This CKA practice question tests your understanding of workloads and scheduling. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
You have a CronJob that runs a backup job every 5 minutes. The job takes about 2 minutes to complete. You notice that sometimes two job pods are running simultaneously. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The concurrencyPolicy is set to 'Allow' (default) which permits overlapping executions.
Option B is correct because the default `concurrencyPolicy` for a CronJob is `Allow`, which permits new Job pods to start even if a previous Job is still running. Since the backup takes 2 minutes and the CronJob runs every 5 minutes, overlapping executions should not normally occur unless the Job duration exceeds the interval. However, if the `concurrencyPolicy` is set to `Allow`, the CronJob controller will create a new Job pod regardless of whether the previous one is still running, leading to simultaneous pods. The most likely cause is that the `concurrencyPolicy` is explicitly or implicitly set to `Allow`, allowing overlapping executions.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The backup takes longer than expected due to data volume.
Why it's wrong here
Even if it takes longer, the default policy still allows overlap; the cause is the policy, not the duration.
✓
The concurrencyPolicy is set to 'Allow' (default) which permits overlapping executions.
Why this is correct
Default concurrencyPolicy is Allow, so new jobs can start before old ones finish.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The job's parallelism is set to 2.
Why it's wrong here
Parallelism controls the number of pods for a single job execution, not multiple job runs.
✗
The CronJob's startingDeadlineSeconds is set too low.
Why it's wrong here
startingDeadlineSeconds controls how late a job can start after its scheduled time, not concurrency.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume the default `concurrencyPolicy` is `Forbid` or that CronJobs inherently prevent overlapping executions, but the default is actually `Allow`, which permits concurrent runs unless explicitly configured otherwise.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The CronJob controller in Kubernetes uses the `concurrencyPolicy` field to determine how to handle overlapping Job executions. The default value is `Allow`, which means the controller will create a new Job pod even if the previous one is still running. In contrast, `Forbid` prevents new Jobs from starting until the current one finishes, and `Replace` cancels the running Job and starts a new one. This behavior is critical for workloads like backups where overlapping executions could cause data corruption or resource contention. A real-world scenario is a database backup CronJob where `Allow` could lead to multiple backup processes writing to the same snapshot, causing inconsistencies.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CKA question in full detail.
Workloads and Scheduling — This question tests Workloads and Scheduling — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The concurrencyPolicy is set to 'Allow' (default) which permits overlapping executions. — Option B is correct because the default `concurrencyPolicy` for a CronJob is `Allow`, which permits new Job pods to start even if a previous Job is still running. Since the backup takes 2 minutes and the CronJob runs every 5 minutes, overlapping executions should not normally occur unless the Job duration exceeds the interval. However, if the `concurrencyPolicy` is set to `Allow`, the CronJob controller will create a new Job pod regardless of whether the previous one is still running, leading to simultaneous pods. The most likely cause is that the `concurrencyPolicy` is explicitly or implicitly set to `Allow`, allowing overlapping executions.
What should I do if I get this CKA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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