Question 272 of 833
KCNA Cloud Native Architecture Practice Question
A cloud-native application is designed with multiple microservices that need to handle a sudden spike in traffic without manual intervention. Which Kubernetes feature best enables this?
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the distinction between scaling pods (HPA) versus scaling nodes (Cluster Autoscaler) versus scaling pod resources (VPA), and the trap here is that candidates confuse 'scaling the application' with 'scaling the cluster infrastructure'.
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
✓
HorizontalPodAutoscaler
The HorizontalPodAutoscaler (HPA) automatically scales the number of pod replicas in a deployment based on observed CPU/memory utilization or custom metrics. This directly addresses the need to handle a sudden traffic spike without manual intervention by adding more pod instances to distribute the load.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
VerticalPodAutoscaler
Why it's wrong here
Adjusts resource requests, not replica count.
- ✗
Cluster Autoscaler
Why it's wrong here
Adjusts node count, not pods.
- ✓
HorizontalPodAutoscaler
Why this is correct
Automatically scales pod replicas based on CPU/memory or custom metrics.
- ✗
PodDisruptionBudget
Why it's wrong here
Ensures availability during voluntary disruptions.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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