KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
You have a Deployment with three replicas. You want to update the container image but ensure that only one pod is updated at a time, and the update proceeds only if the new pod becomes healthy. Which update strategy should you configure?
⚠ Common exam trap
In the KCNA exam, candidates often misinterpret that maxSurge controls the number of pods updated at a time, when in reality it controls the number of extra pods allowed above the desired count, while maxUnavailable controls the number of pods that can be unavailable during the update; candidates may incorrectly choose Option A thinking maxSurge=1 means one pod at a time, but maxSurge=3 allows three new pods to be created simultaneously, violating the 'only one pod updated at a time' constraint.
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
✓
RollingUpdate with maxSurge=1 and maxUnavailable=0
A RollingUpdate strategy with maxSurge=1 and maxUnavailable=0 ensures that exactly one new pod is created before any old pod is terminated, and the update only proceeds when the new pod passes its readiness probe (i.e., becomes healthy). This guarantees that at all times during the update, the desired number of replicas (3) are available, and only one pod is updated at a time, matching the requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
RollingUpdate with maxSurge=3 and maxUnavailable=1
Why it's wrong here
This allows multiple pods to be updated simultaneously, violating the requirement.
- ✓
RollingUpdate with maxSurge=1 and maxUnavailable=0
Why this is correct
This configuration updates one pod at a time and waits for the new pod to become healthy before proceeding.
- ✗
Canary deployment via Ingress
Why it's wrong here
Canary deployments are typically managed outside of the Deployment update strategy.
- ✗
Recreate strategy
Why it's wrong here
Recreate deletes all pods before creating new ones, causing downtime.
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JA
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.