KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are valid reasons to use a DaemonSet instead of a Deployment? (Select 2)
⚠ Common exam trap
Kubernetes often tests the distinction between DaemonSets and Deployments by presenting scenarios that involve per-node scheduling versus replica management, and the trap here is that candidates confuse 'run on every node' with 'run on a specific node' or 'run a batch job,' leading them to select options C or D incorrectly.
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
✓
You need to run exactly one pod per node for log collection
A DaemonSet ensures that exactly one pod runs on every node (or a subset of nodes) in the cluster. Option A is correct because log collection agents (e.g., Fluentd, Filebeat) must run on each node to capture all container logs, and a DaemonSet guarantees this per-node scheduling. Option B is correct because monitoring agents (e.g., Prometheus Node Exporter, Datadog agent) need to be present on every node to collect host-level metrics, and a DaemonSet is the ideal controller for this use case.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
You need to run exactly one pod per node for log collection
Why this is correct
A DaemonSet controller schedules one pod onto every node, including nodes added later, which suits per-node agents such as log collectors. A Deployment instead targets a replica count, so coverage per node is not guaranteed.
- ✓
You need to deploy a monitoring agent that should run on every node
Why this is correct
A DaemonSet guarantees one pod replica on every node, including nodes added later, which suits per-node agents such as monitoring or log collectors. This satisfies the stem's requirement, since a Deployment offers no per-node scheduling guarantee and could leave nodes uncovered.
- ✗
You need to ensure a pod runs on the control-plane node only
Why it's wrong here
DaemonSets target all eligible nodes or a node subset via selectors; they do not restrict placement to the control-plane node alone. Taints and tolerations, or node affinity, achieve that. It tempts because DaemonSets commonly run on control-plane nodes, but exclusivity there is a scheduling constraint, not a DaemonSet property.
- ✗
You need to run a batch job that completes and exits
Why it's wrong here
Batch workloads that terminate belong to the Job or CronJob controller, which tracks completion. DaemonSets keep pods running indefinitely on every node. It tempts because DaemonSets do run pods without manual intervention, but their controller restarts rather than retires pods, so completion semantics are absent.
- ✗
You need to run a stateless web application with multiple replicas
Why it's wrong here
A DaemonSet schedules exactly one pod per eligible node, so it cannot provide multiple replicas spread across a cluster. Deployments handle replicated stateless workloads. It tempts because DaemonSets also run pods continuously, but replica-count scaling is the Deployment controller's function, not node coverage.
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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.