KCNA Cloud Native Observability Practice Question
In distributed tracing, what is a 'span'?
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
✓
A single logical operation within a trace
A span represents a unit of work in a distributed system, often a single operation like an HTTP request or database call.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A metric measuring request latency
Why it's wrong here
That is a metric, not a span.
- ✓
A single logical operation within a trace
Why this is correct
A span represents one operation, such as a function call or a request.
- ✗
A collection of related traces
Why it's wrong here
A trace is a collection of spans, not the other way around.
- ✗
A log entry with trace context
Why it's wrong here
A log entry may carry trace context but is not a span.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This KCNA question is part of Courseiva's 833-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.