KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are true about Pod resource limits? (Select TWO)
⚠ Common exam trap
In Kubernetes, the trap here is that candidates often confuse memory limits (hard, enforced by OOM kill) with CPU limits (hard, enforced by throttling), or mistakenly think limits are soft guarantees of allocation rather than caps on consumption.
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
✓
CPU limits are enforced using CFS quotas
Kubernetes enforces CPU limits using Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS) quotas. When a CPU limit is set, the kubelet configures the container's cgroup `cpu.cfs_quota_us` parameter, which restricts the total CPU time the container can consume over a CFS period (default 100ms). This ensures the container cannot exceed its specified CPU limit, even if the node has idle CPU resources.
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 use more memory than its limit if the node has free memory
Why it's wrong here
If a container exceeds its memory limit, it gets OOMKilled.
- ✓
CPU limits are enforced using CFS quotas
Why this is correct
CPU limits are enforced via Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS) quotas.
- ✗
Memory limits are soft and can be exceeded temporarily
Why it's wrong here
Memory limits are hard; exceeding them causes OOM kill.
- ✓
Limits must be greater than or equal to requests
Why this is correct
Kuberenetes validates that limits >= requests.
- ✗
Setting CPU limits guarantees that a container will always get that much CPU
Why it's wrong here
CPU limits are a cap, not a guarantee.
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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.