This CKAD practice question tests your understanding of application deployment. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
A developer wants to ensure that a critical application always runs on every node in the cluster. Which resource should they use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "always"
Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
StatefulSet
Why wrong: StatefulSet is for stateful apps with unique identities.
ReplicaSet
Why wrong: ReplicaSet is a lower-level resource used by Deployment.
Deployment
Why wrong: Deployment runs a desired number of replicas, not necessarily on all nodes.
DaemonSet
DaemonSet runs a pod on every node automatically.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
DaemonSet
A DaemonSet ensures that a pod runs on every node in the cluster, or on a subset of nodes based on a node selector. This is the correct resource for deploying a critical application that must be present on all nodes, such as a logging agent or a monitoring daemon.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
StatefulSet
Why it's wrong here
StatefulSet is for stateful apps with unique identities.
ReplicaSet
Why it's wrong here
ReplicaSet is a lower-level resource used by Deployment.
Deployment
Why it's wrong here
Deployment runs a desired number of replicas, not necessarily on all nodes.
DaemonSet
Why this is correct
DaemonSet runs a pod on every node automatically.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "always" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse DaemonSet with Deployment or ReplicaSet, thinking that setting a high replica count in a Deployment will achieve the same effect, but only DaemonSet guarantees a pod on every node regardless of scaling or scheduling constraints.
Detailed technical explanation
DaemonSets use the Kubernetes scheduler to place a pod on each node, but they can also be configured with node selectors, tolerations, or affinity rules to target specific nodes. Under the hood, the DaemonSet controller watches the node list and creates or deletes pods as nodes are added or removed, ensuring exactly one pod per matching node. A real-world scenario is deploying a network plugin like Calico or Flannel, which must run on every node to manage pod networking.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the CKAD 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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Application Deployment — This question tests Application Deployment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: DaemonSet — A DaemonSet ensures that a pod runs on every node in the cluster, or on a subset of nodes based on a node selector. This is the correct resource for deploying a critical application that must be present on all nodes, such as a logging agent or a monitoring daemon.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "always". Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This CKAD 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 CKAD exam.
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