KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
Which component runs on each worker node and ensures that containers are running as specified in the Pod spec?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common trap is confusing the kubelet (a node-level agent that runs on each worker and directly manages containers) with control-plane components like the kube-scheduler or kube-controller-manager, which run on the master node and handle cluster-level decisions.
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
✓
kubelet
The kubelet is the primary node agent that runs on every worker node in a Kubernetes cluster. It receives PodSpec definitions (via the API server or a file) and ensures that the containers described in those PodSpecs are running and healthy. It does this by interacting with the container runtime (e.g., containerd or CRI-O) to start, stop, and monitor containers, and it reports the node and pod status back to the control plane.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
kubelet
Why this is correct
The kubelet runs on each node and ensures containers are healthy.
- ✗
kube-proxy
Why it's wrong here
kube-proxy handles networking, not container management.
- ✗
kube-scheduler
Why it's wrong here
The scheduler runs on the control plane, not on worker nodes.
- ✗
kube-controller-manager
Why it's wrong here
Runs on the control plane, not on worker nodes.
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