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CV0-004 Practice Question: A DevOps team sets up a CI/CD pipeline for a…
A DevOps team sets up a CI/CD pipeline for a containerized application on Kubernetes. They want to test a new version with a small subset of users before full rollout. Which deployment method should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between canary and rolling update by implying that rolling updates can also target a subset of users, but rolling updates replace pods gradually across the entire cluster without user-based traffic splitting.
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
✓
Canary
A canary deployment releases the new version to a small subset of users (e.g., 5-10% of traffic) while the rest continue using the stable version. This allows the team to monitor performance, errors, and user feedback before gradually increasing the rollout. Kubernetes supports canary deployments natively through techniques like multiple Deployments with shared labels and service mesh traffic splitting (e.g., Istio or Linkerd).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Canary
Why this is correct
Canary releases route a small percentage of live traffic to the new container version while the majority still hits the stable version, enabling validation with real users before full rollout. Blue-green would shift all traffic at once, failing the small-subset requirement.
- ✗
Recreate
Why it's wrong here
Recreate stops all existing pods before starting the new version, causing downtime and exposing every user to the new build at once. It fits non-production environments where an outage is acceptable. Canary deployment, which shifts a small traffic percentage to the new version, satisfies the subset-testing goal.
- ✗
Rolling update
Why it's wrong here
A rolling update replaces pods incrementally but eventually migrates all users to the new version, with no mechanism to restrict exposure to a chosen subset. It suits routine zero-downtime releases. Canary deployment, which directs only a defined traffic percentage to the new version, matches this scenario.
- ✗
Blue/green
Why it's wrong here
Blue/green swaps all traffic between two identical environments, so every user hits the new version at cutover rather than a controlled subset. It suits instant, atomic rollback of a full release. Canary deployment, which routes a percentage of traffic to the new pods, matches the small-subset requirement.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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