
    • Upgrading a cluster version by version
    • Helm and Kustomize for cluster components
    • Lab: Build a three-node cluster with kubeadm · 60 min
    • Lab: Upgrade the cluster one minor version · 40 min

    etcd and access control

    • etcd backup and restore
    • Users, service accounts and kubeconfig
    • Roles, ClusterRoles and bindings
    • CRDs and operators overview
    • Lab: Back up and restore etcd · 35 min
    • Lab: Grant scoped RBAC to a service account · 30 min

  2. Workloads

    • Pods and multi-container patterns
    • Deployments, rollouts and rollbacks
    • DaemonSets and StatefulSets
    • Jobs and CronJobs
    • ConfigMaps and Secrets
    • Lab: Roll out and roll back a Deployment · 40 min

    Scheduling

    • Requests, limits and quotas
    • Node selectors and affinity
    • Taints and tolerations
    • Priority and preemption
    • Autoscaling overview
    • Lab: Control pod placement with affinity and taints · 40 min

    Storage

    • Volumes
    • Persistent volumes and claims
    • Storage classes and dynamic provisioning
    • Access modes and reclaim policies
    • Lab: Provision persistent storage for a stateful app · 40 min

  3. Services and networking

    • ClusterIP, NodePort and LoadBalancer
    • Ingress and Gateway API
    • CoreDNS
    • Network policies
    • CNI plugins
    • Lab: Expose an app with Ingress and lock it down with network policies · 50 min

    Troubleshooting

    • Application failures
    • Control-plane failures
    • Node failures
    • Network failures
    • Logs, events and metrics
    • Lab: Timed troubleshooting drill: five broken clusters · 75 min

    Exam readiness

    • Exam environment and rules
    • Context switching and verification
    • Mock tasks with review
Download full syllabus (PDF)

Skills you will gain

  • Kubernetes administration
  • kubeadm
  • etcd backup
  • RBAC
  • Deployments
  • StatefulSets
  • Scheduling
  • Persistent storage
  • Services & Ingress
  • Gateway API
  • Network policies
  • CoreDNS
  • Troubleshooting
  • Helm

Tools & technologies

  • kubectl
  • kubeadm
  • etcdctl
  • Helm
  • Kustomize
  • containerd
  • crictl
  • vim

Certification exam

Exam details
Exam nameCertified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
Exam codeCKA
Duration120 minutes
Voucher includedNo — book directly with the vendor
Question formatPerformance-based lab
DeliveryOnline proctored

Skill areas measured

  1. Cluster architecture, installation and configuration
  2. Workloads and scheduling
  3. Services and networking
  4. Storage
  5. Troubleshooting

Exam details are pending verification. Vendors change exams; confirm on the official vendor page before booking. Official exam page (opens in a new tab)

Schedule & Pricing

Live Online

Individual

Price on request

  • 24 hours of live, trainer-led sessions
  • 9 hands-on labs
  • Ace Skills course completion certificate

Onsite

At your office or our centre

Pricing depends on location, group size and dates.

  • Delivered at your premises or an Ace centre
  • Same curriculum and labs as live online
  • Dates planned around your team

Corporate / Team

Private batch for your organisation

A private batch with content adapted to your environment and goals.

  • Customised curriculum
  • Private batch, online or onsite
  • Progress and assessment reports
  • GST invoice and PO-based billing

No public batches scheduled — Talk to an Advisor for a private batch.

Projects & labs you will build

  • Day 1 · 60 min

    Build a three-node cluster with kubeadm

  • Day 3 · 50 min

    Expose an app with Ingress and lock it down with network policies

Your certificate

Certificate of Completion — Ace Skills Consulting

Awarded on completing the course. It records the course title and training hours, and you can share it on your LinkedIn profile.

The The Linux Foundation (CNCF) certification itself is awarded by The Linux Foundation (CNCF) when you pass exam CKA.

Frequently asked questions

What is the CKA exam like?

It is a performance-based, online-proctored exam: you solve practical tasks on live clusters from a command line within the time limit.

Can I use documentation during the exam?

The exam rules have allowed access to the official Kubernetes documentation. Check the current candidate handbook before your exam, and we practise navigating the docs quickly in class.

Do I need to know Docker first?

You need container basics. If you have never built an image, take our Docker course or a short self-study first.

Will this help with managed Kubernetes like EKS or AKS?

Yes. The concepts are the same; managed services simply operate the control plane for you.

Should I take CKA or CKAD first?

Choose CKA if you operate clusters and CKAD if you mainly deploy applications. CKA is also required before CKS.

Related courses

Explore more

All DevOps & Containers courses The Linux Foundation (CNCF) certifications

Kubernetes, CKA, CKAD and CKS are trademarks of The Linux Foundation.

Train your team on CKA

Private batches online or at your office in India and the GCC, with a curriculum adapted to your environment.