# Kubernetes - Production and Scaling (Data Engineering)

> Helm charts, HPA/VPA, StatefulSets, PersistentVolumes, RBAC, GKE, resource limits, Prometheus/Grafana, health probes

- 20 interview questions
- Senior
- [Interview Questions: Data Engineering](https://sharpskill.dev/en/technologies/data-engineering/interview-questions.md)

## 1. What is the main role of Helm in a Kubernetes ecosystem?

**Answer**

Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. It allows defining, installing, and upgrading complex applications through charts, which are collections of templated YAML files. Helm simplifies deployment by managing dependencies, versions, and configurations in a reproducible way.

## 2. What is the fundamental difference between a Deployment and a StatefulSet?

**Answer**

A StatefulSet guarantees a stable and persistent identity for each pod (network name, storage) while a Deployment treats pods as interchangeable. StatefulSets are essential for stateful applications like databases where each instance must retain its identity and data across restarts.

## 3. How does the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) work to adjust the number of replicas?

**Answer**

HPA monitors pod metrics (CPU, memory, or custom metrics) via the Metrics Server and automatically adjusts the number of replicas to maintain target utilization. It calculates the ratio between current and target usage, then scales up or down accordingly with cooldown periods to avoid thrashing.

## 17 more questions available

- What is the difference between HPA (Horizontal Pod Autoscaler) and VPA (Vertical Pod Autoscaler)?
- What is the role of a PersistentVolume (PV) and PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) in Kubernetes?

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