Certification > Clouds and Containers > Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)
CERTIFICATION

Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)

The Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) exam demonstrates a user’s foundational knowledge and skills in Kubernetes and the wider cloud native ecosystem.

Not sure where to start? You may consider reviewing our suggested KCNA learning path.

Who Is It For

The KCNA is a pre-professional certification designed for candidates interested in advancing to the professional level through a demonstrated understanding of kubernetes foundational knowledge and skills. This certification is ideal for students learning about or candidates interested in working with cloud native technologies.
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About This Certification

A certified KCNA will confirm conceptual knowledge of the entire cloud native ecosystem, particularly focusing on Kubernetes. The KCNA exam is intended to prepare candidates to work with cloud native technologies and pursue further CNCF credentials, including CKA, CKAD, and CKS.
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What It Demonstrates

The certification will demonstrate a candidate’s basic knowledge of Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies, including how to deploy an application using basic kubectl commands, the architecture of Kubernetes (containers, pods, nodes, clusters), understanding the cloud-native landscape and projects (storage, networking, GitOps, service mesh), and understanding the principles of cloud-native security.
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Domains & Competencies
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Kubernetes Fundamentals46%
Kubernetes Resources
Kubernetes Architecture
Kubernetes API
Containers
Scheduling
Container Orchestration22%
Container Orchestration Fundamentals
Runtime
Security
Networking
Service Mesh
Storage
Cloud Native Architecture16%
Autoscaling
Serverless
Community and Governance
Roles and Personas
Open Standards
Cloud Native Observability8%
Telemetry & Observability
Prometheus
Cost Management
Cloud Native Application Delivery8%
Application Delivery Fundamentals
GitOps
CI/CD

Prerequisites
There are no pre-requisites for this exam.
Reviews
May 2024
The questions focused on practical knowledge about the cloud native development environments. Also, they included real-life scenarios, which could only be answered after a good study of the course material. Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good benchmark to test someone's readiness for cloud-native development.
Apr 2024
Studying for it helped to consolidate and fill in gaps in knowledge acquired while working in a nontech role in a CNCF company. I feel inspired to learn more.
Mar 2024
The questions were tough enough that I had to give it considerable study effort, ensuring I now have a good grasp of the concepts and terminology. I can now confidently participate in discussions with my platform engineers.
Jan 2024
It's a good introduction to the Cloud Native ecosystem. The focus is more on concepts with respect to practice, and I think that's good for a correct Kubernetes first approach.
Dec 2023
It is pretty challenging exam even though it is associated level. I refreshed my knowledge on Kubernetes, Prometheus and Cloud Native concepts.
Aug 2023
The exam was conducted in a smooth, seamless manner. It will definitely help people who are new to cloud-native and wish to build a career in this field.
Apr 2023
KCNA provides an opportunity for beginners in cloud native to test their knowledge of Kubernetes more effectively.
Jul 2022
The KCNA offers a great introductory syllabus for IT professionals looking to understand more about the importance of cloud and DevOps principals.
Jul 2022
It forced me to take time to learn and practice test questions for this exam. I ended up using two sources to study the material, and paced myself to understand the content vs just trying to pass the exam. It is a good foundational course for beginners, but does require some K8S and Cloud Native terminology know how.
Apr 2022
I felt like the exam was challenging, even thought it is suited towards beginners. I like the fact that it didn't cover just Kubernetes, but also different related technologies.