KCNA Cloud Native Architecture Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are characteristics of serverless computing?
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
✓
Event-driven execution
Serverless computing is event-driven and auto-scales to zero when idle. Long-running processes are not suitable, and you do not manage the underlying servers. Reserved capacity is a concept for traditional cloud.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Manual server provisioning
Why it's wrong here
Serverless abstracts server management.
- ✗
Long-running processes
Why it's wrong here
Serverless functions are ephemeral.
- ✓
Event-driven execution
Why this is correct
Functions are triggered by events.
- ✓
Auto-scaling to zero when not in use
Why this is correct
Serverless functions scale down to zero.
- ✗
Reserved capacity for predictable workloads
Why it's wrong here
Reserved capacity is not typical for serverless.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Cloud Native Architecture and Concepts
Key term
Serverless computing
Serverless computing is a cloud execution model where the cloud provider dynamically manages the allocation and provisioning of servers, allowing developers to write and deploy code without thinking about the underlying infrastructure.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on KCNA
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. In serverless computing, what is the primary characteristic of Function-as-a-Service (FaaS)?
medium- A.Stateful execution
- B.Always running instances
- ✓ C.Auto-scaling to zero
- D.Manual scaling
Why C: FaaS enables functions to scale automatically from zero based on demand, often event-driven.
Variation 2. Which TWO of the following are common characteristics of serverless computing? (Choose two.)
medium- ✓ A.Auto-scaling to zero when idle
- ✓ B.Event-driven execution
- C.Manual scaling based on predicted load
- D.Always-on dedicated servers
- E.Long-running stateful processes
Why A: Event-driven execution and auto-scaling to zero are key serverless characteristics.
JA
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.