Honest scope

Before you subscribe, read this. We'd rather you skip the trial than feel misled later.

KubernetesTrainer.com is built by one developer as a side project. It's grown carefully and we keep it honest. Here's what's true:

What KubernetesTrainer is

✓ A browser-based kubectl simulator

Practice 40+ kubectl verbs (get, describe, apply, create, delete, edit, patch, scale, rollout, logs, exec, drain, cordon, top, etc.) on a simulated cluster. No install. No real cluster to break.

✓ 23 hands-on CKA-style scenarios

Each scenario is solvable with kubectl and validated automatically. Includes troubleshooting (CrashLoopBackOff, ImagePullBackOff, drain-failure), RBAC (4 scenarios), Networking (2 NetworkPolicy + 3 Services), Storage, and Workloads (rolling updates, scaling).

✓ A timed Mock Exam

13 random scenarios from the premium pool, 2 hours, 66% to pass — same format as the real CKA. Manual validation only (no auto-validate), just like the real exam.

✓ Includes Helm, Git, vim/nano, etcdctl, kubeadm

Full support for Helm CKA-core commands. Git is built in for scenarios that test GitOps flows. Etcdctl for backup/restore tasks. Kubeadm for cluster upgrade scenarios.

What KubernetesTrainer isn't

✗ Not a replacement for Killer.sh

Killer.sh is included with your CKA exam purchase ($445 covers exam + 2 Killer.sh attempts). It is the official simulator. KubernetesTrainer is a practice space for the weeks before you use those Killer.sh sessions — cheap, unlimited tries, no time pressure.

✗ Not a video course

If you've never seen Kubernetes before, start with a video course (KodeKloud, A Cloud Guru, free YouTube content). KubernetesTrainer assumes you understand the basics — pods, services, deployments — and want hands-on reps.

✗ Not a complete CKA simulator — yet

Today (May 2026) we have 23 scenarios. Killer.sh (the official simulator included with your exam registration) provides 20–25 questions per session — the same set for every candidate. We're adding new scenarios every few weeks. Some 2025-curriculum topics — Kustomize overlays, CRDs, DNS troubleshooting with dig, container-runtime debugging with crictl — are not yet covered. If those are critical for your study path, wait or use other tools too.

✗ Not a real cluster

This is a simulated cluster. kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml works realistically, but you won't actually pull images from a registry or run real containers. The simulator is detailed (40+ kubectl verbs, full vim/nano, multi-node, namespaces, RBAC, NetworkPolicies) but it is a simulator. For real-cluster practice, use minikube, kind, or a cloud sandbox.

✗ Not affiliated with CNCF, Linux Foundation, Google, or any Kubernetes vendor

"Certified Kubernetes Administrator" and "CKA" are trademarks of CNCF / Linux Foundation. We're an unofficial third-party practice tool. Take the actual exam at training.linuxfoundation.org.

Pricing honesty

Free tier: 10 scenarios fully free, no credit card needed. Includes troubleshoot-crashloop, RBAC basics, service exposure, rolling updates. Enough to know if you like the style before paying.

Premium monthly: 199 SEK/month (~$19 USD). Unlocks the remaining 13 scenarios + Mock Exam + progress sync across devices.

Premium yearly: 1990 SEK/year (~$190 USD) — saves you 2 months vs paying monthly.

Cancel anytime via Stripe customer portal. We don't lock you in. We don't ask why you're leaving (but you can tell us).

Who we are

One person: an HPC systems administrator from Sweden. KubernetesTrainer is part of the HPC Learning Hub — a family of browser-based trainers for HPC and cloud-native tools.

Why this exists: the official CKA practice space (Killer.sh) is excellent but you only get 2 sessions of 36h each. For the weeks before that, you need somewhere to drill kubectl reps without breaking real clusters. KubernetesTrainer is that.

If something is broken or wrong, email info@hpclearninghub.com. One developer reads every message.

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