CKA — etcd Backup & Restore
Chapter Overview
etcd backup and restore is one of the most commonly tested CKA topics. You must be able to take a snapshot, verify it, and restore it on a live cluster — all from the command line.
This chapter covers Cluster Architecture, Installation & Configuration — worth 25% of the CKA exam.
What You’ll Learn
| # | Topic | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Understanding etcd | What etcd stores, architecture, certificates |
| 2 | etcd Snapshot Save | Taking backups with etcdctl |
| 3 | etcd Snapshot Restore | Restoring to a new data directory |
| 4 | Verify Backup | Checking backup integrity |
| 5 | etcd Best Practices | Backup frequency, performance, HA |
| 6 | Hands-On Lab | Full backup, simulate loss, restore |
CKA Exam Relevance
- Back up and restore an etcd cluster
- Understand etcd certificates and authentication
- Know the complete backup/restore workflow
Prerequisites
- Completed the Cluster Architecture chapter
- A kubeadm-managed cluster with etcd running as a static Pod
