KCNA Cloud Native Application Delivery Practice Question
Which Helm command is used to upgrade a release to a newer version of a chart?
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
✓
helm upgrade
The 'helm upgrade' command upgrades an existing release with a new chart version or configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
helm upgrade
Why this is correct
`helm upgrade` applies a new chart revision to an existing release, preserving its name and revision history rather than creating a fresh deployment as `helm install` would. This directly satisfies the stem's requirement to move a release to a newer chart version while retaining release identity and enabling rollback via `helm rollback`.
- ✗
helm rollback
Why it's wrong here
helm rollback reverts a release to a previous revision, moving backwards through history rather than forward to a newer chart version. It is tempting because it also modifies an existing release, but it cannot apply a new chart; helm upgrade performs that.
- ✗
helm update
Why it's wrong here
Helm has no `update` subcommand; `helm upgrade` is the command that moves a release to a newer chart version. The name is tempting because package managers like apt use `update` to refresh metadata, but Helm's equivalent is `helm repo update`, which refreshes repository indexes rather than upgrading any release.
- ✗
helm install
Why it's wrong here
helm install creates a new release; running it against an existing release name fails with an already-exists error rather than upgrading. It is tempting as the deployment command, but upgrading an existing release to a newer chart version requires helm upgrade.
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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.