Google · Docker & Kubernetes

Google Docker & Kubernetes interview questions

Practice Docker & Kubernetes questions specifically asked in Google interviews – ideal for online test preparation, technical rounds and final HR discussions.

Company: GoogleSubject: Docker & Kubernetes57 questions in this page

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Google · Docker & Kubernetes questions (57)

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1. Explain the different Service types in Kubernetes and when you might use each.

Difficulty: MediumType: SubjectiveTopic: K8s Services

Kubernetes Services provide stable network endpoints that front one or more Pods. Common types include ClusterIP (internal-only access), NodePort (exposes service on each node’s port), LoadBalancer (provisioned by cloud provider for external access) and ExternalName (maps service to external DNS name). You choose based on how your application needs to be accessed—internally or externally.

2. What is the difference between a liveness probe and a readiness probe in Kubernetes?

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Google Docker & Kubernetes interview questions

Quick overview

1. Explain the different Service types in Kubernetes and when you might use each.

2. What is the difference between a liveness probe and a readiness probe in Kubernetes?

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3. What purpose does a StorageClass serve in Kubernetes?

4. Explain how you would implement monitoring and logging for a Kubernetes production cluster and why it matters.

5. You deploy a new version of your application and the Pods are stuck in Pending state indefinitely. What steps would you take to diagnose and resolve this? Include what you check in nodes, scheduling, storage and networking.

6. You are running two Kubernetes clusters in different regions for high availability. One region faces a full outage. Which of the following strategies supports traffic fail-over to the healthy region with minimal manual intervention?

7. You need to migrate a stateful application from one Kubernetes cluster to another (different region) with zero or minimal downtime. What strategy do you follow for data, volumes, services and DNS? What tools might you use and how do you ensure consistency and application integrity?

8. After deploying a new version of your micro-services platform on Kubernetes the cost of cloud resources spiked unexpectedly. What immediate investigations and corrective actions do you take to control cost and prevent similar episodes?

9. What are the reasons to use a private Docker image registry rather than a public one?

10. Explain the difference between a Docker image and a Docker container.

11. What is the purpose of a multi-stage build in Dockerfile?

12. What security risks can Docker images carry and how can you mitigate them?

13. What is a key difference between Docker volumes and bind mounts?

14. What is the difference between a Dockerfile and a Compose file?

15. What are typical security considerations when using Docker in production?

16. Which of the following are the main components of Docker’s architecture?

17. What is the benefit of using image layering in Docker?

18. What is the best practice around tagging images in a CI/CD pipeline to ensure immutability?

19. What is the purpose of the overlay network driver in Docker?

20. What is a key difference between a Docker bind mount and a Docker volume?

21. Explain how Docker volumes help persist data when containers are removed and why that matters.

22. Which command lets you connect a running container to an existing Docker network?

23. What are some security risks associated with Docker volume and network configuration and how can you mitigate them?

24. Which command initializes a new Docker Swarm on a host?

25. Explain the difference between manager and worker nodes in Docker Swarm.

26. What is the key difference when using `docker stack deploy` compared to `docker-compose up`?

27. How do you scale a service in Docker Swarm and what are best practices to follow?

28. What is the main purpose of a Kubernetes Deployment object?

29. What is the primary role of Kubernetes in containerised application deployments?

30. How do you design a highly available Kubernetes control plane and what are key considerations in that design?

31. What are init containers in Kubernetes and why would you use them?

32. What is immutable configuration in Kubernetes and why is it beneficial for Deployments?

33. Which deployment strategy allows you to gradually shift traffic to a new version while keeping the old version live until it’s safe to switch completely?

34. Which statement best describes the Kubernetes cluster networking model?

35. Explain the difference between a Kubernetes Service of type LoadBalancer and an Ingress resource and when you would use each.

36. Which controller would you use to automatically scale pods based on CPU usage?

37. What does a Kubernetes NetworkPolicy control?

38. Explain the difference between vertical scaling and horizontal scaling in Kubernetes and provide example use-cases for each.

39. Describe your strategy to backup and restore persistent data in Kubernetes across cluster failure or migration.

40. Which practice best supports deploying applications to Kubernetes via a CI/CD pipeline?

41. What benefit does using a Helm chart give when deploying applications to Kubernetes?

42. What is a key step in designing disaster recovery for Kubernetes etcd data?

43. What is a service mesh in Kubernetes and when might you use it in production?

44. How can you help optimise cost in a Kubernetes production cluster running on cloud resources?

45. Describe your incident-response process when a Kubernetes production application becomes unavailable.

46. What is the purpose of a PodDisruptionBudget (PDB) in Kubernetes?

47. Describe how the Cluster Autoscaler works in Kubernetes and when you would configure it.

48. Which command or approach is most appropriate for backing up etcd data in a Kubernetes control plane?

49. What are “zombie” pods in Kubernetes and how should you avoid them?

50. Your Kubernetes cluster’s etcd was exposed due to mis-configuration and data was potentially accessed by an unauthorised actor. What immediate actions do you take, how do you assess impact and how do you restore a secure state? What long-term changes do you make to prevent recurrence?

51. Which benefit does adopting a service mesh bring when you have many micro-services operating in Kubernetes?

52. What is the difference between a Pod and a Container in Kubernetes?

53. Explain how ConfigMaps and Secrets differ and how you would use them in a Deployment.

54. Which practice helps limit risk in a Kubernetes production cluster regarding permissions?

55. How would you design a logging architecture for a large Kubernetes cluster to support debugging and audit trails?

56. What is a rolling update in Docker Swarm and how does it differ from a blue-green deployment strategy?

57. Explain key considerations when operating a multi-cluster Kubernetes environment.

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