KCNA Cloud Native Architecture Practice Question
A company wants to migrate its monolithic application to a cloud-native architecture on Kubernetes. The application currently uses a shared database and communicates via internal HTTP calls. Which design pattern should be applied first to increase resilience and enable independent scaling of components?
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the misconception that you should immediately apply a database-per-service or CQRS pattern when migrating, but the strangler fig pattern is the foundational first step to safely decompose a monolith without a big-bang rewrite.
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
✓
Use the strangler fig pattern to gradually replace monolith functionality
The strangler fig pattern is the correct first step because it allows the team to incrementally replace specific functionalities of the monolithic application with microservices without disrupting the existing system. This pattern routes requests to either the old monolith or new services, enabling gradual migration, independent scaling of extracted components, and improved resilience by isolating failures. It directly addresses the need to move from a shared-database, HTTP-calling monolith to a cloud-native architecture on Kubernetes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Adopt CQRS pattern to separate reads and writes
Why it's wrong here
CQRS is for query optimization, not migration.
- ✓
Use the strangler fig pattern to gradually replace monolith functionality
Why this is correct
Allows incremental migration with minimal risk.
- ✗
Implement database-per-service pattern
Why it's wrong here
This is a later step after decomposition.
- ✗
Deploy a sidecar container for each service
Why it's wrong here
Sidecar is for cross-cutting concerns, not migration.
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JA
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.