KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
A platform engineer is troubleshooting a Pod that is stuck in Pending. The engineer suspects the scheduler cannot place it. Which two commands are appropriate to gather evidence about why the Pod has not been scheduled? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is reaching for exec or logs on a Pending Pod, when no container has started to produce them.
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
✓
`kubectl get events --field-selector involvedObject.name=<pod-name>` to filter cluster events for that Pod.
The scheduler reports its reasoning through Events, so inspecting kubectl describe pod output and filtering cluster events for the Pod both expose FailedScheduling causes like insufficient resources, taints, or affinity mismatches. Commands that require a running container, rely on previous logs, or delete the Pod do not reveal why scheduling failed and are unsuitable for this diagnosis.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
`kubectl delete pod <pod-name> --force --grace-period=0` to trigger rescheduling and observe the outcome.
Why it's wrong here
Force-deleting the Pod does not collect diagnostic evidence and may simply recreate the same Pending state if the underlying constraint persists. It is a destructive action that discards the existing Pod object and its events, potentially losing useful information. This is not an evidence-gathering command and is inappropriate as a first troubleshooting step.
- ✓
`kubectl get events --field-selector involvedObject.name=<pod-name>` to filter cluster events for that Pod.
Why this is correct
Filtering events by the involved object name narrows the event stream to messages about that Pod, including scheduler warnings. It complements kubectl describe by showing timestamped events across the namespace, which helps confirm whether the failure is persistent or intermittent. This is a valid, non-destructive way to collect scheduling evidence.
- ✓
`kubectl describe pod <pod-name>` to inspect Events for FailedScheduling messages.
Why this is correct
The Events section produced by kubectl describe pod records scheduler decisions, including FailedScheduling reasons such as insufficient CPU, taints, or node selector mismatches. This is the fastest way to see the scheduler's explicit rejection reason. It directly addresses why the Pod remains Pending and is a standard first diagnostic step.
- ✗
`kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- /bin/sh` to inspect the container's runtime logs.
Why it's wrong here
A Pending Pod has no running container, so kubectl exec cannot attach to it and will fail. Even if it worked, container logs would not explain scheduling failures, which occur before any container starts. This option mistakes runtime troubleshooting for scheduler diagnostics and is not applicable to a Pending Pod.
- ✗
`kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous` to view logs from the prior container instance.
Why it's wrong here
The --previous flag retrieves logs from a previously terminated container instance. A Pending Pod has never run a container, so there are no current or previous logs. This command cannot reveal scheduling constraints and would return an error or empty result, making it irrelevant to the scenario.
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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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