This CKA practice question tests your understanding of workloads and scheduling. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 Deployment with spec.replicas=3. You update the container image. The rollout gets stuck because the new ReplicaSet cannot create pods due to an image pull error. Which command would you use to roll back to the previous revision?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Why wrong: This rolls back to revision 1, not necessarily the previous one. If current is revision 2, previous is revision 1, but if there are more revisions, this may not be the immediate previous.
C
kubectl rollout revert deployment/<name>
Why wrong: No such command.
D
kubectl rollout rollback deployment/<name>
Why wrong: 'rollback' is not a valid subcommand; the correct subcommand is 'undo'.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>
Option A is correct because `kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>` reverts the Deployment to the previous revision by default. This command uses the rollout history stored in the Deployment's annotations (specifically `deployment.kubernetes.io/revision`) to restore the prior ReplicaSet's pod template, effectively undoing the failed image update.
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.
✓
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>
Why this is correct
Correct. Undoes the last rollout.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
This rolls back to revision 1, not necessarily the previous one. If current is revision 2, previous is revision 1, but if there are more revisions, this may not be the immediate previous.
✗
kubectl rollout revert deployment/<name>
Why it's wrong here
No such command.
✗
kubectl rollout rollback deployment/<name>
Why it's wrong here
'rollback' is not a valid subcommand; the correct subcommand is 'undo'.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse the `undo` command with non-existent verbs like `revert` or `rollback`, or incorrectly assume `--to-revision=1` is required to go back one step, when the default behavior already targets the previous revision.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
No such command.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, `kubectl rollout undo` works by reading the Deployment's rollout history stored in its `metadata.annotations` (e.g., `deployment.kubernetes.io/revision` and `kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configuration`). It then creates a new ReplicaSet with the pod template from the specified revision, scales down the current ReplicaSet, and scales up the new one. A real-world scenario is when a misconfigured image (e.g., wrong tag or registry credentials) causes a rollout to hang; `undo` quickly restores service without manual ReplicaSet edits.
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 practitioner preparing for the CKA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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: kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name> — Option A is correct because `kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>` reverts the Deployment to the previous revision by default. This command uses the rollout history stored in the Deployment's annotations (specifically `deployment.kubernetes.io/revision`) to restore the prior ReplicaSet's pod template, effectively undoing the failed image update.
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: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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