CKA — Cluster Upgrades
Chapter Overview
Upgrading a Kubernetes cluster with kubeadm is a frequently tested CKA skill. You must know the correct order of operations, the version skew policy, and how to safely drain and uncordon nodes.
This chapter covers Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration — worth 25% of the CKA exam.
What You’ll Learn
| # | Topic | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upgrade Planning | Version skew policy, upgrade path rules |
| 2 | Drain & Cordon Nodes | Safely evict workloads before upgrade |
| 3 | Upgrade Control Plane | kubeadm upgrade plan and apply |
| 4 | Upgrade Worker Nodes | Rolling worker node upgrades |
| 5 | Verify Upgrade | Post-upgrade checks and rollback |
| 6 | Hands-On Lab | Full cluster upgrade v1.29 to v1.30 |
CKA Exam Relevance
- Upgrade a Kubernetes cluster using kubeadm
- Understand version skew policies
- Safely drain and uncordon nodes
Prerequisites
- Completed the Kubeadm Cluster Setup chapter
- A running kubeadm-managed cluster
