Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) prep, adaptive plan with ARIA
The Linux Foundation CNCF Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) is the entry-point Kubernetes ops cert. 120 minutes, performance-based, run on real clusters through a remote terminal. There are no multiple-choice questions on the actual exam.
What the exam is
Five domains in the September 2024 curriculum:
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Cluster Architecture, Installation, Configuration | 25% |
| Workloads and Scheduling | 15% |
| Services and Networking | 20% |
| Storage | 10% |
| Troubleshooting | 30% |
Passing score 66 percent. One free retake is included with the exam fee. The cert is valid for three years.
How ARIA preps you for it
ClaudeLab is MCQ and scenario-based. CKA is performance-based. The two have different shapes, and you need both. 
ARIA prepares you on the concept side: pod scheduling logic, Service types, NetworkPolicy semantics, PV and PVC binding rules, etcd backup and restore decisions, the troubleshooting tree for a failing kubelet.
The CAT eval lands a per-domain skill estimate, the roadmap weights phases to your gaps, and the error backlog tags misses by Kubernetes object family (workloads, services, storage, RBAC, networking).
Lab pairing (required for this cert)
Concepts are necessary but not sufficient. Pair ClaudeLab prep with hands-on cluster practice. Minikube, kind, k3s, or a managed cluster all work. The Linux Foundation's official killer.sh simulator is the closest thing to the real exam interface and is included with the exam fee. Use it.
Common pitfalls on this cert
Studying YAML by reading instead of typing. The exam is hands-on tasks. Recall is muscle memory. ClaudeLab handles the concept layer; the typing is on you.
Skipping kubectl autocomplete and aliases. Saving five seconds per command, twenty times, is the difference between finishing and not. Set up your environment before exam day.
Underestimating troubleshooting weight. Thirty percent of the exam is debugging broken clusters. The roadmap includes a dedicated troubleshooting phase.
The pass guarantee
Same five conditions. The MCQ side is what ClaudeLab guarantees. The lab side is on you, and the guarantee is contingent on running the cluster practice as well.