KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
A ClusterIP Service named 'db-service' in namespace 'prod' selects pods with label 'app: database'. A pod in the same cluster needs to reach this service using DNS. What is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the service?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often forget the 'svc' subdomain or the namespace component, leading them to pick options like 'db-service.cluster.local' or 'db-service.svc.cluster.local', which are only valid for services in the default namespace or are incomplete.
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
✓
db-service.prod.svc.cluster.local
The correct FQDN for a Kubernetes Service follows the pattern <service-name>.<namespace>.svc.cluster.local. Since the 'db-service' ClusterIP Service is in the 'prod' namespace, the FQDN is 'db-service.prod.svc.cluster.local'. This allows any pod in the cluster to resolve the service's cluster IP via DNS, using the cluster domain 'cluster.local' by default.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
db-service.cluster.local
Why it's wrong here
Missing namespace and 'svc'.
- ✓
db-service.prod.svc.cluster.local
Why this is correct
This is the standard FQDN for a Service.
- ✗
db-service.svc.cluster.local
Why it's wrong here
Missing the namespace component.
- ✗
db-service.prod.cluster.local
Why it's wrong here
Missing 'svc' component.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Kubernetes Overview and Core Components
Key term
ReplicaSet and Replication
A ReplicaSet ensures a specified number of identical pod instances are running at all times in Kubernetes, using replication to maintain availability and stability.
Key term
Kubernetes API Primitives
Kubernetes API Primitives are the basic building blocks that the Kubernetes API uses to represent and manage the state of a cluster, such as Pods, Services, Deployments, and Namespaces.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.