Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) Practice Test

What is the primary function of the kubelet within a Kubernetes cluster?

1. It manages the health of the cluster

2. It runs on a node and executes containers

3. It distributes workloads across nodes

4. It stores cluster metadata

The correct answer is: It runs on a node and executes containers

The primary function of the kubelet within a Kubernetes cluster is to run on a node and execute containers. As an essential component of the Kubernetes architecture, the kubelet is responsible for managing the lifecycle of containers that are part of a Pod, ensuring that they are started, stopped, and monitored correctly based on the specifications defined in the Pod manifest. The kubelet interacts with the container runtime on the node to manage the containers, handling tasks such as monitoring the health of the containers and reporting back to the Kubernetes API server. By doing so, it ensures that the desired number of replicas defined in the deployment spec is maintained and facilitates self-healing by restarting containers that fail. While other choices reference functions that are important in the context of Kubernetes, such as cluster health management or metadata storage, they do not define the kubelet's primary role. The kubelet's main responsibility is focused specifically on executing and managing the containers on its host node.