This CKA practice question tests your understanding of workloads and scheduling. 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 Deployment 'web' has replicas=3 and update strategy RollingUpdate with maxSurge=50% and maxUnavailable=0. You update the container image. During the rollout, what is the maximum number of pods that can be running simultaneously?
4
maxSurge=1, so total running pods can be up to 4.
3
Why wrong: This is the desired number, but rolling update allows additional pods via maxSurge.
5
Why wrong: Not possible with maxSurge=1.
6
Why wrong: Not possible with maxSurge=1.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
4
With maxSurge=50% (rounded up to 1) and maxUnavailable=0, the Deployment can create up to 1 extra pod above the desired 3 during a rolling update. Therefore, the maximum number of pods running simultaneously is 3 (desired) + 1 (surge) = 4.
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.
4
Why this is correct
maxSurge=1, so total running pods can be up to 4.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
3
Why it's wrong here
This is the desired number, but rolling update allows additional pods via maxSurge.
5
Why it's wrong here
Not possible with maxSurge=1.
6
Why it's wrong here
Not possible with maxSurge=1.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often forget that maxSurge is rounded up (ceil) when expressed as a percentage, leading them to miscalculate the surge as 1.5 (which rounds to 2) instead of correctly rounding 50% of 3 to 1.
Detailed technical explanation
The RollingUpdate strategy uses maxSurge and maxUnavailable to control the pace of updates. maxSurge is a percentage or absolute number of extra pods allowed above the desired count, rounded up (ceil). maxUnavailable=0 ensures no pods are taken down before new ones are ready, so the rollout creates a new pod first, then terminates an old one, maintaining at least 3 pods but allowing up to 4 during the transition.
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 CKA 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
Workloads and Scheduling — This question tests Workloads and Scheduling — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: 4 — With maxSurge=50% (rounded up to 1) and maxUnavailable=0, the Deployment can create up to 1 extra pod above the desired 3 during a rolling update. Therefore, the maximum number of pods running simultaneously is 3 (desired) + 1 (surge) = 4.
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
This CKA practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF 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 CKA exam.
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