KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
You want to deploy a stateless web application that should maintain 5 running instances at all times. You need to support rolling updates and rollbacks. Which Kubernetes resource is most appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often pick ReplicaSet because it maintains replica counts, but they overlook that Deployments are the required resource for rolling updates and rollbacks, as ReplicaSets alone do not provide these higher-level lifecycle management features.
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
A Deployment is the correct choice because it is designed to manage stateless applications with a desired replica count (5 instances), supports rolling updates to update pods gradually without downtime, and enables rollbacks to a previous revision if an update fails. Deployments internally create ReplicaSets to manage pod scaling and versioning, making them ideal for stateless workloads requiring high availability and update flexibility.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
DaemonSet
Why it's wrong here
DaemonSet ensures one pod per node, not a fixed number of replicas.
- ✓
Deployment
Why this is correct
Deployments manage ReplicaSets and provide rolling updates, rollbacks, and declarative updates for stateless applications.
- ✗
ReplicaSet
Why it's wrong here
A ReplicaSet ensures a specified number of pod replicas are running, but it does not support rolling updates directly; Deployments should be used instead.
- ✗
StatefulSet
Why it's wrong here
StatefulSet is designed for stateful applications that require stable network identities and persistent storage, not ideal for stateless apps.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Kubernetes Overview and Core Components
Key term
Horizontal Pod Autoscaling
Horizontal Pod Autoscaling automatically adjusts the number of pod replicas in a Kubernetes cluster based on observed CPU, memory, or custom metrics.
Key term
ReplicaSet and Replication
A ReplicaSet ensures a specified number of identical pod instances are running at all times in Kubernetes, using replication to maintain availability and stability.
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Same concept, more angles
4 more ways this is tested on KCNA
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A developer wants to deploy a stateless web application that should maintain three running instances at all times. Which Kubernetes resource should they use?
medium- A.Job
- ✓ B.Deployment
- C.StatefulSet
- D.DaemonSet
Why B: A Deployment is the correct resource because it manages a ReplicaSet to ensure a specified number of Pod replicas (in this case, three) are running at all times. It supports rolling updates and rollbacks, making it ideal for stateless web applications that require high availability and declarative scaling.
Variation 2. A developer needs to deploy a stateless application with three replicas and ensure that updates are rolled out with zero downtime. Which Kubernetes resource is most appropriate?
medium- ✓ A.Deployment
- B.StatefulSet
- C.Job
- D.DaemonSet
Why A: A Deployment is the correct resource because it manages a ReplicaSet to ensure the desired number of pod replicas (three) are running, and it supports rolling updates with configurable strategies (e.g., maxSurge and maxUnavailable) to achieve zero-downtime updates. Stateless applications are ideal for Deployments since pods are interchangeable and can be replaced without data loss.
Variation 3. A developer wants to run a stateless web application with 5 replicas and ensure that when a new version is released, Pods are updated one by one with no downtime. Which Kubernetes resource is best suited?
medium- A.Job
- B.DaemonSet
- C.StatefulSet
- ✓ D.Deployment
Why D: A Deployment is the correct resource because it is designed for managing stateless, replicated applications with declarative updates. It supports rolling updates (configurable via `strategy.type: RollingUpdate`), which update Pods one by one, ensuring zero downtime by gradually replacing old Pods with new ones while maintaining the desired replica count.
Variation 4. You need to run a stateless web application with three replicas, and you want to ensure that if a pod fails, it is automatically replaced. Which Kubernetes resource should you use?
medium- A.DaemonSet
- B.Job
- C.StatefulSet
- ✓ D.Deployment
Why D: A Deployment is the correct resource because it manages a ReplicaSet to ensure the desired number of pod replicas (three) are running at all times. If a pod fails, the Deployment's controller automatically creates a replacement pod, maintaining the stateless application's availability.
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.