Study Guide

CKA Exam Study Guide 2026

Everything you need to prepare for and pass the Certified Kubernetes Administrator exam on your first try.

CKA Exam Overview

2 hours
Exam Duration
15-20
Questions
66%
Passing Score
$445
Exam Cost

Exam Domains & Weights

🏗️
Cluster Architecture
25%
📦
Workloads & Scheduling
15%
🌐
Services & Networking
20%
💾
Storage
10%
🔧
Troubleshooting
30%

8-Week Study Plan

Week 1-2

Kubernetes Fundamentals

Pods, Deployments, ServicesConfigMaps & SecretsNamespaces & Labelskubectl basics
15-20 hours
Week 3-4

Cluster Architecture

Control Plane componentsWorker node componentsETCD backup & restoreCluster upgrades
15-20 hours
Week 5-6

Workloads & Scheduling

Resource limits & requestsNode selectors & affinityTaints & tolerationsDaemonSets & StatefulSets
15-20 hours
Week 7-8

Networking & Storage

Services & IngressNetwork PoliciesPersistent VolumesStorage Classes
15-20 hours

Top CKA Exam Tips

Master kubectl

Know kubectl commands by heart. Use kubectl explain, kubectl run --dry-run=client -o yaml for quick manifests.

Practice Time Management

You have 2 hours for 15-20 questions. Skip difficult questions and return later. Each question shows point value.

Use Official Documentation

kubernetes.io/docs is allowed during exam. Bookmark important pages beforehand for quick access.

Focus on Troubleshooting

30% of the exam is troubleshooting. Practice diagnosing broken pods, services, and cluster components.

Ready to Practice?

Theory is great, but hands-on practice is essential. Our CKA Exam Simulator provides a real exam environment with pre-configured Kubernetes clusters.