This KCNA practice question tests your understanding of cloud native architecture. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An application experiences intermittent failures when calling an external API. Which resilience pattern should be implemented to handle transient faults?
Bulkhead
Why wrong: Bulkhead isolates resources to prevent cascading failures.
Circuit breaker
Why wrong: Circuit breaker prevents repeated calls when a service is down, but retry is for transient faults.
Timeout
Why wrong: Timeout sets a limit on wait time, but does not retry.
Retry
Retry handles transient failures by reattempting the operation.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Retry
Option D (Retry) is correct because intermittent failures when calling an external API are typically transient faults (e.g., network glitches, temporary service unavailability). The Retry pattern automatically reattempts the failed operation a configured number of times, often with exponential backoff, to overcome these short-lived issues without changing the application's overall architecture. This directly addresses the scenario's requirement to handle transient faults.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Bulkhead
Why it's wrong here
Bulkhead isolates resources to prevent cascading failures.
Circuit breaker
Why it's wrong here
Circuit breaker prevents repeated calls when a service is down, but retry is for transient faults.
Timeout
Why it's wrong here
Timeout sets a limit on wait time, but does not retry.
Retry
Why this is correct
Retry handles transient failures by reattempting the operation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
CNCF often tests the distinction between handling transient faults (Retry) versus preventing cascading failures (Circuit breaker), leading candidates to choose Circuit breaker when the question explicitly mentions 'intermittent' or 'transient' faults.
Detailed technical explanation
The Retry pattern typically uses exponential backoff (e.g., initial delay of 100ms, doubling each retry) to avoid overwhelming the external API, often combined with jitter to prevent thundering herd problems. In Kubernetes environments, this can be implemented via client libraries (e.g., Istio's retry configuration in VirtualService) or application-level logic. A real-world scenario: an API call fails due to a temporary DNS resolution delay; a retry with a 500ms backoff succeeds on the second attempt, whereas a circuit breaker would incorrectly open and block all traffic for minutes.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Cloud Native Architecture — This question tests Cloud Native Architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Retry — Option D (Retry) is correct because intermittent failures when calling an external API are typically transient faults (e.g., network glitches, temporary service unavailability). The Retry pattern automatically reattempts the failed operation a configured number of times, often with exponential backoff, to overcome these short-lived issues without changing the application's overall architecture. This directly addresses the scenario's requirement to handle transient faults.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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