CKAD HorizontalPodAutoscaler v2 spec Practice Question
Which FOUR of the following are valid fields in a HorizontalPodAutoscaler (HPA) v2 specification?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates might overlook one of the valid fields, but all four spec fields (B, C, D, E) are valid in v2. Ensure you know the correct fields for v2.
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
✓
spec.metrics
In HPA v2 (autoscaling/v2), the spec includes 'metrics', 'behavior', 'minReplicas', and 'maxReplicas'. All four of these fields are valid in the v2 specification. 'targetCPUUtilizationPercentage' is a deprecated field from v1 and is not part of the v2 spec. Therefore, options B, C, D, and E are correct.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
spec.targetCPUUtilizationPercentage
Why it's wrong here
spec.targetCPUUtilizationPercentage is a field from the deprecated autoscaling/v1 HPA API and is not recognized in the autoscaling/v2 schema. In v2, CPU scaling is configured using spec.metrics with a ResourceMetricSource and target.type: Utilization; simply putting this v1 field into a v2 manifest yields a validation error. Thus it is incorrect to treat it as a valid spec field in HPA v2.
- ✓
spec.metrics
Why this is correct
spec.metrics is a list of metric specifications in the autoscaling/v2 HPA API. It defines one or more metrics (resource, container resource, external, or object/pods) that the controller evaluates when computing the desired replica count. Each entry includes a type and target, such as AverageUtilization for CPU. This field replaces v1's single CPU metric, enabling multi-metric scaling where the largest resulting replica count wins.
- ✓
spec.minReplicas
Why this is correct
spec.minReplicas is an optional field in the HPA v2 spec (defaults to 1) that sets the lower bound for the replica count. It guarantees a minimum number of pods even when metrics recommend scaling to zero, maintaining availability for latency-sensitive workloads. The HPA will not scale below this value regardless of observed utilization.
- ✓
spec.behavior
Why this is correct
spec.behavior is a valid field introduced in autoscaling/v2 that configures scaling policies for scaleUp and scaleDown separately. It allows setting stabilizationWindowSeconds, selectPolicy, and policies arrays to control how quickly HPA changes replicas, preventing thrashing. For example, you can constrain scale-down to one pod per minute while allowing rapid scale-up. Without this field, HPA applies default behavior.
- ✓
spec.maxReplicas
Why this is correct
spec.maxReplicas is a required field in the HPA v2 spec that sets the maximum number of pod replicas the autoscaler may create. It bounds resource consumption and cost, and validation fails if it is omitted or less than minReplicas. The controller ensures the computed replicas never exceed this value, and it applies globally across all metrics.
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