KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are Kubernetes control plane components?
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the distinction between control plane and worker node components, expecting candidates to mistakenly include kubelet or kube-proxy as control plane components because they are essential for cluster operation but run on nodes, not the control 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
✓
kube-apiserver
The kube-apiserver is the front-end of the Kubernetes control plane, exposing the Kubernetes API. It validates and processes RESTful requests (using JSON/YAML over HTTP/HTTPS) that create, update, or delete cluster resources, and it is the only component that communicates directly with etcd. Without the API server, no control plane operations can be performed.
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-apiserver
Why this is correct
The API server is a core control plane component.
- ✗
container runtime
Why it's wrong here
Container runtime runs on worker nodes.
- ✓
etcd
Why this is correct
etcd is the cluster's key-value store, a control plane component.
- ✗
kube-proxy
Why it's wrong here
kube-proxy runs on each node, not control plane.
- ✗
kubelet
Why it's wrong here
kubelet runs on worker nodes.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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