CV0-004 Troubleshooting Practice Question
A cloud engineer is troubleshooting an issue where an application running in a container on a Kubernetes cluster is unable to resolve DNS names. The cluster uses CoreDNS. The engineer checks the CoreDNS pod logs and sees no errors. Which of the following should the engineer check next?
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
✓
The container's /etc/resolv.conf file
The container's /etc/resolv.conf file. In Kubernetes, pods use the DNS configuration specified in their /etc/resolv.conf, which should point to the CoreDNS service IP. If this file is misconfigured (e.g., due to a custom pod DNS policy or a problem with the kubelet), DNS resolution will fail. The CoreDNS pod logs show no errors, indicating CoreDNS is running fine, so the issue is likely in how the pod is configured to contact CoreDNS. Option A (checking the Kubernetes DNS service IP) is not the next step because the DNS service IP is typically correct; the problem is whether the pod is using it. Option C (checking the cloud provider's DNS resolver settings) is for external DNS resolution, not for internal cluster DNS. Option D (checking network policies) would cause traffic to be dropped entirely, not just DNS, and would likely show in logs or other symptoms.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The Kubernetes DNS service IP address
Why it's wrong here
The service IP is automatically assigned and unlikely to be wrong.
- ✓
The container's /etc/resolv.conf file
Why this is correct
If this file does not point to CoreDNS, DNS resolution fails.
- ✗
The cloud provider's DNS resolver settings
Why it's wrong here
Upstream resolvers are used only after CoreDNS, so the issue is local.
- ✗
The network policy for the namespace
Why it's wrong here
Network policies would block all traffic to CoreDNS, but CoreDNS logs show no errors.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 977 original CV0-004 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CV0-004 exam.