Practice Free NCP-CN Nutanix Certified Professional - Cloud Native (NCP-CN-6.10) Exam Questions Answers With Explanation

The error states:

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Could not find or access '/home/.../nkp-image-builder-.../playbooks/.../artifacts/1.29.6_ubuntu_22.04_x86_64.tar.gz'

This indicates that the OS package bundle (artifacts/1.29.6_ubuntu_22.04_x86_64.tar.gz) has not been created or is missing. Creating the OS package bundle is a prerequisite step in the NIB workflow.

Key Reference:

Nutanix Kubernetes Platform Administration (NKPA) 6.10 – “Creating OS Package Bundles for NIB”

NCP-CN 6.10 Study Guide – “NIB Preparation Prerequisites”

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The exhibit shows the NKP UI with a list of clusters, including "arca," "demo," and "production," each with a three-dot menu on the right side. The NKPA course explains that to delete a cluster directly from the NKP UI, the engineer should use the Delete option available in the cluster’s three-dot menu. This action initiates the deletion process, removing the cluster from NKP management and freeing up any associated licenses (e.g., CPU core-based licenses, as per NKP licensing).

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “To delete a cluster in NKP via the UI, navigate to the cluster list, click the three-dot menu for the target cluster (e.g., demo), and select ‘Delete’ to remove the cluster and its resources.” The UI in the exhibit aligns with this process, showing the three-dot menu next to the "demo" cluster, which includes the Delete option. This is the most straightforward method to delete the demo cluster and reallocate resources to the arca cluster.

Incorrect Options:

A. Download kubeconfig and use kubectl delete cluster: kubectl delete cluster is not a valid command for deleting NKP clusters. NKP uses the nkp CLI or UI for cluster deletion.

C. Select Detach and ask the cluster owner to delete: Detach is for external clusters (e.g., EKS), not NKP-managed clusters like "demo," which is on Nutanix infrastructure. Detaching does not delete the cluster.

D. SSH to kommander cluster and execute kubectl delete cluster: Kommander is a management component, but kubectl delete cluster is not a valid command for NKP cluster deletion.

The Secure Tunnel feature in NKP relies on HTTPS (TCP port 443) to establish secure, encrypted connections between the attached cluster and the management cluster, enabling fleet management even in restricted network environments.

Exact extract:

“Secure Tunnel uses TCP/443 (HTTPS) for establishing a secure connection between the attached cluster and NKP.”

The NKPA course specifies that the Nutanix Image Builder (NIB), used for creating custom machine images for NKP cluster nodes, supports specific Linux distributions that are compatible with Nutanix infrastructure and Kubernetes requirements. For NKP v2.12.x, the supported distributions for NIB are Ubuntu and Rocky Linux, as these are tested and optimized for NKP deployments, ensuring stability and compatibility with Cluster API (CAPI) and Nutanix AHV.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “NKP Image Builder (NIB) supports Ubuntu and Rocky Linux as base distributions for creating custom images for NKP cluster nodes, ensuring compatibility with Kubernetes and Nutanix infrastructure.” Ubuntu provides a widely-used, well-supported base with long-term support (LTS) versions, while Rocky Linux is a CentOS replacement that Nutanix has adopted for its reliability and enterprise focus, especially after CentOS 8’s end-of-life in 2021.

Incorrect Options:

B. Fedora: Fedora is not a supported distribution for NIB in NKP, as it is more suited for bleeding-edge development rather than production Kubernetes environments.

D. CentOS: CentOS 8 reached end-of-life in December 2021, and Nutanix has shifted to Rocky Linux as its replacement for NKP image building. The course does not list CentOS as a supported option for NIB in NKP v2.12.x.

The NKPA course clarifies that NKP licenses are based on the number of CPU cores in the infrastructure hosting the Kubernetes clusters. This licensing model applies to both on-premises (e.g., Nutanix AHV) and cloud-based deployments. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “NKP licenses are obtained based on the total number of CPU cores allocated to the clusters managed by the platform.” This core-based licensing ensures flexibility across different infrastructure types while aligning with the resource consumption of Kubernetes workloads.

