KCNA Cloud Native Application Delivery Practice Question
A team is using Kustomize to manage configurations for different environments. They want to create a variant of a base deployment that uses a different number of replicas. Which Kustomize feature should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
KCNA often tests the purpose of Kustomize features. Candidates may confuse patches with generators or components, not realizing that patches are specifically for modifying existing resources, while generators create new ones.
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
✓
Patches
Patches in Kustomize allow you to modify specific fields of resources from a base or overlay, such as changing the replica count of a Deployment. This is the intended feature for creating variants without duplicating the entire base. Generators create new resources (e.g., ConfigMaps), bases are the starting point, and components are reusable pieces that can be included, but none are designed for modifying existing fields like replica count.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Generators
Why it's wrong here
Generators create ConfigMaps, Secrets and similar resources from files or literals; they do not alter an existing Deployment's spec.replicas field. They would be correct when the variant needs new configuration data injected as separate objects rather than a changed replica count.
- ✓
Patches
Why this is correct
Patches apply targeted modifications to a base resource without duplicating it, so the team can override the replica count for a specific environment variant. This satisfies the requirement of deriving an environment-specific variant from shared base configuration, keeping the base reusable while changing only the replicas field.
- ✗
Bases
Why it's wrong here
Bases are the shared source manifests that overlays reference and inherit from; editing a base changes every environment, defeating the variant's purpose. Bases would be correct as the common foundation when each environment overlay then patches only its own differences.
- ✗
Components
Why it's wrong here
Components group reusable patches applied conditionally via selectors, not environment-wide replica overrides; they suit optional cross-cutting features such as a monitoring sidecar. A replica count differing per environment is set through a patches or replicas entry in the overlay's kustomization.
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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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