KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
An administrator needs to expose a set of pods running a web application on a static port on each node's IP address. Which Service type should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the misconception that NodePort is the only way to expose services externally, but the trap here is confusing NodePort with LoadBalancer, which also provides external access but requires cloud provider integration and does not guarantee a static port on each node.
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
✓
NodePort
A NodePort service exposes the application on a static port (30000–32767) on every node's IP address, making the pods accessible externally via <NodeIP>:<NodePort>. This matches the requirement to expose pods on a static port on each node's IP address without needing an external load balancer.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ClusterIP
Why it's wrong here
ClusterIP is only accessible within the cluster, not externally.
- ✓
NodePort
Why this is correct
NodePort opens a specific port on all nodes and routes traffic to the service.
- ✗
ExternalName
Why it's wrong here
ExternalName maps a service to a DNS name, not to node ports.
- ✗
LoadBalancer
Why it's wrong here
LoadBalancer provisions an external load balancer, but NodePort is the simplest if a static node port is needed.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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