Linux Foundation / CNCF CNPE: Certified Cloud Native Platform Engineer

Last checked October 22, 2026 against the official Linux Foundation / CNCF exam page.

1. Question 1Kubernetes operations

   A platform team wants a Deployment to keep a fixed number of Pods running even when a node fails. Which Kubernetes controller behaviour provides this?

   1. AThe kubelet on each node schedules new Pods across the cluster
   2. BThe kube-proxy rewrites Service rules
   3. CThe ReplicaSet controller reconciles the desired replica count
   4. DThe etcd snapshot job copies Pod specs
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   Correct answer: C

   A Deployment manages ReplicaSets, which reconcile the desired replica count. The kubelet runs Pods on its own node, kube-proxy handles Service networking, and etcd snapshots do not schedule Pods.

2. Question 2Observability

   Which three pillars are commonly used to describe observability data?

   1. AServers, routers and switches
   2. BMetrics, logs and traces
   3. CUsers, roles and groups
   4. DImages, containers and volumes
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   Correct answer: B

   Metrics, logs and traces are the core observability signals. Hardware, container artifacts and identity objects are infrastructure or access concepts.

3. Question 3Security and policy

   Which approach enforces a rule such as 'all containers must run as non-root' for every workload admitted to a cluster?

   1. AA monthly manual spreadsheet review of container securityContext fields
   2. BA policy engine running as an admission controller, such as Kyverno or OPA Gatekeeper
   3. CA comment in the application code reminding developers to set runAsNonRoot
   4. DRelying on each developer to remember the rule when writing new manifests
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   Correct answer: B

   A policy engine as an admission controller enforces rules on every admitted workload. Spreadsheets, comments and memory are not enforcement mechanisms.

4. Question 4Platform fundamentals

   A platform team wants to reduce the cognitive load on application developers. Which goal best describes the purpose of an internal developer platform?

   1. ARequire every application team to provision and operate its own dedicated Kubernetes cluster from scratch
   2. BReplace application development teams with dedicated platform engineers who take over writing, testing and releasing services in production
   3. CProvide self-service, paved paths so developers can deliver software without needing deep infrastructure expertise
   4. DCentralize application source code, build pipelines and deployment manifests in one shared monorepo that teams commit to directly
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   Correct answer: C

   An internal developer platform offers self-service paved paths that reduce cognitive load. Replacing teams, per-team clusters and a single repository do not describe the platform's purpose.

5. Question 5Infrastructure as code

   Which property makes an infrastructure-as-code definition idempotent?

   1. AApplying it repeatedly produces the same end state without duplicating resources
   2. BEach run creates a new copy of every resource, leaving duplicate instances untracked by state
   3. CIt is applied once per environment, because a second apply would conflict with the existing state
   4. DIt requires manual approval steps and console clicks between each run in production
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   Correct answer: A

   Idempotence means repeated application converges to the same state without duplicating resources. Creating new copies, one-time application and manual steps are the opposite of idempotence.