Deployment Flashcards

What is a 'smoke test' in the context of deployment?

Answer: A quick set of basic checks to verify a deployment didn't break core functionality

Smoke tests are lightweight sanity checks run immediately after deployment to confirm the application starts and core paths work.

What is the purpose of environment-specific .env files in deployment?

Answer: To provide environment-specific configuration values without hardcoding them in source

.env files store configuration like database URLs and API keys per environment, keeping them out of source code.

In Kubernetes, what is a 'Pod'?

Answer: The smallest deployable unit, consisting of one or more containers sharing network and storage

A Pod is the atomic unit in Kubernetes, wrapping one or more tightly coupled containers that share an IP address and volumes.

What does 'immutable infrastructure' mean in deployment?

Answer: Infrastructure components are never modified after deployment; they are replaced with new instances

Immutable infrastructure replaces rather than patches servers, ensuring consistency and eliminating configuration drift.

Which tool is used to define and provision multi-cloud infrastructure as code?

Answer: Terraform

Terraform is a provider-agnostic IaC tool that manages cloud resources across AWS, GCP, Azure, and others via declarative config files.

What happens when a Kubernetes Deployment's replica count is set to 3?

Answer: Kubernetes ensures exactly 3 identical pod instances are running at all times

Setting replicas: 3 tells the ReplicaSet controller to maintain exactly three running pods, restarting any that fail.

What is the main advantage of using a managed platform like Vercel or Heroku over self-managed servers?

Answer: They abstract infrastructure management, handling scaling, SSL, and deployments automatically

Managed platforms handle provisioning, scaling, and operations so developers focus on code rather than infrastructure.