KCNA Cloud Native Architecture Practice Question
Which of the following best describes 'Infrastructure as Code' (IaC)?
⚠ Common exam trap
KCNA often tests the distinction between declarative (desired-state) and imperative (step-by-step) approaches, so candidates who equate 'automation' or 'scripting' with IaC pick Option B.
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
✓
Defining infrastructure resources in a declarative configuration file
IaC is fundamentally about declaring the desired end state of infrastructure in machine-readable configuration files (Terraform HCL, CloudFormation YAML, Kubernetes manifests) and letting a tool reconcile reality to match that declaration. Option D captures this declarative model, which is the defining characteristic of modern IaC. The key distinction is that the file describes *what* the infrastructure should look like, not the step-by-step *how*.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Manually configuring servers via SSH
Why it's wrong here
Manual SSH configuration is imperative, human-executed change with no version-controlled definitions or repeatable provisioning, which is the opposite of IaC. It is tempting because it is how many administrators first build servers, and would be correct only for one-off troubleshooting, not for reproducible infrastructure.
- ✗
Using a scripting language to automate tasks
Why it's wrong here
Scripting automates task execution but does not declare desired end-state infrastructure in versioned definition files, so it lacks IaC's idempotent provisioning model. It is tempting because automation and IaC are often conflated, and scripting would be correct for ad-hoc operational tasks rather than provisioning whole environments.
- ✗
Running containers on a Kubernetes cluster
Why it's wrong here
Running containers on Kubernetes describes workload orchestration, not declaring infrastructure in version-controlled definition files. It is tempting because Kubernetes manifests are declarative YAML, and Kubernetes would be the correct answer for scheduling and scaling containerised applications, not for defining IaC itself.
- ✓
Defining infrastructure resources in a declarative configuration file
Why this is correct
Declarative configuration files let you specify the desired end state of infrastructure, and the tool reconciles actual resources to match it. This satisfies IaC's core constraint: infrastructure defined reproducibly in version-controlled code rather than manual provisioning, enabling consistent, repeatable deployments across environments without imperative step-by-step commands.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This KCNA question is part of Courseiva's 930-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CNCF exam blueprint
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.