Kubernetes / CNCF

About the Kubernetes certifications

The Kubernetes certifications are run by the Linux Foundation together with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), the body that looks after Kubernetes. They come in two tiers. The beginner tier, Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) and its security counterpart KCSA, checks that you understand the concepts and the wider cloud native ecosystem; KCNA is an online, proctored multiple-choice exam. The intermediate tier is where the three exams covered here sit:

• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) for people who build and look after clusters.
• Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) for people who deploy and run applications on Kubernetes.
• Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) for people who harden clusters and workloads. You must hold the CKA before you can sit it.

CKA, CKAD and CKS have no multiple-choice questions at all. Each is a set of hands-on tasks on live clusters, done at the command line with kubectl under a two-hour limit, and graded on the state you leave the cluster in. Each one lasts two years.

Which exam to start with

• You run or set up clusters: take the CKA first. It is also the gateway to the CKS.
• You write and ship applications: take the CKAD. It overlaps with the CKA on Pods, Deployments, Services and configuration, so whichever you pass first makes the other easier.
• You own cluster security: the CKS, once you have the CKA.

How the practice questions here work

Because the real exams are hands-on, these questions are a different kind of practice. Each one describes a cluster problem and asks which command, manifest field or setting fixes it, so you can check that you know what to do and why before you practise doing it in a real cluster. Every question explains the right answer and why each other option fails, links to the Kubernetes documentation, and has its own page. Each cert currently has one test of 10 questions, and your scores are kept in your browser, with optional sign-in if you want them on another device. Treat them as a check on your understanding, alongside plenty of time at a terminal.

These questions are original, written from the public Kubernetes documentation and the published curricula. They are not real exam questions, and this site is not affiliated with the Linux Foundation or the CNCF.