KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
Which Kubernetes resource provides stable network endpoints for a set of pods, enabling service discovery and load balancing?
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the misconception that Ingress provides load balancing and stable endpoints directly to pods, when in fact Ingress only routes external traffic to a Service, which is the actual resource providing those capabilities.
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 resource because it provides a stable virtual IP (ClusterIP) and DNS name that persists independently of pod lifecycles, enabling reliable service discovery and client-side load balancing across a set of pods selected by labels. This abstraction decouples clients from ephemeral pod IPs, ensuring traffic is routed to healthy pods via kube-proxy and iptables/IPVS rules.
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 provides a stable endpoint and load balancing for a set of pods, enabling service discovery within the cluster.
- ✗
NetworkPolicy
Why it's wrong here
NetworkPolicy is used to control traffic flow between pods and services, not to provide stable endpoints.
- ✗
Ingress
Why it's wrong here
Ingress manages external access to services, typically HTTP, but does not itself provide stable endpoints for pods; it routes traffic to Services.
- ✗
EndpointSlice
Why it's wrong here
EndpointSlice is a resource that tracks the IP addresses of pods backing a Service, but it is not the stable endpoint itself.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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