CKA Course

Lesson 1 • Kubernetes API and Object Model

Introduces API groups, versioning, and the declarative object model. Prepares students to read and write Kubernetes manifests confidently.

Lesson 2 • Container and Orchestration Basics

Covers containers, images, and why orchestration is needed at scale. Establishes the problem space that Kubernetes solves before introducing its components.

Lesson 3 • Kubernetes Control Plane Components

Examines kube-apiserver, etcd, scheduler, and controller manager roles. Understanding these components is prerequisite to diagnosing cluster-level failures.

Lesson 4 • Setting Up a Practice Cluster

Guides students through kubeadm-based cluster bootstrapping for hands-on practice. Provides a working environment for all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 1 • Pod Specification Deep Dive

Covers pod spec fields including containers, init containers, volumes, and restart policies. Mastery here underpins every higher-level workload object.

Lesson 2 • ReplicaSets and Deployments

Explains how Deployments manage ReplicaSets to achieve rolling updates and rollbacks. Students configure update strategies and observe rollout behavior.

Lesson 3 • DaemonSets and Jobs

Covers DaemonSets for node-level agents and Jobs/CronJobs for batch workloads. Students select the correct workload type for operational tasks.

Lesson 4 • Resource Requests and Limits

Defines CPU and memory requests and limits and their effect on scheduling and eviction. Builds the foundation for namespace-level resource governance.

Lesson 1 • Services and Endpoint Slices

Covers ClusterIP, NodePort, and LoadBalancer Service types and how kube-proxy programs them. Students expose workloads and verify endpoint routing.

Lesson 2 • Network Policies for Traffic Control

Defines ingress and egress NetworkPolicy rules to restrict pod communication. Connects to security hardening goals covered in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • DNS and Service Discovery

Teaches CoreDNS configuration and the DNS naming scheme for Services and pods. Enables students to resolve connectivity issues using DNS diagnostics.

Lesson 4 • Cluster Networking Model

Explains the flat pod network, IP-per-pod model, and CNI plugin responsibilities. Provides the conceptual model needed to understand Services and policies.

Lesson 1 • PersistentVolumes and Claims

Covers PV provisioning, access modes, reclaim policies, and PVC binding. Students manually provision PVs and bind them to workloads.

Lesson 2 • Volume Types and Pod Mounts

Surveys emptyDir, hostPath, configMap, and secret volume types and their mount syntax. Establishes volume fundamentals before introducing persistent storage.

Lesson 3 • Storage Troubleshooting Techniques

Diagnoses common PVC pending, mount failure, and permission issues using kubectl and node inspection. Builds practical debugging skills for storage-related incidents.

Lesson 4 • CSI Drivers and Volume Snapshots

Introduces the Container Storage Interface, CSI driver deployment, and VolumeSnapshot resources. Prepares students to integrate external storage systems.

Lesson 1 • ConfigMaps for Application Settings

Creates and consumes ConfigMaps as environment variables, command arguments, and volume files. Demonstrates how to decouple configuration from container images.

Lesson 2 • Environment Variable Injection Patterns

Teaches valueFrom, envFrom, and fieldRef for injecting pod metadata and config values. Enables flexible, image-agnostic configuration strategies.

Lesson 3 • Resource Quotas and LimitRanges

Applies ResourceQuota and LimitRange objects to enforce namespace-level consumption boundaries. Connects resource governance to multi-tenant cluster design.

Lesson 1 • Admission Controllers and Webhooks

Explains built-in admission controllers and how validating and mutating webhooks extend policy. Students deploy a webhook and observe request interception.

Lesson 2 • Certificate Management and TLS

Covers cluster CA, certificate signing requests, and kubeconfig credential management. Prepares students to rotate certificates and manage cluster access securely.

Lesson 3 • RBAC Roles and Bindings

Defines Roles, ClusterRoles, RoleBindings, and ClusterRoleBindings and their scope differences. Students grant precise permissions to users and service accounts.

Lesson 4 • Pod Security Standards and Admission

Applies Pod Security Standards (restricted, baseline, privileged) via namespace labels. Replaces deprecated PodSecurityPolicy with current enforcement mechanisms.

Lesson 1 • etcd Backup and Restore

Covers etcdctl snapshot save and restore procedures to protect cluster state. Critical skill for recovering from control plane failures in the CKA exam.

Lesson 2 • Cluster Upgrade with kubeadm

Walks through the kubeadm upgrade plan and apply workflow for control plane and nodes. Students practice version-skew rules and sequential upgrade steps.

Lesson 3 • Node Drain and Cordon Operations

Teaches cordoning nodes to prevent scheduling and draining pods before maintenance. Ensures workload continuity during planned node downtime.

Lesson 1 • Troubleshooting Cluster Components

Diagnoses failures in kube-apiserver, scheduler, controller manager, and kubelet using logs and status. Builds a systematic component-by-component investigation approach.

Lesson 2 • Logging and Metrics Fundamentals

Introduces kubectl top, metrics-server, and container log aggregation patterns for observability. Provides the monitoring baseline needed for proactive cluster management.

Lesson 3 • Node and Resource Troubleshooting

Investigates NotReady nodes, resource pressure, and eviction events using node conditions and metrics. Enables students to restore node health and prevent recurrence.

Lesson 4 • Networking Troubleshooting

Diagnoses Service connectivity, DNS resolution, and NetworkPolicy blocking using targeted tools. Connects networking theory from earlier chapters to real failure scenarios.