KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
A Deployment named 'web-app' is configured with replicas: 3. You update the container image. Which Kubernetes object directly manages the pods during the rolling update?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to think the Deployment directly manages pods, but Kubernetes uses ReplicaSets as the intermediary to handle pod scaling and updates, making ReplicaSet the correct answer.
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
✓
ReplicaSet
When a Deployment is updated (e.g., container image change), it creates a new ReplicaSet to manage the new pods and scales down the old ReplicaSet. The ReplicaSet is the Kubernetes object that directly owns and manages the pods during the rolling update, ensuring the desired number of replicas are running at each step.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
StatefulSet
Why it's wrong here
A StatefulSet manages pods with stable identities and ordered rollout for stateful workloads, and it does not own the pods created by the web-app Deployment. It would be correct for databases needing persistent identity, not for a stateless image update.
- ✗
DaemonSet
Why it's wrong here
A DaemonSet places one pod on every eligible node for node-level agents, so it ignores the replicas: 3 count and does not manage the Deployment's pods. It would be correct for cluster-wide logging or networking agents, not an application rollout.
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Job
Why it's wrong here
A Job runs pods to completion for batch tasks and never performs a rolling image update across a fixed replica count. It would be correct for one-off or scheduled processing, whereas the Deployment's ReplicaSet creates and replaces the three pods during rollout.
- ✓
ReplicaSet
Why this is correct
A Deployment creates and owns a ReplicaSet, which in turn maintains the desired pod count and directly manages pod creation and deletion during a rolling update. The Deployment orchestrates revisions, but the ReplicaSet satisfies the replicas: 3 constraint by spawning replacement pods as old ones terminate.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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