CKAD Application Observability and Maintenance Practice Question
Which TWO statements are true about readiness probes? (Select two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse readiness probes with liveness probes: candidates often think a failing readiness probe restarts the pod, but it only affects traffic routing, while liveness probes handle restarts.
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
✓
Readiness probes can be configured as httpGet, exec, tcpSocket, or gRPC
Readiness probes support four handler types: httpGet, exec, tcpSocket, and gRPC (since Kubernetes 1.24). These are defined in the container spec under the `readinessProbe` field, allowing the kubelet to check container readiness using HTTP status codes, command exit codes, TCP port connectivity, or gRPC health checks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Readiness probes are only executed when the pod is first started
Why it's wrong here
Readiness probes are not a one-time startup check; the kubelet executes them repeatedly at the interval specified by `periodSeconds` (default 10s) for the entire lifetime of the container. After the probe first succeeds, the pod is marked Ready, but the probe continues to run so that subsequent failures can be detected. Only a successful probe at any given moment keeps the pod in the Ready state, making this option false.
- ✓
Readiness probes can be configured as httpGet, exec, tcpSocket, or gRPC
Why this is correct
This statement is correct because readiness probes support the exact same four handler types as liveness probes: `httpGet` (sending an HTTP GET request to a specific path/port), `exec` (running a command in the container), `tcpSocket` (attempting a TCP connection to a port), and `gRPC` (performing a gRPC health check, available as a beta feature in recent Kubernetes versions). Each handler has its own configuration fields, but all are valid for determining container readiness. The readiness probe is defined under the `readinessProbe` key in the container spec.
- ✗
A failing readiness probe causes the pod to be restarted
Why it's wrong here
A failing readiness probe does not cause a container restart; restart decisions are exclusively controlled by liveness probes, container exit codes, and the pod's `restartPolicy`. When a readiness probe fails, the kubelet only updates the pod's Ready condition to `False` and removes the pod from Service endpoints, leaving the container running. Liveness probe failures, on the other hand, trigger the kubelet to kill and restart the container according to the restart policy, so this option inverts the actual behavior.
- ✗
Readiness probes are defined in the pod spec under 'startupProbe'
Why it's wrong here
Readiness probes are defined under the `readinessProbe` field in the container spec, not under `startupProbe`. The `startupProbe` is a separate mechanism used to detect whether the application has finished its initial startup; after the startup probe succeeds, the liveness and readiness probes take over. These are distinct fields with different purposes, and mixing them up leads to incorrect probe configuration, so this option is wrong.
- ✓
A failing readiness probe removes the pod from the Service's endpoints
Why this is correct
This statement is correct because the primary purpose of a readiness probe is to determine whether a pod is ready to receive traffic. When the probe fails, the pod's Ready condition is set to `False`, and the Kubernetes control plane removes the pod from the `endpoints` list (or EndpointSlices) of all Services that select it. This stops new traffic from being forwarded to the pod until the probe succeeds again, at which point the pod is automatically re-added to the endpoints.
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