CKAD Timed Lab Exam

Exam Format

The CKAD exam is performance-based. You perform real tasks in a real Kubernetes cluster using kubectl and a terminal. There are no multiple-choice questions. You must demonstrate hands-on competence.

Domain Weights

Time Strategy

1. First pass — Do all easy tasks (imperative commands, simple configurations).
2. Flag hard tasks — Mark tasks you are unsure about and come back after the first pass.
3. Verify every task — Use the validation commands provided in each task description.
4. Save time — Use imperative commands for simple resources.
5. Time check — At 1 hour, you should have completed at least 8 tasks.

Common Task Types

The CKAD exam repeats similar task types. Practice these patterns until they are muscle memory.

• Create a multi-container Pod with shared volumes.
• Create a Pod with init containers.
• Create a Job or CronJob.
• Create a Deployment with specific strategy and rollback.
• Create a Service to expose a Deployment.
• Create an Ingress rule for hostname or path routing.
• Create a NetworkPolicy to restrict Pod traffic.
• Create a ConfigMap and mount it in a Pod.
• Create a Secret and inject it as environment variables.
• Create a Pod with SecurityContext (runAsNonRoot, readOnlyRootFilesystem).
• Fix a broken Pod, Service, or Deployment.
• Debug a failing health probe.

killer.sh Drills

killer.sh is a practice environment included with your CKAD exam voucher. It provides simulated exam scenarios with broken clusters. Use it extensively before the exam.

• Access killer.sh through your CNCF certification portal.
• Complete all available scenarios — each one teaches a different skill.
• Focus on speed — practice completing tasks in under 5 minutes each.
• Review the solutions — even if you got it right, there may be a faster approach.
• Retake scenarios — practice until you can complete them without hesitation.

Exam-Day Checklist

1. Browser — Chrome or Chromium, latest version.
2. Internet — Stable connection, minimum 2 Mbps.
3. Webcam — Working webcam for proctoring.
4. ID — Government-issued photo ID.
5. Room — Quiet, well-lit room with no interruptions.
6. PSI browser — Installed and tested before the exam.
7. kubeconfig — Pre-configured in the exam environment.
8. Bookmarks — Bookmark kubernetes.io/docs pages you use frequently.

Speed Commands

# Pod with security context
kubectl run my-pod --image=nginx --dry-run=client -o yaml | \
  sed 's/containers:/securityContext:
  runAsUser: 1000
  runAsNonRoot: true
  containers:/' | kubectl apply -f -

# Job
kubectl create job my-job --image=busybox -- echo hello

# CronJob
kubectl create cronjob my-cron --image=busybox --schedule="*/5 * * * *" -- echo hello

# ConfigMap
kubectl create configmap my-config --from-literal=key1=value1

# Secret
kubectl create secret generic my-secret --from-literal=user=admin

# Service
kubectl expose deployment my-app --port=80 --type=NodePort

# NetworkPolicy (must use YAML)
kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: allow-frontend
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: backend
  ingress:
  - from:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          app: frontend
EOF