200-901 Application Deployment and Security Practice Question
A Kubernetes Service must expose a pod running a database to other pods in the same cluster, but not externally. Which Service type should be used?
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
✓
ClusterIP
ClusterIP exposes the service on a cluster-internal IP, making it accessible only within the cluster.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
ClusterIP
Why this is correct
ClusterIP assigns the Service a virtual IP reachable only from within the cluster, satisfying the requirement that the database be accessible to other pods but never exposed externally. NodePort and LoadBalancer would publish it beyond the cluster, and headless Services suit direct pod addressing rather than stable internal load balancing.
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LoadBalancer
Why it's wrong here
LoadBalancer provisions an external cloud load balancer with a public address, exposing the database outside the cluster. It would be correct for internet-facing services, but the requirement is internal-only access, which ClusterIP satisfies without external exposure.
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ExternalName
Why it's wrong here
ExternalName maps a Service to an external DNS name via a CNAME record, providing no cluster IP or endpoint selection for pods. It would be correct for aliasing an external database, but here the database pod runs inside the cluster and needs internal discovery.
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NodePort
Why it's wrong here
NodePort opens a static port on every node's IP, making the database reachable from outside the cluster. It would be correct for exposing a service on node addresses, but internal-only pod-to-pod access needs ClusterIP, which assigns a cluster-internal virtual IP.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.