devops/activities/02-working-with-pods-lab.md

id	title	mode	open_at	close_at	retakes_enabled	max_attempts	grade_max
act-02-working-with-pods-lab	Unit 02 — Working with Pods	lab	2026-02-01T00:00:00+01:00	2026-12-31T23:59:59+01:00	true	999	100

Unit 02 — Working with Pods

T1

Type: essay Points: 10 Prompt: Explain why Pods are called “the atomic unit of scheduling” and why we typically avoid deploying Pods directly (mention what Controllers provide). Refs:

• mat-03-working-with-pods#previously
• mat-03-working-with-pods#static-pods-vs-controllers Rubric:
• Correctly explains “atomic unit of scheduling” (4)
• Explains why direct Pods are limited and what Controllers add (6)

T2

Type: essay Points: 15 Prompt: List at least 6 examples of “pod augmentation data” and explain (one sentence each) why they are useful. Refs:

• mat-03-working-with-pods#pod-augmentation-data
• mat-03-working-with-pods#some-pod-features-why-they-matter Rubric:
• ≥6 correct items listed (9)
• Each item has a correct purpose statement (6)

T3

Type: essay Points: 10 Prompt: Describe the high-level process of deploying a Pod from manifest to running state (use numbered steps). Refs:

• mat-03-working-with-pods#deploying-pods-high-level Rubric:
• Includes manifest creation + posting to API (3)
• Includes API authz/validation and scheduling (4)
• Includes kubelet monitoring/execution (3)

T4

Type: essay Points: 15 Prompt: Explain how networking works for single-container vs multi-container Pods, including how containers communicate inside the same Pod. Refs:

• mat-04-pod-networking-lifecycle-and-patterns#pods-and-shared-networking Rubric:
• Correctly states shared IP/ports/routing in multi-container pods (7)
• Correctly explains localhost communication within a pod (8)

T5

Type: essay Points: 10 Prompt: Summarize the Pod lifecycle phases and provide guidance on restartPolicy values for short-lived vs long-lived apps. Refs:

• mat-04-pod-networking-lifecycle-and-patterns#pod-lifecycle
• mat-04-pod-networking-lifecycle-and-patterns#pod-restart-policy Rubric:
• Lifecycle phases described correctly (5)
• Restart policy guidance correct (5)

T6

Type: essay Points: 10 Prompt: Define Pod immutability and explain what you should do when you need to change a Pod’s metadata. Refs:

• mat-04-pod-networking-lifecycle-and-patterns#pod-immutability Rubric:
• Correctly defines immutability (5)
• Correctly states “create a new Pod” approach (5)

T7

Type: essay Points: 10 Prompt: Describe at least two multi-container patterns (sidecar and init container) and give one realistic use case for each. Refs:

• mat-04-pod-networking-lifecycle-and-patterns#multi-container-pod-patterns Rubric:
• Correct pattern definitions (6)
• Appropriate use cases (4)

T8

Type: file Points: 20 Prompt: Create a lab write-up in @solutions/unit02-lab.md that includes: (1) creating a fresh k3d cluster (1 server + 1 agent), (2) deploying a Pod using a manifest, (3) verifying with kubectl get/watch, (4) inspecting with -o wide and -o yaml, (5) using kubectl describe, logs, and exec, and (6) cleaning up the cluster. Refs:

• mat-05-kubectl-for-pods#apply-a-manifest
• mat-05-kubectl-for-pods#inspect-pods-with-kubectl-get
• mat-05-kubectl-for-pods#kubectl-describe
• mat-05-kubectl-for-pods#kubectl-logs
• mat-05-kubectl-for-pods#kubectl-exec Rubric:
• Shows correct kubectl apply/get/watch usage (6)
• Includes -o wide and -o yaml output snippets (5)
• Includes describe + logs + exec evidence (6)
• Includes cluster delete and brief reflection (3)

T9

Type: file Points: 10 Prompt: Homework: Create an nginx image with static content, upload it to DockerHub, write a Pod manifest that uses it, deploy it to your cluster, and watch it being deployed. Submit a short report in @solutions/unit02-homework.md describing commands used and evidence (screenshots or pasted outputs). Refs:

• mat-03-working-with-pods#deploying-pods-high-level
• mat-05-kubectl-for-pods#apply-a-manifest Rubric:
• Describes image build and push steps (4)
• Pod manifest described correctly (3)
• Deployment + watch evidence included (3)