KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
Which TWO statements accurately describe the concept of immutable infrastructure in the context of container orchestration? (Select two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the distinction between mutable and immutable patterns by presenting options that describe in-place updates (like SSH or exec commands) as valid, which candidates mistakenly accept if they confuse operational debugging with infrastructure management.
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
✓
Container images are versioned and promoted through environments without modification
Immutable infrastructure treats container images as immutable artifacts that are versioned and promoted through environments (e.g., dev, staging, prod) without modification. This ensures consistency and reproducibility, as the same image is deployed across all stages without patching or altering it in place.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configuration changes can be applied via SSH into the container
Why it's wrong here
SSH into containers violates the immutable principle; configuration should be baked into the image.
- ✓
Container images are versioned and promoted through environments without modification
Why this is correct
Immutable infrastructure promotes the same image through development, staging, and production without changes, ensuring consistency.
- ✓
When an update is needed, a new container image is built and deployed, and old containers are destroyed
Why this is correct
This is the core practice of immutable infrastructure: replace rather than modify.
- ✗
Containers are updated in place by executing commands inside running containers
Why it's wrong here
Immutable infrastructure discourages making changes to running instances; updates are done by replacing the container.
- ✗
Stateful applications require mutable infrastructure
Why it's wrong here
Stateful applications can still follow immutable patterns by using stateful sets and external storage; immutability is about the container itself.
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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.