Memorize Kubernetes Essentials: 49 Flashcards on Pods, Services and Controllers
Kubernetes Essentials deck CW7729: 49 flashcards on pods, Services, StatefulSets, probes, RBAC and Helm, with decision cards and 3 outdated backs to update.
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Kubernetes has a vocabulary problem before it has a technical one: Deployment, ReplicaSet, StatefulSet, DaemonSet and Job all "run pods", and the differences are exactly what CKA questions and interviews probe. Deck CW7729 — Kubernetes Essentials packs that vocabulary into 49 dense cards, most of them with a one-line definition followed by a list of types, modes or commands.
Study this deck: Kubernetes Essentials
1 / 10Kubernetes
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
Seven cards from the deck
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Pod | Smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes. Contains one or more containers that share network namespace and storage volumes |
| ClusterIP, NodePort, vs LoadBalancer | ClusterIP: internal only, default · NodePort: static port on each node (30000-32767) · LoadBalancer: provisions an external load balancer |
| Secret | Like ConfigMap but for sensitive data. Base64 encoded (NOT encrypted by default) |
| Deployment vs StatefulSet | Deployment: stateless, interchangeable pods, random names · StatefulSet: stable identity, ordered deployment (0, 1, 2…) |
| Readiness Probe | If it fails, endpoints are removed from the Service. Pod stays alive but doesn't receive traffic |
| Resource Requests and Limits | Requests: guaranteed (used by the scheduler) · Limits: maximum. CPU throttled at limit, memory OOMKilled |
| Kubectl apply vs create difference | create fails if the resource exists; apply is declarative and idempotent |
The full map of the deck
- Architecture: cluster, node, control plane, API server, etcd (Raft), scheduler, controller manager, kubelet, kube-proxy (iptables, IPVS), Container Runtime Interface (containerd, CRI-O).
- Workloads: Pod, Deployment, ReplicaSet, StatefulSet, DaemonSet, Job, CronJob (
*/5 * * * *). - Networking: Service types, Ingress, Ingress Controller, NetworkPolicy (needs Calico, Cilium or Weave).
- Config & storage: ConfigMap, Secret, Volume (emptyDir, hostPath), PersistentVolume, PersistentVolumeClaim.
- Organisation & security: Namespace, labels, equality- vs set-based selectors, annotations, ServiceAccount, RBAC (Role, ClusterRole, RoleBinding), Pod Security Standards (Privileged, Baseline, Restricted).
- Operations: HPA, VPA, liveness/readiness/startup probes, ResourceQuota, LimitRange, Helm charts, rolling updates (
maxSurge,maxUnavailable), blue-green, canary, CRDs, Operators,kubectl applyvscreatevsreplace.
Study it as decision cards, not definitions
The deck already contains three comparison cards (Service types, Deployment vs StatefulSet, apply vs create). Write the missing ones yourself, because that is how the exam asks: "Which controller?" (one per node → DaemonSet; runs to completion → Job; stable name and disk → StatefulSet; everything else → Deployment), "Which probe?" (restart → liveness; stop traffic → readiness; slow boot → startup) and "Which limit?" (one container → LimitRange; whole namespace → ResourceQuota). Six or seven such cards reorganise half the deck.
Three backs to update
The deck is accurate but written for a slightly older Kubernetes:
- Card 45 (CRI) lists "Docker (deprecated)". Dockershim was removed in v1.24; images built with Docker still run, through containerd.
- Card 48 pairs Pod Security Policy with its replacement. PSP was removed in v1.25; learn only Pod Security Admission and its three levels.
- Card 21 (Ingress Controller) names nginx-ingress first. The community ingress-nginx project was retired in March 2026, and the Gateway API (GatewayClass, Gateway, HTTPRoute) is the direction to study next — add one card for it.
Card 5 still says "master node": current docs say control plane node.
Find the deck
Log in at flip-it.app and search the library for CW7729. Kubernetes assumes you already read container images fluently — if not, start with our Docker commands and concepts guide.
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