NCP-AIO Administration Practice Question
An administrator is managing a Kubernetes cluster with NVIDIA GPU Operator. A new policy requires that all GPU workloads run with specific environment variables set, such as NVIDIA_VISIBLE_DEVICES and NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES. The administrator wants to enforce these variables automatically for any pod that requests a GPU, without modifying each pod specification manually. Which approach should the administrator use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse validating and mutating admission webhooks, or thinking that node-level runtime configuration can enforce pod-specific environment variables.
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
✓
Create a MutatingAdmissionWebhook that injects the required environment variables into pods that request nvidia.com/gpu resources.
A MutatingAdmissionWebhook is the correct Kubernetes-native way to automatically inject environment variables into pods based on their resource requests. It can inspect incoming pod specs and add the required variables when a GPU resource is requested, ensuring consistent configuration without manual intervention. Validating webhooks only reject, and runtime configuration is not pod-specific.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use a ValidatingAdmissionWebhook to reject pods that do not include the required environment variables.
Why it's wrong here
A ValidatingAdmissionWebhook can reject non-compliant pods, but it does not automatically add the variables. This would force users to manually include them, which is contrary to the goal of automatic enforcement. While it enforces policy, it does not meet the requirement of setting the variables automatically without modifying each pod.
- ✗
Configure the NVIDIA GPU Operator to set default environment variables in the device plugin daemonset.
Why it's wrong here
The device plugin daemonset runs on nodes and advertises GPU resources, but it does not inject environment variables into user pods. Environment variables for GPU access are typically set in the pod specification or via runtime configuration. Modifying the device plugin would not affect how pods are created and would not enforce the variables.
- ✓
Create a MutatingAdmissionWebhook that injects the required environment variables into pods that request nvidia.com/gpu resources.
Why this is correct
A MutatingAdmissionWebhook can intercept pod creation requests and automatically modify the pod specification to add environment variables when the pod requests GPU resources. This enforces the policy cluster-wide without requiring manual changes to each pod. It is a standard Kubernetes mechanism for such automation and integrates well with the GPU Operator's resource requests.
- ✗
Set the environment variables in the NVIDIA Container Runtime configuration on each node.
Why it's wrong here
The NVIDIA Container Runtime configuration can set default environment variables for containers, but it applies to all containers using the runtime, not just those requesting GPUs. It also does not dynamically respond to pod resource requests. This approach could inadvertently affect non-GPU workloads and is not a targeted enforcement mechanism.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official NVIDIA exam blueprint
This NCP-AIO practice question is part of Courseiva's free NVIDIA 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 NCP-AIO exam.