CKAD Application Observability and Maintenance Practice Question
This CKAD practice question tests your understanding of application observability and maintenance. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
Which TWO of the following are valid ways to expose application metrics for scraping by Prometheus in a Kubernetes environment?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Add annotations 'prometheus.io/scrape: "true"' to the pod template
Option A is correct because Prometheus supports automatic service discovery in Kubernetes via pod annotations. Adding 'prometheus.io/scrape: "true"' to the pod template tells Prometheus to scrape metrics from that pod, provided Prometheus is configured to use the Kubernetes service discovery mechanism. This is a standard, widely adopted pattern for exposing application metrics.
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.
✓
Add annotations 'prometheus.io/scrape: "true"' to the pod template
Why this is correct
Prometheus auto-discovers pods with these annotations.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create an Ingress with the metrics path
Why it's wrong here
Ingress routes traffic, not for scraping.
✓
Create a ServiceMonitor custom resource in the same namespace
Why this is correct
ServiceMonitor tells Prometheus which services to scrape.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Add annotations 'prometheus.io/scrape: "true"' to the Deployment
Why it's wrong here
Deployment is not scraped; pods are.
✗
Store metrics in a ConfigMap and mount it to Prometheus
Why it's wrong here
ConfigMap is static config, not live metrics.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
CNCF often tests the distinction between pod-level annotations (which Prometheus discovers) versus higher-level resource annotations (like Deployment) that are ignored by Prometheus's service discovery.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Prometheus uses Kubernetes service discovery to find pods with the 'prometheus.io/scrape: "true"' annotation, then scrapes the '/metrics' endpoint (default) on the pod's IP and port. The ServiceMonitor custom resource (Option C) is part of the Prometheus Operator and defines scrape targets declaratively, which is a more robust approach for complex environments. Both methods rely on the same underlying mechanism: Prometheus must have network access to the pod's metrics endpoint.
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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CKAD question in full detail.
Application Observability and Maintenance — This question tests Application Observability and Maintenance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add annotations 'prometheus.io/scrape: "true"' to the pod template — Option A is correct because Prometheus supports automatic service discovery in Kubernetes via pod annotations. Adding 'prometheus.io/scrape: "true"' to the pod template tells Prometheus to scrape metrics from that pod, provided Prometheus is configured to use the Kubernetes service discovery mechanism. This is a standard, widely adopted pattern for exposing application metrics.
What should I do if I get this CKAD question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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