This 200-901 practice question tests your understanding of application deployment and security. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A developer is deploying a microservice to a Kubernetes cluster. The application needs to read a database password securely without hardcoding it in the image. Which Kubernetes resource should be used?
ConfigMap
Why wrong: ConfigMap is for non-sensitive configuration data.
ServiceAccount
Why wrong: ServiceAccount provides identity for pods, not secrets.
PersistentVolume
Why wrong: PersistentVolume is for storage, not secrets.
Secret
Secret is designed for sensitive data like passwords.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Secret
Option D (Secret) is correct because Kubernetes Secrets are specifically designed to store sensitive data such as database passwords, API keys, and certificates. They can be mounted as files or injected as environment variables into pods, ensuring the password is never hardcoded in the container image. Secrets are base64-encoded and can be encrypted at rest using etcd encryption or external KMS providers, providing a secure mechanism for managing credentials.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
ConfigMap
Why it's wrong here
ConfigMap is for non-sensitive configuration data.
ServiceAccount
Why it's wrong here
ServiceAccount provides identity for pods, not secrets.
PersistentVolume
Why it's wrong here
PersistentVolume is for storage, not secrets.
Secret
Why this is correct
Secret is designed for sensitive data like passwords.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Cisco often tests the distinction between ConfigMaps and Secrets, trapping candidates who assume that base64 encoding provides security or that ConfigMaps can safely store passwords because they are 'just configuration.'
Detailed technical explanation
Kubernetes Secrets store data as base64-encoded strings in etcd, but by default they are not encrypted at rest unless etcd encryption is enabled or an external KMS provider (e.g., AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault) is configured. When a Secret is mounted as a volume, it creates a tmpfs (in-memory filesystem) to avoid writing sensitive data to disk, and environment variable injection occurs at pod creation time. In production, tools like HashiCorp Vault or external secret operators are often used for dynamic secret rotation and fine-grained access control.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the 200-901 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Application Deployment and Security — This question tests Application Deployment and Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Secret — Option D (Secret) is correct because Kubernetes Secrets are specifically designed to store sensitive data such as database passwords, API keys, and certificates. They can be mounted as files or injected as environment variables into pods, ensuring the password is never hardcoded in the container image. Secrets are base64-encoded and can be encrypted at rest using etcd encryption or external KMS providers, providing a secure mechanism for managing credentials.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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