CKA Workloads and Scheduling Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are valid strategies for a Deployment's rolling update? (Select TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse `podManagementPolicy` (a StatefulSet-only field) with Deployment update strategies, or incorrectly assume that `scaleUp` is a valid rolling update parameter, when in fact only `maxSurge` and `maxUnavailable` are 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
✓
maxUnavailable: 0
In a Kubernetes Deployment's rollingUpdate strategy, maxUnavailable: 0 (option A) is valid because it guarantees that the number of available Pods never drops below the desired replica count during an update, forcing new Pods to become Ready before old ones are terminated. maxSurge: 1 (option B) is also valid because it allows the Deployment to temporarily exceed the desired replica count by one Pod, enabling new Pods to be created before old ones are removed. Both fields belong under spec.strategy.rollingUpdate and accept either an integer or a percentage. Option C (podManagementPolicy: OrderedReady) is a StatefulSet field, not a Deployment rolling-update parameter. Option D (scaleUp: 2) is not a Kubernetes Deployment field at all. Option E (type: Recreate) is a valid Deployment strategy type, but it is not a rolling-update strategy since it terminates all existing Pods before creating new ones.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
maxUnavailable: 0
Why this is correct
Setting maxUnavailable to 0 ensures that no pods are terminated before new ones are ready. This guarantees that 100% of the desired replica count remains available during a rolling update, preventing any capacity drop. It is a valid configuration under the rollingUpdate strategy field of a Deployment.
- ✓
maxSurge: 1
Why this is correct
Setting maxSurge to 1 allows the Deployment controller to create one additional pod above the desired replica count during a rolling update. This ensures a smooth transition by spinning up new pods before terminating old ones. It is a valid parameter under the spec.strategy.rollingUpdate configuration.
- ✗
podManagementPolicy: OrderedReady
Why it's wrong here
The podManagementPolicy field, along with its value OrderedReady, is exclusive to StatefulSets and is used to control the provisioning and scaling guarantees of stateful pods. Deployments manage stateless pods concurrently and do not support this field. Attempting to use it in a Deployment spec will result in a validation error.
- ✗
scaleUp: 2
Why it's wrong here
The scaleUp field is not a valid parameter within the Deployment's spec.strategy block. While scaling behavior can be configured under HorizontalPodAutoscaler (HPA) behavior settings, the Deployment rolling update strategy only recognizes maxSurge and maxUnavailable to control the rate of pod replacement.
- ✗
type: Recreate
Why it's wrong here
Although Recreate is a valid Deployment strategy type, the question specifically asks for parameters that define a rolling update strategy. Choosing Recreate terminates all existing pods before any new ones are created, which introduces downtime and does not utilize rolling update parameters like maxSurge or maxUnavailable.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Installing Kubernetes with kubeadm
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.
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.
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