KCNA — Cloud Native Architecture Practice Questions
Cloud Native Architecture Practice Questions
Test your understanding of cloud-native principles, microservices, twelve-factor apps, serverless, autoscaling, and CNCF governance.
Question 1
According to the CNCF definition, which of the following is NOT listed as a cloud-native technology?
- A) Containers
- B) Service meshes
- C) Relational databases
- D) Declarative APIs
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Containers are explicitly listed in the CNCF definition |
| B | Service meshes are explicitly listed in the CNCF definition |
| C | Relational databases are not part of the CNCF definition of cloud-native. The definition mentions: containers, service meshes, microservices, immutable infrastructure, and declarative APIs. |
| D | Declarative APIs are explicitly listed in the CNCF definition |
Question 2
What is the Strangler Fig Pattern used for?
- A) Scaling microservices horizontally
- B) Gradually migrating a monolith to microservices
- C) Managing container networking
- D) Implementing service mesh sidecar injection
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Horizontal scaling is handled by HPA, not the Strangler Fig Pattern |
| B | The Strangler Fig Pattern gradually replaces monolith components with microservices — extract one component at a time, route traffic to the new service, and repeat until the monolith is gone |
| C | Container networking is handled by CNI plugins |
| D | Sidecar injection is a service mesh pattern, not related to Strangler Fig |
Question 3
Which twelve-factor principle states that applications should store configuration in the environment, not in code?
- A) Factor 2 — Dependencies
- B) Factor 3 — Config
- C) Factor 6 — Processes
- D) Factor 11 — Logs
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Factor 2 (Dependencies) is about explicitly declaring and isolating dependencies |
| B | Factor 3 (Config) states that configuration should be stored in the environment — never hardcoded. In Kubernetes, this maps to ConfigMaps and Secrets. |
| C | Factor 6 (Processes) says apps should run as stateless processes |
| D | Factor 11 (Logs) says apps should treat logs as event streams to stdout |
Question 4
What is Knative primarily used for?
- A) Container orchestration
- B) Service mesh management
- C) Serverless workloads on Kubernetes
- D) Cluster autoscaling
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Container orchestration is Kubernetes’ core function, not Knative’s |
| B | Service mesh is handled by Istio, Linkerd, etc. |
| C | Knative provides serverless capabilities on Kubernetes — including scale-to-zero, auto-scaling, and event-driven architecture via Knative Serving and Knative Eventing |
| D | Cluster autoscaling is handled by the Cluster Autoscaler |
Question 5
What is the key difference between HPA and KEDA?
- A) HPA scales nodes; KEDA scales pods
- B) KEDA can scale to zero; HPA cannot
- C) HPA is event-driven; KEDA is metric-driven
- D) KEDA replaces HPA entirely
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Both HPA and KEDA scale pods, not nodes — node scaling is done by Cluster Autoscaler |
| B | KEDA can scale to zero pods and back up when events arrive. HPA requires a minimum of 1 replica. KEDA extends HPA with event-driven triggers and scale-to-zero capability. |
| C | It’s the opposite — KEDA is event-driven; HPA is metric-driven (CPU/memory) |
| D | KEDA works alongside HPA, extending it — it doesn’t replace it |
Question 6
What are the three CNCF project maturity levels, in order?
- A) Alpha → Beta → Stable
- B) Sandbox → Incubating → Graduated
- C) Experimental → Testing → Production
- D) Draft → Review → Published
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Alpha/Beta/Stable are Kubernetes API maturity stages, not CNCF project levels |
| B | CNCF projects progress through: Sandbox (early-stage) → Incubating (growing, maturing) → Graduated (production-ready, widely adopted, security audited) |
| C | These are not CNCF maturity levels |
| D | These are not CNCF maturity levels |
Question 7
What is the “distributed monolith” anti-pattern?
- A) Running a monolith across multiple data centers
- B) Microservices that are tightly coupled and must be deployed together
- C) Using distributed databases in a monolithic application
- D) Deploying the same monolith to multiple Kubernetes clusters
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Running in multiple data centers is a distribution strategy, not this anti-pattern |
| B | A distributed monolith is when microservices are so tightly coupled that they must be deployed together, share databases, or make synchronous calls that create cascading failures — you get the complexity of microservices without the benefits |
| C | Using distributed databases in a monolith is a different concern |
| D | Deploying the same app to multiple clusters is multi-cluster deployment |
Question 8
Which body in the CNCF is responsible for making technical decisions about project acceptance and lifecycle?
- A) Governing Board
- B) Technical Oversight Committee (TOC)
- C) TAGs (Technical Advisory Groups)
- D) SIGs (Special Interest Groups)
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | The Governing Board handles business direction, budget, and marketing — not technical project decisions |
| B | The TOC (Technical Oversight Committee) is responsible for technical direction, project acceptance, maturity level reviews, and defining graduation criteria |
| C | TAGs provide cross-project technical guidance on specific topics (security, networking, etc.) but don’t make project lifecycle decisions |
| D | SIGs are within individual projects (e.g., Kubernetes SIG-Network) — not CNCF-wide governance |
Question 9
What does “immutable infrastructure” mean in cloud-native contexts?
- A) Infrastructure that cannot be created
- B) Infrastructure that is never modified after deployment — replaced instead
- C) Infrastructure protected by encryption
- D) Infrastructure that scales automatically
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Immutable doesn’t mean it can’t be created — it means it can’t be modified after creation |
| B | Immutable infrastructure means servers/containers are never patched or modified in place. Instead, you build a new image, deploy it, and destroy the old one. This prevents configuration drift. |
| C | Encryption is a security measure, not related to immutability |
| D | Auto-scaling is a separate concept from immutability |
Question 10
Why can’t VPA and HPA be used on the same metric simultaneously?
- A) They use different APIs
- B) VPA doesn’t support CPU metrics
- C) They would conflict — one adds pods while the other resizes them
- D) Kubernetes doesn’t allow two autoscalers on the same Deployment
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C
| Option | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A | Both use Kubernetes APIs — the issue isn’t API compatibility |
| B | VPA does support CPU metrics — it adjusts CPU requests/limits |
| C | If both HPA and VPA watch CPU: HPA says “add more pods” while VPA says “make pods bigger” — they would fight each other. You can use them together only if they watch different metrics (e.g., HPA on custom metrics, VPA on CPU). |
| D | Kubernetes allows multiple autoscalers — the restriction is on the same metric, not the same Deployment |
Score Yourself
| Score | Rating | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 9-10 | Excellent | Strong architecture knowledge. Move to Chapter 6. |
| 7-8 | Good | Review topics you missed, then proceed. |
| 5-6 | Fair | Re-read microservices, serverless, and CNCF governance sections. |
| Below 5 | Needs Work | Go back through all Architecture sub-topics. |
What’s Next?
You’ve completed Chapter 5 — Cloud Native Architecture. Now let’s explore observability — monitoring, logging, and tracing in cloud-native systems.
