KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
A pod has a liveness probe that returns failure. What action will Kubernetes take?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse liveness probes with readiness probes, assuming a failed liveness probe removes the pod from the service endpoint, when in fact only readiness probes affect traffic routing.
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
✓
The container will be restarted
When a liveness probe fails, Kubernetes interprets this as the container being in a deadlock or unresponsive state from which it cannot recover without a restart. The kubelet on the node where the pod is running directly restarts the container according to the pod's restart policy (defaulting to Always). This is a container-level action, not a pod-level action, so the pod itself remains on the same node.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The container will be restarted
Why this is correct
A failing liveness probe signals the container is unhealthy, so the kubelet kills it and restarts it according to the pod's restartPolicy. This differs from a readiness probe, which only removes the pod from Service endpoints without restarting.
- ✗
The service endpoint will be removed
Why it's wrong here
Removing a service endpoint is the consequence of a failed readiness probe, which stops traffic routing to the pod without restarting it. A liveness probe instead triggers container restart by the kubelet, so endpoint removal is the wrong mechanism for this probe type.
- ✗
The pod will be deleted
Why it's wrong here
The pod is not deleted; the container is restarted.
- ✗
The pod will be rescheduled to another node
Why it's wrong here
A failed liveness probe causes the kubelet to restart the container within the same pod on the same node; rescheduling occurs only when a node or pod is evicted. Rescheduling is tempting because readiness and scheduling are often conflated, but it is not the liveness probe's action.
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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.