KCNA Cloud Native Architecture Practice Question
What is the purpose of a circuit breaker pattern in microservices?
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
✓
To stop cascading failures by preventing calls to a failing service
The circuit breaker pattern prevents an application from repeatedly trying to execute an operation that is likely to fail, allowing it to recover gracefully.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
To distribute traffic across multiple instances
Why it's wrong here
Load balancing distributes traffic, not circuit breaker.
- ✓
To stop cascading failures by preventing calls to a failing service
Why this is correct
The circuit breaker opens when failures reach a threshold, stopping calls and allowing the service to recover.
- ✗
To encrypt communication between services
Why it's wrong here
Encryption is handled by TLS/mTLS, not circuit breaker.
- ✗
To automatically retry failed requests
Why it's wrong here
Retry is a separate pattern; circuit breaker stops requests to failing services.
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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.