Incorrect Options:

A. Flash: Flash storage is not a licensing unit for NKP.

B. CPU Sockets: Nutanix licenses for other products may use sockets, but NKP uses cores.

C. TiBs: Terabytes are used for storage licensing, not NKP.

The NKPA course explains the role of a bootstrap cluster in NKP deployments, particularly in hybrid architectures involving Nutanix on-prem and Amazon EKS. A bootstrap cluster is a temporary Kubernetes cluster created during the deployment process to initialize Cluster API (CAPI) components, which manage the lifecycle of the target NKP clusters. The primary function of the bootstrap cluster is to use Cluster API for infrastructure-agnostic provisioning (Option D).

CAPI enables NKP to provision clusters across different infrastructures (e.g., Nutanix AHV, AWS EKS) in a consistent, infrastructure-agnostic manner. The bootstrap cluster runs the CAPI controllers (e.g., CAPX for Nutanix, CAPA for AWS) that orchestrate the creation of the target clusters, abstracting the underlying infrastructure details. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “The bootstrap cluster in NKP uses Cluster API to provide infrastructure-agnostic provisioning, enabling consistent cluster creation across diverse environments like Nutanix AHV and Amazon EKS.” This ensures that the same CAPI-based workflow can deploy clusters on both on-prem Nutanix and cloud-based EKS.

Incorrect Options:

A. Increases security from a single point of entry: A bastion host, not a bootstrap cluster, provides a single point of entry for security. The bootstrap cluster is temporary and focuses on provisioning.

B. Simplifies the networking requirements for Kubernetes: Networking is managed by the target cluster’s CNI (e.g., Calico), not the bootstrap cluster.

C. Saves cost by minimizing resources required for provisioning: The bootstrap cluster is temporary and does not significantly impact costs; its purpose is provisioning, not cost-saving.

NKP Platform Applications (e.g., Rook Ceph, Prometheus, Fluent Bit) are pre-integrated tools that can be deployed to Kubernetes clusters within a workspace to provide services like storage, monitoring, and logging. The NKPA course specifies that to deploy a platform application to all clusters in a workspace from the command line, the engineer uses the nkp create appdeployment command. This command creates an application deployment resource that targets the specified workspace and clusters.

The required parameters include the application ID (to identify the platform application), the version (to specify the desired version of the application), and the NKP workspace (to define the scope of clusters). For example: nkp create appdeployment --app-id prometheus --version 2.30.0 --workspace fin-vd. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “Use the nkp create appdeployment command to deploy platform applications, specifying the application ID, version, and target workspace to apply the deployment across all clusters in that workspace.”

Incorrect Options:

B. nkp deploy platform-app: This is not a valid NKP command. The correct command is nkp create appdeployment.

C. nkp deploy app: This is not a recognized command in the NKPA documentation.

D. kubectl create appdeployment: kubectl interacts with Kubernetes resources, not NKP-specific platform applications.

According to the NKPA 6.10 documentation, the FIPS Compliant Build feature is exclusively available for Enterprise tier licensing. This ensures compliance with NIST security standards and provides hardened cryptographic capabilities throughout the Kubernetes cluster stack.

Exact extract from documentation:

“The FIPS-compliant build feature is included in the NKP Enterprise tier, enabling deployments in environments that require strict security compliance.”

The Konvoy Image Builder requires a 64-bit Linux or MacOS environment (x86_64 architecture) to build and customize the OS images.

The NKPA course details the process of creating an NKP cluster on vSphere using the NKP CLI, including the configuration of multiple node pools with specific worker node counts and CPU settings. The correct approach involves creating the cluster with the initial node pool and then adding additional node pools separately.

The steps in Option A align with this process:

nkp create cluster vsphere --worker-replicas 6 --worker-cpus 10: This command creates the NKP cluster on vSphere with the first node pool, consisting of 6 worker nodes, each with 10 CPUs.

nkp create nodepool vsphere --worker-replicas 3 --worker-cpus 8: This adds the second node pool to the cluster with 3 worker nodes, each with 8 CPUs.

nkp create nodepool vsphere --worker-replicas 3 --worker-cpus 6: This adds the third node pool with 3 worker nodes, each with 6 CPUs.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “To create an NKP cluster with multiple node pools on vSphere, use nkp create cluster vsphere to define the first node pool, then add additional node pools with nkp create nodepool vsphere, specifying --worker-replicas and --worker-cpus for each pool.” This method ensures precise control over each node pool’s configuration.

Incorrect Options:

B: The second nkp create nodepool command uses --replicas and --cpus, which are not the correct flags. The NKPA course specifies --worker-replicas and --worker-cpus.

