CKA Practice Revisions Tracking
Track which topics you've practiced and revision counts. Update as you complete practice sessions.
Practice Progress Table
| # | Topic | Revisions | Status | Date Last Practiced | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Autoscaling (HPA, VPA) | 2 | ✅ | Jan 15, 2026 | Covered HPA basics and VPA concepts |
| 02 | Helm | 1 | 🔄 In Progress | Jan 15, 2026 | Created Helm chart for ingress prereqs |
| 03 | Kustomize | 1 | 🔄 In Progress | - | Need more practice |
| 04 | Kubeconfig + Certificates | 1 | ✅ | - | PKI setup complete |
| 05 | Gateway API | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 06 | Scheduling (Node Affinity, etc) | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 07 | CoreDNS | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 08 | Deployments | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 09 | Manage Cluster via kubeadm | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 10 | Ingress Controller & Resources | 1 | ✅ | Jan 16, 2026 | Helm chart ready, Q1-Q5 reformatted; completed once |
| 11 | Troubleshoot Control Plane | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 12 | Network Policies | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 13 | Authorization (RBAC) | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 14 | Basic Bash | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
| 15 | Secrets & ConfigMap | 1 | ✅ | - | 20 questions ready |
| 16 | Services | 1 | 🔄 In Progress | - | 10 questions ready |
| 17 | Storage Class, PV, PVC | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | 13 questions + solutions ready |
| 18 | StatefulSets | 0 | ⭕ Not Started | - | Pending |
Status Legend
- ✅ Completed - Fully practiced and understood
- 🔄 In Progress - Currently practicing
- ⭕ Not Started - Not yet attempted
Session Notes
Session 1 (Jan 14-15, 2026)
Topics Covered:
Storage Class/PV/PVC - Complete 13-question lab with solutions
- Fixed PV storageClassName mismatch
- Documented Retain vs Delete reclaim policy behavior
- Discovered hostPath Delete fails outside /tmp/
Helm Chart Creation - Created reusable chart for ingress prerequisites
- Chart deployed in
/cka/solutions/02-helm/ingress-prereqs/ - Customizable via values.yaml
- Includes 9 test applications
- Chart deployed in
Ingress Controller Questions - Reformatted from cramped to detailed
- Q1: Host-based routing
- Q2: Path rewriting with annotations
- Q3: Path redirects (301/302)
- Q4: TLS configuration
- Q5: Exact vs Prefix path matching (clarified)
Challenges Faced:
- StorageClass provisioner mismatch (manual vs standard)
- Delete reclaim policy failed for hostPath outside /tmp/
- Question 5 was confusing (fixed with better explanation)
Key Learnings:
- Reclaim policies are PV-specific, not StorageClass-specific
- Helm templates reduce YAML duplication significantly
- Path matching order matters in NGINX Ingress
Session 2 (Jan 16, 2026)
Topics Covered:
- Ingress Controller & Resources - Practiced Q1–Q5 (CKA-focused)
- Verified Helm chart for ingress prerequisites is deployable
- Reformatted and validated Q1–Q5 questions and solutions
- Applied solution manifests locally to validate behavior
Outcomes:
- Topic #10 marked as Completed (1 revision).
- Confirmed basic ingress behaviors: host/path matching, TLS, and redirects.
Next Session TODO:
- Practice Ingress questions (Q1-Q5) with Kind cluster
- Test Helm chart bootstrap for prerequisites
- Continue with other pending topics
- Update revision counts as you complete each topic
Quick Links
- Storage Solutions:
/cka/solutions/21-storage-class-pv-pvc/solutions.md - Helm Chart:
/cka/solutions/02-helm/ingress-prereqs/ - Ingress Questions:
/cka/compose/14-ingress-controller-and-resources/questions.md - Ingress Solutions:
/cka/solutions/14-ingress-controller/solutions.md