This CKA practice question tests your understanding of troubleshooting. 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 pod is in Pending state. You see the event: '0/2 nodes are available: 2 node(s) had taint {node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane: }, that the pod didn't tolerate'. What should you do to schedule the pod on one of the control-plane nodes?
Increase the pod's resource requests
Why wrong: Resource constraints would show a different event.
Remove the taint from the control-plane node
Why wrong: That would work but is not the best practice; tolerations are preferred.
Use a different namespace
Why wrong: Namespaces do not affect taint/toleration.
Add a toleration to the pod spec matching the taint
Correct. Tolerations allow scheduling on tainted nodes.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Add a toleration to the pod spec matching the taint
Tolerations allow pods to be scheduled on tainted nodes. Adding a toleration that matches the taint permits scheduling.
Key principle: ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Increase the pod's resource requests
Why it's wrong here
Resource constraints would show a different event.
Remove the taint from the control-plane node
Why it's wrong here
That would work but is not the best practice; tolerations are preferred.
Use a different namespace
Why it's wrong here
Namespaces do not affect taint/toleration.
Add a toleration to the pod spec matching the taint
Why this is correct
Correct. Tolerations allow scheduling on tainted nodes.
Related concept
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
Common exam traps
ACLs are processed top to bottom. The first matching entry wins, and an implicit deny usually exists at the end.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Resource constraints would show a different event.
Detailed technical explanation
ACL questions test precision: source, destination, protocol, port and direction. A generally correct ACL can still fail if it is applied on the wrong interface or in the wrong direction.
Key takeaway
ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
Real-world example
A security administrator must allow nursing staff to reach a patient records server while blocking access from the guest Wi-Fi VLAN. After applying an extended ACL, traffic is still blocked from nursing workstations. The ACL was applied outbound instead of inbound on the wrong interface. Questions like this test ACL direction and placement rules.
What to study next
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related CKA ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
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FAQ
Troubleshooting — This question tests Troubleshooting — Standard ACLs match source addresses..
The correct answer is: Add a toleration to the pod spec matching the taint — Tolerations allow pods to be scheduled on tainted nodes. Adding a toleration that matches the taint permits scheduling.
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related CKA ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
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Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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