This KCNA practice question tests your understanding of cloud native architecture. 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 retail company runs its e-commerce platform on Kubernetes. During a flash sale, the application experiences high latency. The team notices that the database pods are CPU-bound and the application pods are waiting on database responses. Which architectural change would best address this bottleneck?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Implement read replicas for the database and configure the application to use them for read operations.
The bottleneck is caused by the database being CPU-bound, meaning it cannot process requests fast enough. Implementing read replicas offloads read queries from the primary database, reducing its CPU load and allowing it to handle write operations more efficiently. The application can be configured to route read operations to the replicas, which directly addresses the latency caused by waiting on database responses.
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.
✗
Change the database service type from ClusterIP to NodePort.
Why it's wrong here
Service type affects network access, not database CPU load.
✓
Implement read replicas for the database and configure the application to use them for read operations.
Why this is correct
Read replicas distribute the read load, reducing CPU pressure on the primary database.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Increase the number of application pod replicas.
Why it's wrong here
This would increase the number of requests to the database, worsening the bottleneck.
✗
Store database configuration in a ConfigMap to improve startup time.
Why it's wrong here
ConfigMaps manage configuration, not database performance.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
CNCF often tests the misconception that scaling application pods (Option C) is a universal fix for performance issues, but here it would amplify the database bottleneck rather than resolve it.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Read replicas work by asynchronously replicating data from the primary database, allowing read queries to be distributed across multiple nodes. In Kubernetes, this can be implemented using a StatefulSet for the replicas and a headless service for discovery, with the application using a read-only connection string or a proxy like ProxySQL to route queries. A real-world scenario is an e-commerce platform during Black Friday where read-heavy product catalog queries are offloaded to replicas, keeping the primary database responsive for order writes.
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.
Cloud Native Architecture — This question tests Cloud Native Architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement read replicas for the database and configure the application to use them for read operations. — The bottleneck is caused by the database being CPU-bound, meaning it cannot process requests fast enough. Implementing read replicas offloads read queries from the primary database, reducing its CPU load and allowing it to handle write operations more efficiently. The application can be configured to route read operations to the replicas, which directly addresses the latency caused by waiting on database responses.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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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