CKAD Application Deployment Practice Question
You have a Deployment that uses the 'Recreate' strategy. What happens when you update the pod template (e.g., change the image)?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse the 'Recreate' strategy with the default 'RollingUpdate' strategy, mistakenly thinking new pods are created gradually or that in-place updates are possible, when in fact 'Recreate' ensures all old pods are terminated first.
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
✓
All existing pods are terminated before new pods are created
The 'Recreate' strategy in a Kubernetes Deployment terminates all existing pods before creating new ones when the pod template is updated. This ensures zero overlapping pods during the update, which is useful for applications that cannot handle multiple versions running simultaneously.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The update is not allowed; you must delete the Deployment first
Why it's wrong here
The Recreate strategy is a fully supported Deployment strategy, so an update is allowed without deleting the Deployment. The Deployment controller will automatically scale the old ReplicaSet down to zero replicas and then scale up the new ReplicaSet, so manual deletion is unnecessary. You would only delete the Deployment if you wanted to remove the application entirely, not to perform an update.
- ✓
All existing pods are terminated before new pods are created
Why this is correct
In the Recreate strategy, the Deployment controller first terminates all existing pods by scaling the old ReplicaSet down to 0, and only after all old pods have been deleted does it create new pods by scaling up the new ReplicaSet. This guarantees there is never a period where old and new versions run concurrently, but it also means the application experiences full downtime during the switch. The sequence is deliberate: scale down must complete before scale up starts.
- ✗
New pods are created gradually while old pods are terminated
Why it's wrong here
Gradually creating new pods while terminating old ones is characteristic of the RollingUpdate strategy, not Recreate. In a rolling update, the controller keeps the Deployment available by incrementally replacing pods, often with configurable maxSurge and maxUnavailable, so you never lose all capacity at once. With Recreate, there is no such gradual transition; it's an all-at-once replacement, so this option describes a different strategy.
- ✗
Pods are updated in-place without restart
Why it's wrong here
Pods are immutable objects; you cannot modify the image or container spec of a running pod, so an in-place update is not possible in Kubernetes regardless of strategy. Even if you apply a new Deployment, the only way to change the pod template is to create replacement pods, and the Recreate strategy does exactly that: it deletes old pods and creates new ones rather than mutating existing ones. Thus, the update is done via recreation, not in-place modification.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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