KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
You have a Deployment defined with replicas: 5. You run 'kubectl scale deployment myapp --replicas=3'. Which component is responsible for ensuring the actual number of Pods matches the desired 3?
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the misconception that kubelet or kube-scheduler handles scaling, when in fact kubelet only manages local Pod lifecycle and the scheduler only places Pods on nodes, while the Deployment controller in the kube-controller-manager is the component that reconciles replica counts.
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
✓
Deployment controller in kube-controller-manager
The Deployment controller, which runs as part of the kube-controller-manager, is responsible for reconciling the desired state of a Deployment. When you run 'kubectl scale deployment myapp --replicas=3', the Deployment controller detects the change in the Deployment's replica count and creates or deletes Pods via the ReplicaSet controller to match the desired 3 replicas.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
etcd
Why it's wrong here
etcd stores the desired state but does not take action to enforce it.
- ✓
Deployment controller in kube-controller-manager
Why this is correct
The Deployment controller watches the Deployment and manages the ReplicaSet to achieve the desired number of replicas.
- ✗
kubelet
Why it's wrong here
kubelet maintains Pod lifecycle on a Node but does not scale Deployments.
- ✗
kube-scheduler
Why it's wrong here
The scheduler assigns Pods to Nodes but does not manage replica counts.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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