200-901 Application Deployment and Security Practice Question
A Kubernetes administrator wants to use kubectl to troubleshoot a pod named 'my-pod' that is not starting. Which TWO commands are useful? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is selecting deployment-level commands when the question explicitly asks about a single pod — candidates conflate deployment troubleshooting with pod troubleshooting.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
kubectl describe pod my-pod
Option C, 'kubectl describe pod my-pod', is correct because it surfaces the pod's status conditions, events, and container state details (such as ImagePullBackOff, CrashLoopBackOff, or scheduling failures), which are essential for diagnosing why a pod is not starting. Option E, 'kubectl logs my-pod', is correct because it retrieves the container's stdout/stderr output, revealing application-level errors that prevent the process from running successfully. Option A is not directly useful since 'kubectl get deployment my-deployment' only shows deployment-level status and does not inspect the specific pod 'my-pod'. Option B, 'kubectl rollout status deployment my-deployment', reports rollout progress for a deployment, not the startup failure of an individual pod. Option D, 'kubectl delete pod my-pod', is a remediation action that removes the pod rather than a troubleshooting command to diagnose the failure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
kubectl get deployment my-deployment
Why it's wrong here
Getting the deployment shows replica counts and rollout state, not the failing pod's container status, events, or logs. It is tempting because the pod belongs to a deployment and its status hints at broader trouble. Troubleshooting a named pod requires pod-scoped inspection, such as kubectl describe pod my-pod, which surfaces scheduling, image-pull, and crash-loop causes.
- ✗
kubectl rollout status deployment my-deployment
Why it's wrong here
Rollout status reports deployment revision progress, not why a specific pod fails to start; it never inspects the pod's container state or events. It is tempting because it diagnoses failing deployments generally. The correct commands target the pod directly, such as kubectl describe pod my-pod and kubectl logs my-pod, which expose scheduling, image-pull, and crash details.
- ✓
kubectl describe pod my-pod
Why this is correct
`kubectl describe pod my-pod` surfaces the pod's status conditions, container states and recent events, exposing scheduling failures, image pull errors or crash loops that stop it starting. This directly satisfies the troubleshooting constraint by revealing why the pod cannot launch, without requiring logs from a container that never ran.
- ✗
kubectl delete pod my-pod
Why it's wrong here
Deleting the pod removes the evidence before diagnosis; the controller may recreate it, but logs and events from the failed instance are lost. It is tempting as a quick restart when a pod is stuck. The correct approach inspects first with kubectl describe pod my-pod and kubectl logs my-pod, preserving the failure details needed to identify the cause.
- ✓
kubectl logs my-pod
Why this is correct
`kubectl logs my-pod` retrieves stdout/stderr from the pod's containers, exposing crash messages, failed probes or application errors that explain why it is not starting. This directly satisfies the troubleshooting constraint, since container-level output is the primary diagnostic signal for a pod stuck before readiness.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
This 200-901 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-901 exam.