ITGSS Certified DevOps Engineer Practice Test

What role does a service account play in Kubernetes for each pod?

1. Provides cloud storage access

2. Facilitates API access

3. Enhances user authentication

4. Manages network policies

The correct answer is: Facilitates API access

In Kubernetes, a service account is a special type of account designed specifically for processes running in a pod. This account provides an identity for those processes and is primarily used to facilitate API access within the Kubernetes cluster. Each pod can be associated with a service account that grants it permissions to interact with various Kubernetes resources through the API server. When a pod is executed, the service account linked to it allows the pod's applications to make requests to the Kubernetes API, enabling operations such as reading or modifying cluster resources. This includes actions like listing pods, accessing secrets, and interacting with other Kubernetes objects. While other options touch on important concepts in Kubernetes, they do not accurately reflect the primary role of a service account. For instance, providing cloud storage access is not directly related to service accounts, nor is enhancing user authentication specific to service accounts, as service accounts are more concerned with pod-to-API interactions. Managing network policies also falls outside the scope of a service account's responsibilities, as this task focuses on how pods communicate within the network.