CKA Troubleshooting Practice Question
A Pod is stuck in Pending state. 'kubectl describe pod' shows the event: '0/4 nodes are available: 1 node had taint {node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane: }, that the pod didn't tolerate, 3 Insufficient cpu.' Which of the following is the most likely combination of issues?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates may misinterpret '0/4 nodes are available' as all nodes having the same issue, but the event message lists distinct reasons per node, requiring careful reading to identify the combination of taint and resource insufficiency.
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
✓
Three nodes have insufficient CPU for the pod's request, and one node has a taint not tolerated by the pod
The event message explicitly states that 1 node has a taint (node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane) that the pod does not tolerate, and 3 nodes have insufficient CPU. This means the pod's CPU request cannot be satisfied on three nodes, and the remaining node is tainted, leaving no schedulable node. Option A correctly identifies this combination of issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Three nodes have insufficient CPU for the pod's request, and one node has a taint not tolerated by the pod
Why this is correct
The kubectl describe pod output lists Events from the scheduler. In this case, the events directly report two distinct issues: three nodes have insufficient CPU to satisfy the pod's resource request, and one node has a taint for which the pod has no matching toleration. Since these are the exact messages shown, this option correctly captures the full diagnosis.
- ✗
The pod has a resource request that exceeds available CPU on all nodes
Why it's wrong here
This option is only partially true. The scheduler reported that three nodes have insufficient CPU, meaning those nodes lack enough allocatable CPU for the pod's request, but the remaining node's problem is an untolerated taint, not a CPU shortage. Therefore the claim that all nodes lack CPU is false; one node may actually have sufficient free CPU but is unavailable due to a taint. The option overstates the resource constraint.
- ✗
The pod does not tolerate any taints, and all nodes have taints
Why it's wrong here
This misstates the event detail. Only one node in the cluster has a taint relevant to the pod; the other three nodes are not tainted but have insufficient CPU. Moreover, 'does not tolerate any taints' is inaccurate because the pod could tolerate other taints, just not the specific one present. The problem is not that every node is tainted.
- ✗
The cluster has only one node with sufficient CPU, but it is cordoned
Why it's wrong here
Cordoning is a manual node maintenance state where the scheduler avoids placing new pods, but the described events mention nothing about a node being cordoned. Instead, the events specifically identify an untolerated taint on one node and insufficient CPU on three nodes. If a node were cordoned, 'kubectl describe node' would show SchedulingDisabled, but the pod's events would typically say 'node(s) cordoned.' Since these messages are absent, cordoning is not part of this diagnosis.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Kubernetes Architecture Overview
Key term
Ingress Resources
Ingress Resources are Kubernetes API objects that manage external access to services inside a cluster, typically HTTP and HTTPS traffic, by defining rules for routing requests based on hostnames and paths.
Key term
kubectl Command Reference
kubectl is the command-line tool used to interact with and manage Kubernetes clusters by sending commands to the Kubernetes API.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.