CKA Services and Networking Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are CNI plugins?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse cluster networking components (kube-proxy, CoreDNS) with CNI plugins, which are specifically responsible for pod-level network connectivity and IP assignment, not service proxying or DNS resolution.
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
✓
Flannel
Flannel is a CNI plugin that provides a simple overlay network for Kubernetes clusters, typically using VXLAN or host-gw to encapsulate and route pod traffic across nodes. It implements the Container Network Interface (CNI) specification by installing a binary and configuration file on each node, enabling pod-to-pod communication without requiring a separate network daemon.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
kube-proxy
Why it's wrong here
kube-proxy is a network proxy, not a CNI plugin.
- ✓
Flannel
Why this is correct
Correct. Flannel is a CNI plugin.
- ✓
Weave
Why this is correct
Correct. Weave is a CNI plugin.
- ✗
CoreDNS
Why it's wrong here
CoreDNS is a DNS server, not a CNI plugin.
- ✓
Calico
Why this is correct
Correct. Calico is a CNI plugin.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Kubernetes Architecture Overview
Key term
CNI Plugins
CNI plugins are modular software components that configure container network interfaces according to the Container Network Interface specification, allowing containers to communicate within a Kubernetes cluster.
Key term
Network Policies
A Kubernetes resource that controls how pods communicate with each other and with other network endpoints, acting as a firewall for pod-to-pod traffic.
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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.