Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) Practice Test

What is the role of the API Server in a Kubernetes cluster?

1. It stores the cluster's configuration data

2. It serves as a front-end for the cluster

3. It orchestrates the deployment of applications

4. It monitors the health of nodes

The correct answer is: It serves as a front-end for the cluster

The API Server in a Kubernetes cluster plays a crucial role as the front-end for the cluster. It acts as the primary interface that allows users and other services to interact with the Kubernetes control plane. All communication with the Kubernetes cluster goes through the API Server, which processes incoming REST commands, validates them, and executes the required actions on the respective resources such as Pods, Services, or Deployments. As a front-end, the API Server exposes the Kubernetes API, allowing developers and administrators to manage and control Kubernetes resources programmatically. This is central to Kubernetes' architecture, as it provides a consistent and unified way to access the cluster's functionalities. The API Server also handles security and authentication, ensuring that only authorized users can interact with the cluster components. Regarding the other options, while the API Server does play an indirect role in orchestrating the deployment of applications by serving requests related to these actions, it does not perform orchestration itself; that responsibility lies with the controllers and schedulers within the control plane. The configuration data of the cluster is primarily stored in etcd, a distributed key-value store; this makes option A incorrect. Monitoring the health of nodes is typically handled by the Kubelet and other monitoring tools, not the API Server, which is