CKA — Cluster Architecture
Chapter Overview
A Kubernetes cluster consists of control plane nodes that manage the cluster and worker nodes that run your applications. Understanding how every component fits together is essential before you can build, upgrade, or troubleshoot clusters.
This chapter covers the Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration domain — worth 25% of the CKA exam.
What You’ll Learn
| # | Topic | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Control Plane Components | API server, etcd, scheduler, controller manager |
| 2 | Worker Node Components | kubelet, kube-proxy, container runtime |
| 3 | Communication Flow | API server as central hub, TLS, component flows |
| 4 | Static Pods | Managed by kubelet, /etc/kubernetes/manifests |
| 5 | Cluster DNS | CoreDNS architecture, DNS records, troubleshooting |
| 6 | Hands-On Lab | Explore components, inspect static Pods, verify DNS |
CKA Exam Relevance
This chapter maps to Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration (25%):
- Understand the Kubernetes API server, scheduler, controller manager, kubelet, kube-proxy
- Manage a highly available Kubernetes cluster
- Provision underlying infrastructure for deploying a cluster
Prerequisites
- Completed the Introduction chapter
- A working Kubernetes cluster (Minikube, kind, or kubeadm)
