This KCNA practice question tests your understanding of container orchestration. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 developer wants to deploy a stateless web application that should scale to 5 replicas. Each replica must be identical and should be automatically replaced if it fails. Which Kubernetes resource should be used?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Deployment
A Deployment is the correct resource because it manages a ReplicaSet to ensure the desired number of identical, stateless pod replicas (5) are running. It provides declarative updates, self-healing (automatic replacement of failed pods), and scaling capabilities, which directly match the requirement for a stateless web application.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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
StatefulSet is for stateful applications requiring stable network identities and persistent storage.
✗
DaemonSet
Why it's wrong here
DaemonSet runs one pod per node, not a specified number of replicas.
✓
Deployment
Why this is correct
Deployment manages ReplicaSets and provides declarative updates and self-healing.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
ReplicationController
Why it's wrong here
ReplicationController is deprecated in favor of Deployment, which provides additional features like rolling updates.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse StatefulSet with Deployment for stateless apps because both can manage multiple replicas, but StatefulSet is specifically for stateful workloads requiring ordered deployment and stable identities, not for identical, interchangeable replicas.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, a Deployment creates a ReplicaSet, which in turn manages the pod lifecycle using a label selector and a pod template hash. When a pod fails, the ReplicaSet's controller loop continuously reconciles the actual pod count with the desired replicas (5), triggering a new pod creation via the API server. In real-world scenarios, a Deployment also supports strategies like RollingUpdate (default) to gradually replace pods during updates, ensuring zero downtime for the web application.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the KCNA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this KCNA question in full detail.
Container Orchestration — This question tests Container Orchestration — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deployment — A Deployment is the correct resource because it manages a ReplicaSet to ensure the desired number of identical, stateless pod replicas (5) are running. It provides declarative updates, self-healing (automatic replacement of failed pods), and scaling capabilities, which directly match the requirement for a stateless web application.
What should I do if I get this KCNA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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