KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
An administrator runs `kubectl get pods -n finance` and sees a Pod named `report-0` that is Running but not Ready. The Pod's container has a readiness probe configured with `httpGet` on path `/healthz` port 8080. Logs show the application is running and serving requests on port 8080. Which condition most likely explains why the Pod is Running but not Ready?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming a Running Pod is automatically Ready, when readiness depends on probe success.
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 readiness probe endpoint `/healthz` returns a non-2xx status code or times out, so kubelet marks the container as not ready.
Readiness probes determine whether a container should receive traffic. When the HTTP GET to `/healthz` fails or times out, kubelet marks the container not ready while leaving the process running, producing exactly the Running-but-not-Ready state. Liveness failures cause restarts, and scheduling or storage issues do not selectively block readiness in the way described.
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 Pod's liveness probe has failed repeatedly and kubelet is restarting the container, which temporarily reports not ready.
Why it's wrong here
A failing liveness probe causes container restarts, which would appear as increasing restart counts and potentially CrashLoopBackOff, not a steady Running state with a single unready condition. The scenario shows no restart evidence. Moreover, readiness and liveness serve different purposes; a liveness failure does not by itself explain a persistent not-ready state without restarts.
- ✗
The Pod has no resource requests, so the scheduler has not fully allocated CPU and the readiness gate remains closed.
Why it's wrong here
Scheduling completes before a Pod runs; missing resource requests do not keep a running Pod unready. Resource requests influence placement and Quality of Service class, not readiness gating. A Pod without requests can still be Running and Ready. This option invents a relationship between scheduling and readiness that does not exist in Kubernetes.
- ✗
The Pod is using a hostPath volume that is not writable, causing the readiness probe to fail at the filesystem level.
Why it's wrong here
The readiness probe is an HTTP GET on `/healthz`, so a filesystem permission issue would only matter if the application's health handler depended on it. The stem gives no indication of volume errors, and a hostPath problem would more likely prevent the Pod from starting. This distractor conflates storage faults with probe semantics that are not described.
- ✓
The readiness probe endpoint `/healthz` returns a non-2xx status code or times out, so kubelet marks the container as not ready.
Why this is correct
Kubelet periodically calls the readiness probe, and any non-success response or timeout causes the container to be marked not ready. The Pod remains Running because the process is alive, but it is excluded from Service endpoints until the probe succeeds. This perfectly matches a Running yet unready Pod whose application otherwise serves traffic.
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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
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.