Certification > Cloud & Containers > CKNE Certification Pathway

CERTIFICATION PATHWAY

Build practical Kubernetes networking skills through a structured series of learning modules aligned with the CKNE certification domains and competencies.

Get everything you need in one pathway. Includes all learning modules and the Certified Kubernetes Networking Engineer (CKNE) exam. Develop your skills with hands-on labs, additional resources, and real-world troubleshooting experience as you prepare for certification.

Build Your Skills

Develop practical Kubernetes networking skills through focused learning modules covering the CKNE certification domains and competencies.

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Follow Your Pathway

Progress from network foundations and service networking to advanced traffic management, network security, and observability through a structured learning experience.

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Validate Your Knowledge

Put your learning into context with additional resources and real-world experience, then validate your knowledge with the CKNE certification exam.

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Pathway Outline

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Kubernetes Network Foundations: CNI and Pod Connectivity (LFS2015)

Course Introduction
Kubernetes Pod Networking
Installing and Managing CNI Plugins
IPAM and Pod CIDR Allocation
Tracing Pod Connectivity with Linux Tools
Multi-Interface Pods with Multus

Kubernetes Service Networking and DNS (LFS2016)

Course Introduction
The Service Dataplane
Configuring and Exposing L4 Services
Endpoint Availability and Lifecycle
DNS Resolution with CoreDNS
Gateway API Ingress
Isolating a Service Failure Across Layers

Advanced Kubernetes Traffic Management (LFS2017)

Course Introduction
Advanced Traffic Management: Foundations and Frameworks
Optimizing Traffic for Latency-Sensitive Workloads
BGP-Based Route Advertisement
Egress Gateways
Cross-Cluster Service Discovery and Load Balancing

Kubernetes Network Security and Policy (LFS2018)

Course Introduction
Architecting Secure Kubernetes Networks
Network Policies: Least-Privilege Pod Communication
Node and Pod Level Encryption
TLS Certificate Management for Gateway API
Pod-Level Authentication and Authorization with SPIFFE/SPIRE

Kubernetes Network Observability (LFS2019)

Course Introduction
The Three Observability Pillars for Kubernetes Networking
Analyzing Network Health Using Metrics
Troubleshooting End-to-End Network Performance with Tracing
Auditing Traffic with Logs
Moving Between Pillars

Lab Info

All labs run in a hosted Linux Foundation environment, so no local installation is required. Learners need a modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, latest two versions) and a stable internet connection capable of maintaining a persistent terminal session.

Domains & Competencies

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Core Infrastructure and CNI15%

Installing and Configuring CNI Plugins
Managing IPAM and Pod CIDR Allocation
Using Linux Tools (iptables, ip, tcpdump) for Packet-level Issues
Troubleshooting Pod Connectivity (DNS, pod-to-pod)
Configuring Multi-interface Pods

Service Networking and DNS25%

Configuring L4 Services
Understanding kube-proxy and CNI Alternatives
Customizing coreDNS for Services
Troubleshooting Service Network Traffic
Configuring Pod Endpoint Availability
Managing Traffic with the Gateway API (Gateway, HTTPRoutes)

Advanced Traffic Management20%

Optimizing LLM Traffic
Implementing Routing to Expose Networks
Configuring Egress Gateways for Cluster Exit Traffic
Implementing Cross Cluster Service Discovery and Load Balancing

Network Security and Policy25%

Securing Traffic with Network Policies
Implementing Node and Pod Level Encryption
Managing TLS Certificates for Gateway API
Implementing Pod-level Authentication and Authorization

Observability15%

Analyzing Network Health Using Metrics
Troubleshooting End to End Network Performance with Tracing
Auditing Traffic with Logs

Exam Details & Resources

This exam is an online, proctored, performance-based test that requires solving multiple tasks from within a Linux-based remote desktop using the terminal and web-based interfaces. Candidates have 2 hours to complete the tasks. Please review The Linux Foundation certification Policies and FAQ below.

About the CKNE

The CKNE validates hands-on skill in Kubernetes networking, security, and troubleshooting for platform engineers, network engineers, and SREs.

Once you pass the exam, be sure to add your new badge to your LinkedIn, LFX, GitHub & other profiles to help you better connect with the open source community an distinguish yourself as certified for prospective employers.

Prerequisites

Knowledge/Skills Prerequisites (All courses)

Learners should have at least two years of cloud native or infrastructure operations experience, along with a solid foundation in both Linux networking and Kubernetes administration.
For Linux, learners should be comfortable at the command line and with basic shell scripting. They should also be able to work with network namespaces, veth pairs, software bridges, routing tables, and iptables rules, and use diagnostic tools such as ip, tcpdump, ss, and dig.
For Kubernetes, CKA-level administration skills are required. This includes deploying and inspecting workloads with kubectl and YAML, understanding the Kubernetes networking model, and having a basic working knowledge of CoreDNS, NetworkPolicy, EndpointSlices, and PKI and TLS concepts.
No prior experience with Prometheus, Jaeger, Tempo, service meshes, security engineering, or ML infrastructure is needed, since the courses introduce each of these from a networking perspective.