KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
A Deployment is configured with 'replicas: 3'. After a node failure, only 2 pods are running. What component ensures that a new pod is scheduled to restore the desired replica count?
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
✓
kube-controller-manager
The kube-controller-manager runs the ReplicaSet controller, which detects the mismatch and creates a new pod.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
kube-scheduler
Why it's wrong here
kube-scheduler only binds pending pods to nodes; it does not detect replica shortages or create pods. It is tempting because scheduling sounds like the step that restores capacity, and it would be correct if asked which component places a newly created pod onto a suitable node.
- ✓
kube-controller-manager
Why this is correct
The kube-controller-manager runs the ReplicaSet controller, whose reconciliation loop detects that observed replicas (2) fall below the desired count (3) and creates a replacement pod. The scheduler then places it, restoring the declared replica count after the node failure.
- ✗
kubelet
Why it's wrong here
The kubelet is a node agent that starts and monitors containers already assigned to its node; it cannot schedule replacements for pods lost with a failed node. It is tempting because it manages pod lifecycle locally, and would be correct if a container on a healthy node crashed and needed restarting.
- ✗
kube-proxy
Why it's wrong here
kube-proxy programs iptables/IPVS rules on each node to load-balance Service traffic to pod endpoints; it never creates pods or watches replica counts. It is tempting because it is the networking component tied to Services, and would be the right answer if the question asked how a Service routes requests to the surviving pods.
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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.