KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
Which Kubernetes object provides a stable IP address and DNS name to access a set of pods, and can perform load balancing?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common misconception is that Ingress itself performs load balancing, but Ingress is only a routing rule set; the actual load balancing is done by the Service or the Ingress controller's underlying proxy.
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
✓
Service
A Service is the correct Kubernetes object because it provides a stable virtual IP (ClusterIP) and a DNS name (via CoreDNS) that remains constant even as pods are created or destroyed. It performs layer 4 (TCP/UDP) load balancing across the set of pods selected by its label selector, using iptables or IPVS rules to distribute traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Service
Why this is correct
A Service front-ends a dynamic pod set behind a single stable virtual IP and DNS name, and kube-proxy load-balances connections across the selected endpoints. That satisfies the requirement for stable addressing plus load balancing, which bare pods with ephemeral IPs cannot provide.
- ✗
Ingress
Why it's wrong here
Ingress routes external HTTP and HTTPS traffic to services using host and path rules, but it does not itself assign a stable cluster IP or DNS name to a pod set. It is tempting because it fronts applications, and would be correct for exposing them externally, not for internal service discovery and load balancing.
- ✗
Deployment
Why it's wrong here
A Deployment manages ReplicaSet rollout and pod lifecycle, but it neither allocates a stable virtual IP nor registers DNS names; only a Service does that. It is tempting because Deployments do front pods, yet they provide no cluster IP or kube-dns entry, so clients cannot reach pods by a fixed address.
- ✗
Pod
Why it's wrong here
A Pod is the ephemeral unit hosting containers; its IP changes on recreation and it provides no DNS name or load balancing across replicas. It is tempting because pods run the application, and would be correct as the deployable workload object, not as the stable access abstraction in front of them.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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