Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)Cloud Native DeliveryHard
A team is designing a CI/CD pipeline for a Kubernetes application. They want to ensure that once a new Docker image is built and pushed to the container registry, the Kubernetes cluster automatically updates the running application to use this new image. Which CI/CD strategy is most aligned with this automated deployment goal?
- AContinuous Delivery (CD)
- BContinuous Integration (CI)
- CContinuous Deployment (CD)
- DManual Deployment
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Continuous Deployment (CD)
Continuous Deployment (CD) automates the entire process from code commit to production deployment, including the automatic release of every validated change to users. This means that once an image is ready, the system automatically updates the running application in production, without human intervention.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Continuous Delivery means the application is *ready* for deployment, but human approval might be required before going to production.
- B. CI focuses on building and testing, not automatic production release.
- D. Manual Deployment explicitly requires human intervention, which contradicts the goal.
Continuous Deployment (CD)
A software release process that uses automated testing to validate if changes are correct and stable, and if so, automatically deploys them to a production environment. It extends Continuous Delivery by removing the manual approval step for production releases.
- Every change that passes automated tests is automatically released to production.
- Requires a very high level of automation and confidence in testing.
- Minimizes lead time from commit to production.
- Differs from Continuous Delivery by removing the manual 'go/no-go' decision.
Memory trick: Continuous Deployment is the 'auto-pilot' for your releases.