CKAD Application Observability and Maintenance Practice Question
Which command shows resource usage (CPU/memory) of pods in the default namespace?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse `kubectl get pods -o wide` or `kubectl describe pod` with resource monitoring commands, but neither provides live CPU/memory metrics, which only `kubectl top pod` (with the Metrics Server) can deliver.
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
✓
kubectl top pod
`kubectl top pod` is the Kubernetes command that displays real-time CPU and memory usage metrics for pods, leveraging the metrics server to collect resource utilization data. This command is essential for monitoring pod performance and is part of the Application Observability and Maintenance domain.
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 get pods -o wide
Why it's wrong here
kubectl get pods -o wide lists pod metadata and additional fields such as the node IP and internal IP, but it does not query the cluster's metrics API. It displays only static pod configuration and status, not sampled CPU or memory utilization. To view live resource usage, you must use 'kubectl top pod' which reads from the metrics server.
- ✗
kubectl logs pod
Why it's wrong here
kubectl logs pod retrieves the captured stdout/stderr output from a container's logs, which may include application-level performance information but does not report kernel-level pod resource consumption. It is purely a log stream, not a metrics query. Resource usage metrics require direct collection via the metrics API exposed by metrics-server, which is what kubectl top uses.
- ✓
kubectl top pod
Why this is correct
kubectl top pod is the correct command because it queries the metrics API (typically backed by metrics-server) to retrieve and display live CPU and memory usage for each pod. It shows current resource consumption at the container and pod level, and optionally displays per-container details with the --containers flag. This makes it the standard command for quick, immediate resource observation.
- ✗
kubectl describe pod
Why it's wrong here
kubectl describe pod provides a detailed snapshot of a pod's spec, status, events, and configured resource requests/limits, but it does not show actual current resource usage. The resource requests and limits are constraints, not measurements, and the events section is static after the fact. Live CPU and memory values are only obtainable through the metrics API, not via describe.
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