KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are true about container lifecycle? (Choose 3)
⚠ Common exam trap
KCNA often tests the container-vs-VM lifecycle boundary — candidates who transfer VM concepts like hibernation or 'built phase' onto containers pick the wrong options.
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
✓
A container can be paused and resumed
Option A is correct because container runtimes such as Docker support pausing a running container (e.g., `docker pause`), which freezes all processes via the cgroup freezer, and resuming it later with `docker unpause`. Option D is correct because a container's lifecycle is tied to its main process (PID 1); when that process exits, the container terminates and its writable layer stops. Option E is correct because a stopped container retains its filesystem and configuration, allowing it to be restarted later with `docker start`, resuming the same container instance. Option B is not correct because containers do not hibernate state to disk the way virtual machines or operating systems do; there is no standard container hibernation mechanism. Option C is not correct because 'built' is a phase of creating an image, not a container lifecycle stage; containers are created and then started, not built.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A container can be paused and resumed
Why this is correct
Pausing freezes all processes in the container's cgroup via the freezer, and resuming unfreezes them, so state is preserved without a restart. This satisfies the lifecycle claim that a running container can be suspended and later continued.
- ✗
A container can be hibernated to save state to disk
Why it's wrong here
Containers have no hibernate state; pausing freezes processes in memory via the cgroup freezer and writes nothing to disk. It is tempting because virtual machines and laptops hibernate, but container runtimes expose only created, running, paused, stopped and deleted states.
- ✗
A container goes through a 'built' phase before running
Why it's wrong here
Building produces an image, not a container; the container lifecycle begins when a runtime creates it from that image. It is tempting because build precedes run in a CI/CD pipeline, but that ordering describes image construction, whereas container states are created, running, paused and stopped.
- ✓
A container terminates when its main process exits
Why this is correct
A container's lifecycle is bound to its main process: when that process exits, the container stops, regardless of other activity. This is the fundamental lifecycle rule, since the container exists only to run that process.
- ✓
A container can be stopped and later restarted
Why this is correct
A stopped container retains its filesystem and configuration, so it can be started again later, resuming from its previous state rather than being recreated. This restartability is a defining property of the container lifecycle, distinguishing stopped containers from deleted ones.
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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.