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Pod Phase & Succeeded — KCNA Practice Question

A representative Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) exam question on Pod Phase & Succeeded. Work through it below, then read why each option is right or wrong.

This question is part of the free Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate practice test.

Short answer

The correct answer is D. Succeeded, because all containers terminated in success and will not be restarted under this restart policy.

D is correct: Succeeded means all containers in the Pod terminated in success and will not be restarted. A is wrong because Failed requires at least one container to terminate in failure, such as a non-zero exit status. B is wrong because Running requires at least one container still running, starting, or restarting. C is wrong because Pending applies before containers are set up, and with Never no replacement container is waiting.

The Question

A Pod has one container and `restartPolicy: Never`. The container runs a data migration and exits with status code 0. What phase does the Pod show afterward?

AFailed, because a container that the kubelet does not restart is always counted as a failure in the Pod phase
BRunning, because the Pod object still exists on the node and the kubelet keeps its network sandbox around
CPending, because Kubernetes waits for a new container to be scheduled before it reports any final phase
DSucceeded, because all containers terminated in success and will not be restarted under this restart policyCorrect

Why D is correct

D is correct: Succeeded means all containers in the Pod terminated in success and will not be restarted. A is wrong because Failed requires at least one container to terminate in failure, such as a non-zero exit status. B is wrong because Running requires at least one container still running, starting, or restarting. C is wrong because Pending applies before containers are set up, and with Never no replacement container is waiting.

Why the other options are wrong

Option A: Failed, because a container that the kubelet does not restart is always counted as a failure in the Pod phase

Option A does not satisfy the requirement in the scenario. Review the explanation above: the correct choice (D) is the only one that fully meets every constraint stated in the question.

Option B: Running, because the Pod object still exists on the node and the kubelet keeps its network sandbox around

Option B does not satisfy the requirement in the scenario. Review the explanation above: the correct choice (D) is the only one that fully meets every constraint stated in the question.

Option C: Pending, because Kubernetes waits for a new container to be scheduled before it reports any final phase

Option C does not satisfy the requirement in the scenario. Review the explanation above: the correct choice (D) is the only one that fully meets every constraint stated in the question.

Key idea: Pod Phase & Succeeded

D is correct: Succeeded means all containers in the Pod terminated in success and will not be restarted. A is wrong because Failed requires at least one container to terminate in failure, such as a non-zero exit status. B is wrong because Running requires at least one container still running, starting, or restarting. C is wrong because Pending applies before containers are set up, and with Never no replacement container is waiting. On the KCNA exam, questions in the "Kubernetes Fundamentals" domain test whether you can map a scenario's constraints to the right choice. Read the requirement carefully, eliminate options that violate any single constraint, and pick the one that satisfies all of them with the least operational overhead.

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Official sources used

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kubernetes.ioPod Lifecycle