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

Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)

Your Kubernetes & cloud native career path starts here. Proving you understand cloud native ecosystems will help you land that dream job.

KCNA includes:

✔ 12-months to schedule & take the exam
✔ Two exam attempts
✔ Exam Preparation Handbook

How will the KCNA benefit me?

  • Career Advancement
  • Industry-wide Credential Recognition
  • Proves Your High-Demand Cloud Skills
  • Networking Opportunities

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What about AWS, Red Hat & other certs?

Make sure your credentials include a strong foundation that is vendor-neutral to offer you the most career flexibility and growth. Add KCNA to your career profile today & check out our career roadmap for what's next.
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Not sure if you're ready? Check out these resources!

Domains & Competencies
Expand All
Collapse All
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

About the 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. 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 and distinguish yourself as certified for prospective employers.


What comes next? Consider showing off your Kubernetes & cloud native security skills by earning your Kubernetes and Cloud Native Security Associate (KCSA) or go next level with the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) certification.

Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this exam.
Reviews
Jun 2024
Questions and answer choices are clearly worded. The exam covers a broad area, so preparing for the exam helped me to better structure my knowledge on k8s and Cloud Native topics.
Jun 2024
Even though it is a "beginner" certification for Kubernetes, the exam was quite challenging. This is generally good, as it requires good preparation and a relatively deep understanding of the concepts related to Kubernetes.
Jun 2024
I enjoyed the technical questions about Kubernetes and how there are also questions on other CNCF projects that would be relevant in architecting Cloud Native solutions.
Jun 2024
This KCNA exam is perfect for someone who wants to start their Kubernetes journey.
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.