KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
An administrator manages a cluster where a Namespace named 'analytics' contains a ResourceQuota that limits pods to 10. A developer applies a manifest containing a ReplicaSet with replicas: 12 in that Namespace. The ReplicaSet controller creates the first 10 Pods successfully, but the remaining 2 Pods are rejected. Which statement best describes what the developer will observe and why?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is believing that quota-denied Pods are created in a Pending or Failed phase, when they are actually rejected before being stored.
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 ReplicaSet status shows fewer ready replicas than desired, and the events for the ReplicaSet include quota-related failures for the denied Pods.
ResourceQuota is enforced by an admission controller in the API server, so Pod creation requests beyond the allowed count are rejected outright. The ReplicaSet controller continues to reconcile toward 12 replicas, records FailedCreate events describing the quota violation, and reports status with fewer ready replicas than desired. No extra Pod objects are persisted, and the ReplicaSet spec is not automatically lowered.
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 ReplicaSet scales itself down to 10 replicas and reports a status condition indicating the quota was exceeded.
Why it's wrong here
The ReplicaSet controller does not reduce its own spec.replicas when Pod creation is denied by a quota; it keeps trying to reach the declared count. Its status will show fewer ready replicas than desired, but the spec remains 12. The controller does not self-modify the replica count, so this description is inaccurate.
- ✓
The ReplicaSet status shows fewer ready replicas than desired, and the events for the ReplicaSet include quota-related failures for the denied Pods.
Why this is correct
When a ResourceQuota is exceeded, the API server rejects the Pod create request during admission, so only 10 Pods exist. The ReplicaSet controller keeps reconciling toward 12 and records warning events such as 'FailedCreate' with a message about exceeding quota. Its status shows ready and available replicas below the desired count, which matches this observation.
- ✗
The API server accepts all 12 Pods but marks 2 of them with a Failed phase due to the quota, and the ReplicaSet ignores those Pods.
Why it's wrong here
Quota enforcement occurs during admission control before the Pod object is written to etcd, so rejected Pods are never stored and never receive a phase. A Pod in a Failed phase is one that was created and then terminated, which is a different lifecycle. The ReplicaSet also does not selectively ignore failed Pods; it works to satisfy its desired count.
- ✗
The 2 extra Pods are created but remain in a Pending state until quota becomes available, and the ReplicaSet reports 12 ready replicas.
Why it's wrong here
Admission is denied before a Pod object is persisted, so the 2 extra Pods are never created and cannot sit in Pending. Pending Pods exist when scheduling or image pulling is delayed, not when a ResourceQuota rejects creation. The ReplicaSet therefore cannot report 12 ready replicas; it will show fewer than the desired count.
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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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