KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are characteristics of a microservices architecture? (Select 2)
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the misconception that microservices require a shared database for consistency, but the correct pattern is database-per-service to maintain loose coupling and independent scalability.
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
✓
Independent deployment of services
Option A (Independent deployment of services) is correct because microservices are built as separately deployable units, so a change to one service can be built, tested, and released without redeploying the entire application. Option C (Loose coupling between services) is correct because microservices interact through well-defined interfaces (typically REST, gRPC, or messaging) and minimize dependencies on each other's internal implementation, allowing them to evolve independently. Option B (Tight coupling between services) is incorrect because tight coupling is characteristic of monolithic designs, where components are highly interdependent. Option D (Monolithic codebase) is incorrect because microservices decompose functionality into multiple small, independently managed codebases rather than one unified codebase. Option E (Shared database for all services) is incorrect because microservices generally favor database-per-service to avoid coupling through shared schemas and to preserve service autonomy.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Independent deployment of services
Why this is correct
Independent deployment lets each service be released, scaled and restarted on its own release cadence, so a change to one service does not force redeployment of the whole application. This satisfies the stem's requirement for a defining microservices characteristic, distinguishing it from monolithic architectures where the entire application ships as one unit.
- ✗
Tight coupling between services
Why it's wrong here
Microservices are independently deployable, communicating through well-defined APIs, which demands loose coupling so one service's changes do not force redeployment of others. Tight coupling is tempting because synchronous API calls between services can look like dependency, but coupling describes deployment and change independence, not call direction.
- ✓
Loose coupling between services
Why this is correct
Loose coupling lets each microservice evolve, deploy and scale independently, since services interact only through well-defined APIs rather than shared internal state. This directly satisfies the architecture's independence requirement, contrasting with the tight runtime dependencies of a monolithic application where a single change forces whole-application redeployment.
- ✗
Monolithic codebase
Why it's wrong here
Microservices decompose functionality into independently deployable services, each with its own codebase, so a single monolithic codebase contradicts the architecture. It is tempting because a monorepo can hold many services' source, but a monorepo is a repository layout, not a monolithic codebase — the services remain separately buildable and deployable.
- ✗
Shared database for all services
Why it's wrong here
Each microservice owns its data store to preserve independent deployability and bounded context, so a shared database reintroduces coupling at the schema layer. It is tempting because sharing one database is convenient and common in monoliths, but that convenience is precisely the coupling microservices architecture is designed to eliminate.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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