Syllabus · IT & Cloud

CKA Domains Explained: The Five Areas and Weights

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The CKA syllabus explained in plain English: the five hands-on domains and their weights, from troubleshooting to cluster architecture and networking.

By The Exam Atlas Editorial Team · Verified 2026-06-05

The CKA covers five hands-on domains, weighted most heavily toward troubleshooting (30%) and cluster architecture (25%). Everything is performance-based - you do real tasks, not multiple choice. Confirm current weights with CNCF.

DomainWeightNote
Troubleshooting30%Diagnose nodes, pods, networking and the control plane
Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration25%RBAC, kubeadm, HA, etcd backup/restore
Services & Networking20%Connectivity, services, ingress, network policies, CoreDNS
Workloads & Scheduling15%Deployments, ConfigMaps/Secrets, scaling, scheduling
Storage10%Storage classes, persistent volumes and claims

How to study it

Because it is hands-on, study by doing in a real cluster, not by reading. Weight your time toward troubleshooting and cluster setup, and get fast with kubectl. Confirm the current curriculum with CNCF, since Kubernetes evolves.

FAQ

What topics are on the CKA exam?
Five hands-on domains: Troubleshooting (30%), Cluster Architecture/Installation/Configuration (25%), Services and Networking (20%), Workloads and Scheduling (15%), and Storage (10%).

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