C: The --node-pools, --worker-replicas 6,3,3, and --worker-cpus 10,8,6 flags are not supported in a single nkp create cluster command. Node pools must be created separately.

D: There is no nkp create nodepools command; the correct command is nkp create nodepool. Additionally, --replicas and --cpus are incorrect flags.

NKP uses Cluster API (CAPI) to provision and manage Kubernetes clusters across supported infrastructures, including Nutanix AHV, vSphere, AWS, and GCP. CAPI components, such as controllers and providers, are deployed to manage the lifecycle of clusters on these platforms. However, when NKP attaches to a managed Kubernetes service like Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), CAPI components are not deployed because AKS is managed by Azure, and NKP only integrates with the cluster for fleet management, not provisioning.

The NKPA course explains: “For managed Kubernetes services like AKS, NKP attaches the cluster to its management plane without deploying CAPI components, as the underlying infrastructure is managed by the cloud provider.” The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide reinforces this: “CAPI is used for NKP-managed clusters on Nutanix, vSphere, AWS, and GCP, but not for attached managed services like AKS.”

Incorrect Options:

A. vSphere: NKP deploys CAPI components (e.g., CAPV provider) to manage vSphere-based clusters.

B. GCP: NKP deploys CAPI components (e.g., CAPG provider) for GCP-based clusters.

C. Nutanix: NKP deploys CAPI components (e.g., CAPA provider for AHV) for Nutanix AHV clusters.

According to the NKPA 6.10 documentation, the critical system components for NKP nodes are:

kubelet

containerdThese components are deployed in the standard Linux path: /var/lib.

Exact extract from the documentation:

“The kubelet and containerd services require disk space in /var/lib on the host operating system. It’s essential to allocate sufficient storage in /var/lib to accommodate these core Kubernetes components.”

The NKPA 6.10 documentation confirms that workspaces in NKP are used to logically group and standardize configurations across multiple clusters. By creating a production workspace and a development workspace, the organization can control and enforce standardized configurations and policies for all relevant clusters.

Exact extract:

“Workspaces provide logical separation for resources, configuration, and policy management across multiple clusters, enabling standardized operations.”

The NKPA 6.10 documentation outlines that in air-gapped environments where default pod network CIDR conflicts exist, the cluster manifest (created via the nkp create cluster command) should be updated to specify an alternate, non-conflicting pod CIDR block range before deployment.

As per the NKPA 6.10 documentation under “Application Backup and Recovery with Velero,” Velero is the out-of-the-box backup and restore solution integrated with NKP. To schedule application backups at a specific frequency (in this case, every six hours, equivalent to four times daily), the recommended approach is to use the Velero CLI to create a backup schedule.

The procedure involves:

Using the Velero CLI to create a scheduled backup targeting the specific Kubernetes namespace (victory-finance) rather than the entire workspace.

Specifying the frequency as --schedule="0 */6 * * *" (every six hours).

Providing the cluster’s kubeconfig for authentication.

Exact extract from the documentation:

“Velero’s CLI can be used to create backup schedules for application-specific workloads. Use the namespace parameter to target the namespace where the applications are deployed, and set the cron-like schedule to the desired frequency.”

The NKPA course explains that NKP’s monitoring stack includes Prometheus for metrics collection and storage, and Fluent Bit for log collection and forwarding. To retain system resource utilization data over several months, the company must focus on Prometheus, as it is responsible for storing time-series metrics data, such as CPU, memory, and network utilization, which are critical for long-term trend analysis.

To handle the increased workload from the online retail application, the Platform Engineer should adjust Prometheus by increasing its container resource limits and memory settings to ensure it can process and store more metrics, and increasing its storage to retain data for several months. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “For long-term metrics retention in NKP, scale the Prometheus deployment by increasing its resource limits (CPU and memory) and expanding its persistent storage to accommodate larger time-series data.” This involves editing the Prometheus deployment’s resource settings (e.g., via kubectl edit deployment) and updating the PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) to allocate more storage.

Incorrect Options:

A. Adjust the number of replicas for Fluent Bit: Fluent Bit handles logs, not metrics. Increasing replicas does not address long-term metrics storage.

B. Adjust the number of replicas for Prometheus: Increasing replicas improves availability but does not directly address storage or resource needs for metrics retention.

C. Adjust the resource settings for Fluent Bit: Fluent Bit is for log collection, not metrics storage, and is not relevant for this use case.

