CKAD — CPU & Memory Units
Why Resource Management Matters
Every container in Kubernetes can be given resource requests (guaranteed minimum) and limits (maximum allowed). Getting these right is critical — too low and your app crashes, too high and you waste cluster resources.
This chapter covers the Application Environment, Configuration & Security domain (25% of the CKAD exam).
CPU and Memory Units
CPU
CPU is measured in millicores (or millicpu).
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
1 |
1 full CPU core |
500m |
Half a CPU core |
250m |
Quarter of a CPU core |
100m |
0.1 CPU core (minimum practical value) |
Memory
Memory is measured in bytes with standard suffixes.
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
128Mi |
128 mebibytes (134 MB) |
256Mi |
256 mebibytes |
1Gi |
1 gibibyte (1073 MB) |
500M |
500 megabytes (decimal, slightly less than 500Mi) |
Exam tip: Use Mi (mebibytes) and Gi (gibibytes). The M and G suffixes are decimal (base-10), while Mi and Gi are binary (base-2). Kubernetes docs use binary notation.
Next: Requests & Limits →
