CKA — Kubeadm Cluster Setup
Chapter Overview
Setting up a Kubernetes cluster with kubeadm is a core CKA exam skill. You must be able to install the container runtime, initialize the control plane, join worker nodes, and install a CNI plugin — 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 | Container Runtime | Install and configure containerd |
| 2 | Install kubeadm | Package setup, version pinning |
| 3 | Initialize Control Plane | kubeadm init, kubeconfig setup |
| 4 | Join Worker Nodes | kubeadm join, token management |
| 5 | CNI Plugins | Calico, Flannel, Cilium comparison |
| 6 | Hands-On Lab | Build a multi-node cluster from scratch |
CKA Exam Relevance
- Bootstrap a Kubernetes cluster using kubeadm
- Install and configure a container runtime
- Deploy a CNI plugin for Pod networking
Prerequisites
- Completed the Cluster Architecture chapter
- Access to VMs or cloud instances (Ubuntu 22.04 recommended)
