A node has been `NotReady` for 30 minutes. `kubectl get nodes` shows the status, and `kubectl describe node` shows 'Kubelet stopped posting node status'. You SSH to the node and find the kubelet service is running, but `journalctl -u kubelet` shows repeated 'Error: failed to connect to containerd' messages. What is the most likely cause?

The CNI plugin is not installed.

The containerd service is stopped or crashed.

The kubelet's kubeconfig is invalid.

A worker node shows `NotReady` status. `kubectl describe node worker-1` shows: 'Kubelet stopped posting node status.' You SSH to the node and run `systemctl status kubelet`, which shows the service is active but the logs contain repeated 'failed to get container info' errors. What is the most likely root cause?

The node's kubeconfig file is invalid.

The container runtime (e.g., containerd) is not running or is unhealthy.

The kube-proxy pod is failing on the node.

The CNI plugin is misconfigured.

After a control plane node reboot, the kube-apiserver fails to start. `journalctl -u kube-apiserver` shows: 'error: unable to load client CA file: open /etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt: no such file or directory'. The `/etc/kubernetes/pki/` directory is empty. What is the most likely cause and immediate recovery step?

The kube-apiserver service is not enabled; run `systemctl enable kube-apiserver`.

The CA certificate file was deleted; restore it from a backup or reinitialize the cluster with `kubeadm init`.

The kubelet is not running; start it with `systemctl start kubelet`.

The etcd cluster is unhealthy; fix etcd first before starting the API server.

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Domain 2Objective 2

Troubleshoot Cluster Components CKA Practice Questions (Page 1)

Part of the Troubleshooting domain, which accounts for 30% of the CKA exam. Linux Foundation does not publish an official question count, but from its 120-minute exam (~50–80 total, ~15–24 in this domain), expect 3–5 from this objective — we provide 23 practice questions to prepare you well beyond it. (estimate)

23questions here

5free pages

6concepts

30%of the exam

Questions 1–5

1application · medium
A node has been `NotReady` for 30 minutes. `kubectl get nodes` shows the status, and `kubectl describe node` shows 'Kubelet stopped posting node status'. You SSH to the node and find the kubelet service is running, but `journalctl -u kubelet` shows repeated 'Error: failed to connect to containerd' messages. What is the most likely cause?
Select an answer first
2application · medium
A worker node shows `NotReady` status. `kubectl describe node worker-1` shows: 'Kubelet stopped posting node status.' You SSH to the node and run `systemctl status kubelet`, which shows the service is active but the logs contain repeated 'failed to get container info' errors. What is the most likely root cause?
Select an answer first
3application · medium
After a control plane node reboot, the kube-apiserver fails to start. `journalctl -u kube-apiserver` shows: 'error: unable to load client CA file: open /etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt: no such file or directory'. The `/etc/kubernetes/pki/` directory is empty. What is the most likely cause and immediate recovery step?
Select an answer first
4foundation · easy
Pod-to-pod communication is failing across nodes. Which component is responsible for implementing the network policy and routing traffic between pods?
Select an answer first
5foundation · easy
A worker node is NotReady, and you suspect the container runtime is not responding. Which command would you use to check the status of the container runtime service?
Select an answer first

Finished these 5 questions?

Review the revealed explanations, or continue through the curriculum.

Next 5 questions →Back to CKA

Free Basic Practice is a study aid with revealable answers — not a scored exam. Examers.io is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Linux Foundation. “CKA” is a trademark of its owner, used for identification only.

Troubleshoot Cluster Components CKA Practice Questions (Page 1)

Questions 1–5

Pod-to-pod communication is failing across nodes. Which component is responsible for implementing the network policy and routing traffic between pods?

A worker node is NotReady, and you suspect the container runtime is not responding. Which command would you use to check the status of the container runtime service?

Keep studying — Troubleshooting