KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
Which TWO components are part of the Kubernetes control plane?
⚠ Common exam trap
The KCNA exam often tests the misconception that kubelet or kube-proxy are control plane components because they are essential for cluster operation, but they actually run on every node as part of the data plane.
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
✓
etcd
C (etcd) is correct because it is the distributed key-value store that holds all cluster data, including configuration, state, and metadata. D (kube-apiserver) is correct because it is the front-end for the control plane, exposing the Kubernetes API and handling all RESTful requests for cluster operations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
kube-proxy
Why it's wrong here
kube-proxy is a worker node component.
- ✗
kubelet
Why it's wrong here
kubelet runs on worker nodes, not in the control plane.
- ✓
etcd
Why this is correct
etcd is the control plane's key-value store.
- ✓
kube-apiserver
Why this is correct
The API server is a control plane component.
- ✗
container runtime
Why it's wrong here
The container runtime runs on worker nodes.
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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.