KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
A DevOps engineer is designing a Kubernetes architecture for a stateful application that requires stable network identities and persistent storage across pod rescheduling. The engineer needs to choose the appropriate Kubernetes resource types to meet these requirements. Which two resources should the engineer use? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse stateless and stateful workload controllers, or assuming that a Deployment can provide stable identities when it cannot.
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
✓
StatefulSet
StatefulSet is the workload controller that provides stable network identities and ordered management for stateful applications. PersistentVolumeClaim, when used in a StatefulSet's volumeClaimTemplates, ensures each pod gets its own persistent storage that survives rescheduling. Together, they meet the requirements for stable identity and persistent data.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
DaemonSet
Why it's wrong here
A DaemonSet ensures a copy of a pod runs on every node, typically for cluster-wide services like log collectors or node monitors. It does not provide stable per-pod network identities or persistent storage tailored to stateful workloads. Using it for a stateful application would not satisfy the need for stable identities and storage.
- ✓
StatefulSet
Why this is correct
A StatefulSet provides stable, unique network identifiers (e.g., pod-0, pod-1) and stable storage through VolumeClaimTemplates. It is designed for stateful applications that require ordered deployment, scaling, and persistent volumes per pod. This directly meets the requirement for stable identities and storage across rescheduling.
- ✗
ConfigMap
Why it's wrong here
A ConfigMap stores non-confidential configuration data as key-value pairs. It does not provide persistent storage or stable network identities. While useful for injecting configuration into pods, it is not relevant to the core requirements of stateful storage and identity in this scenario.
- ✗
Deployment
Why it's wrong here
A Deployment manages stateless pods with random names and shared storage if configured, but it does not provide stable network identities. Pods are replaced with new names and IPs, which breaks stateful application requirements. For stable identities and persistent storage per replica, a StatefulSet is the correct controller.
- ✓
PersistentVolumeClaim
Why this is correct
A PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) requests storage from a PersistentVolume and can be used within a StatefulSet's volumeClaimTemplates to provide each pod with its own persistent volume. This ensures data persists across pod rescheduling. Without a PVC, storage would be ephemeral, failing the requirement.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CNCF exam blueprint
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