KCNA Cloud Native Application Delivery Practice Question
A startup wants to minimize downtime during application updates in Kubernetes. Which deployment strategy should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse 'minimizing downtime' with 'risk mitigation' and pick Canary or Blue/Green, but the question specifically asks for the simplest strategy to minimize downtime during updates, which is RollingUpdate by default in Kubernetes.
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
✓
RollingUpdate
The RollingUpdate strategy is the default in Kubernetes and minimizes downtime by gradually replacing old Pods with new ones while the application remains available. It uses a configurable `maxSurge` and `maxUnavailable` parameters to control the rate of change, ensuring that a specified number of Pods are always serving traffic. This makes it ideal for startups seeking zero-downtime updates without the complexity of additional tooling or infrastructure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
RollingUpdate
Why this is correct
Replaces pods incrementally, maintaining availability.
- ✗
Canary
Why it's wrong here
Not a native deployment strategy; typically implemented via progressive delivery tools.
- ✗
Blue/Green
Why it's wrong here
Not a native Kubernetes deployment strategy; requires additional tooling.
- ✗
Recreate
Why it's wrong here
Terminates all old pods before creating new ones, causing downtime.
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Related to this question
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on KCNA
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Which TWO of the following are deployment patterns that can be used to update applications with minimal downtime? (Choose two.)
medium- A.DaemonSet deployment
- B.Sidecar deployment
- C.Recreate deployment
- ✓ D.Blue-green deployment
- ✓ E.Canary deployment
Why D: Blue-green and canary are deployment patterns that reduce downtime by gradually shifting traffic. Rolling update is also a pattern but the question asks for minimal downtime; blue-green and canary are specifically designed for that.
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.