CKA Troubleshooting Practice Question
You run 'kubectl get nodes' and see that a node is 'NotReady'. You SSH into the node and run 'systemctl status kubelet'. The output shows 'Active: inactive (dead)'. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse a stopped kubelet with a kubelet that is running but unhealthy (e.g., due to container runtime issues), leading them to select option D, but the 'inactive (dead)' status specifically indicates the service is not running at all, not that it is failing to start.
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
✓
The kubelet service is stopped
The kubelet is the primary node agent that runs on every node and is responsible for maintaining pod lifecycles. When 'systemctl status kubelet' shows 'Active: inactive (dead)', it means the kubelet systemd service is not running. Since the kubelet must be active for the node to report its status to the control plane, a stopped kubelet directly causes the node to be 'NotReady'.
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 network plugin is misconfigured
Why it's wrong here
A misconfigured Container Network Interface (CNI) plugin primarily affects pod networking, preventing pods from obtaining IP addresses or communicating across the cluster. While this can lead to a node being marked `NotReady` with specific conditions like `NetworkUnavailable`, the kubelet service itself would typically remain active and running. The kubelet's role is to report the node's overall health, and it would still be able to communicate its own operational status to the API server, even if it cannot properly configure pod networks for pods.
- ✗
The node has been cordoned
Why it's wrong here
Cordoning a node using `kubectl cordon` is a scheduling directive that marks the node as unschedulable for new pods, preventing the Kubernetes scheduler from placing new workloads on it. This administrative action does not impact the operational status or health of the kubelet service or the node's existing workloads. Consequently, a cordoned node will still report its `Ready` status to the Kubernetes API server, as its underlying components are functioning correctly, merely preventing new pod assignments.
- ✓
The kubelet service is stopped
Why this is correct
The kubelet is the primary agent responsible for registering the node with the Kubernetes API server and continuously reporting its health, resource utilization, and the status of pods running on it. If the kubelet service is stopped or inactive, it ceases to send heartbeats and status updates to the control plane. This complete lack of communication directly causes the API server to mark the node as `NotReady`, as it can no longer ascertain the node's operational state or manage its workloads.
- ✗
The container runtime is not installed
Why it's wrong here
While the kubelet relies on a container runtime (such as containerd or CRI-O) to manage and run pods, the kubelet service itself can still be active even if the runtime is missing, misconfigured, or has failed. In such a scenario, the kubelet would likely report specific conditions such as `ContainerRuntimeNotReady` or `KubeletNotReady` due to `ContainerRuntimeFailure` to the API server. However, the kubelet process would still be running and attempting to communicate with the API server, rather than being completely stopped and unresponsive.
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JA
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.