This KCNA practice question tests your understanding of cloud native architecture. 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.
A cloud-native application uses a service mesh (Istio) for traffic management. The team notices increased latency in inter-service communication. Which likely cause should be investigated first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Kubernetes Network Policies blocking traffic
Why wrong: Would cause errors, not just latency.
Misconfigured sidecar proxy settings
Can cause significant latency.
Application code is not optimized for the mesh
Why wrong: Code doesn't change.
mTLS encryption overhead
Why wrong: Overhead is minimal.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Misconfigured sidecar proxy settings
In Istio, the sidecar proxy (Envoy) intercepts all inbound and outbound traffic for the application container. Misconfigured proxy settings—such as incorrect timeouts, retry policies, or circuit breaker thresholds—can introduce significant latency by causing unnecessary retries, connection delays, or queueing. This is the most common and immediate cause of increased latency in a service mesh, as the data plane is directly in the request path.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Kubernetes Network Policies blocking traffic
Why it's wrong here
Would cause errors, not just latency.
Misconfigured sidecar proxy settings
Why this is correct
Can cause significant latency.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Application code is not optimized for the mesh
Why it's wrong here
Code doesn't change.
mTLS encryption overhead
Why it's wrong here
Overhead is minimal.
Common exam traps
CNCF often tests the misconception that mTLS encryption is a major source of latency, but in practice its overhead is negligible compared to misconfigured proxy settings that directly impact request handling.
Detailed technical explanation
Envoy sidecar proxies use a configuration model based on xDS APIs (LDS, RDS, CDS, etc.) to dynamically update routing rules. A misconfiguration like an overly aggressive retry budget (e.g., retry_on with a high number of attempts) can cause cascading failures and exponential backoff delays. In real-world scenarios, teams often overlook the default Envoy connection pool settings, which can lead to head-of-line blocking if the pool is too small for the traffic burst.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Cloud Native Architecture — This question tests Cloud Native Architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Misconfigured sidecar proxy settings — In Istio, the sidecar proxy (Envoy) intercepts all inbound and outbound traffic for the application container. Misconfigured proxy settings—such as incorrect timeouts, retry policies, or circuit breaker thresholds—can introduce significant latency by causing unnecessary retries, connection delays, or queueing. This is the most common and immediate cause of increased latency in a service mesh, as the data plane is directly in the request path.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This KCNA practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the KCNA exam.
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