The NKPA 6.10 documentation confirms that the proper method to customize application deployment (including disabling Velero) is by generating a configuration file using the nkp install kommander --init command. The file can then be modified to set custom specs and disable Velero, and finally deployed using the nkp install kommander command.

Exact extract:

“Generate a custom configuration file using --init, modify it for your specific environment (including disabling Velero), and deploy with the same nkp install kommander command.”

Attaching an existing Amazon EKS cluster to NKP for fleet management involves integrating the cluster into NKP’s management plane, which requires specific preparatory steps. The NKPA course outlines that the first step is to create a service account with cluster-admin permissions in the EKS cluster. This service account is used by NKP to authenticate and manage the cluster, enabling operations like monitoring, scaling, and application deployment.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide explains: “To attach an external Kubernetes cluster, such as Amazon EKS, to NKP, a service account with cluster-admin role bindings must be created to allow NKP to interact with the cluster’s API server.” The service account is configured with a token that NKP uses to authenticate requests. The NKPA course provides detailed steps, including creating the service account, assigning the cluster-admin ClusterRole, and generating a token for NKP integration. This step is critical to ensure NKP has the necessary permissions to manage the EKS cluster.

Incorrect Options:

A. Configure a ConfigMap according to EKS configuration: While ConfigMaps may be used for specific configurations, they are not the first step for attaching an EKS cluster. The NKPA course prioritizes service account creation.

C. Configure HAProxy to get connected to EKS clusters: HAProxy is a load balancer, not required for attaching EKS clusters to NKP. EKS uses AWS-native load balancers, and NKP connects via the Kubernetes API.

D. Deploy cert-manager in the EKS clusters: Cert-manager is used for certificate management, not a prerequisite for attaching EKS clusters. The NKPA course does not list it as a required step.

According to the NKPA 6.10 documentation and Nutanix licensing details, NKP Starter is bundled with the NCI Starter entitlement. This basic licensing tier includes essential capabilities for deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters within a Nutanix environment.

Key reference:

“NKP Starter is included with NCI Starter, providing foundational Kubernetes cluster lifecycle management features for small-scale or starter deployments.”

The scenario describes an isolated environment in Antarctica, implying an air-gapped NKP deployment where the bastion host serves as the primary management point for deploying and managing NKP clusters without Internet access. The NKPA course outlines the essential tools that must be installed on a bastion host to facilitate NKP deployment and management in such environments.

The required programs are kubectl and nkp:

kubectl: This is the Kubernetes command-line tool used to interact with Kubernetes clusters, essential for managing cluster resources, debugging, and applying configurations during and after deployment.

nkp: The NKP CLI (nkp) is the primary tool for deploying, managing, and scaling NKP clusters, including creating bootstrap clusters, deploying clusters, and managing platform applications. In an air-gapped setup, the nkp CLI is critical for executing deployment commands using the Air-Gapped Bundle.

The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “For an air-gapped NKP deployment, ensure the bastion host has kubectl and the nkp CLI installed to manage the deployment process and interact with the resulting Kubernetes clusters.” These tools are sufficient for the engineer to deploy and operate NKP in an isolated environment.

Incorrect Options:

A. awscli and nkp: The awscli is specific to AWS environments, but the question does not specify AWS infrastructure. Additionally, in an isolated environment, awscli is less relevant without Internet access.

B. oc and kubectl: oc is the OpenShift CLI, not used for NKP deployments. NKP uses nkp CLI instead.

C. oc and az: az is the Azure CLI, and oc is for OpenShift—neither is relevant to NKP deployment.

The NKPA course explains that to access a Kubernetes cluster managed by NKP, such as iot-1 in the workspace iot-plant-3, a kubeconfig file is required to authenticate and interact with the cluster’s API server. If the kubeconfig file is missing, the engineer can generate it using the NKP CLI. The correct command is nkp get kubeconfig -c iot-1 -w iot-plant-3 > iot-1.conf (Option B).

This command retrieves the kubeconfig for the specified cluster (-c iot-1) in the specified workspace (-w iot-plant-3) and redirects the output to a file named iot-1.conf. The engineer can then use this kubeconfig file with kubectl (e.g., kubectl --kubeconfig=iot-1.conf get pods) to review the deployment. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “To generate a kubeconfig file for an NKP-managed cluster, use nkp get kubeconfig -c -w , which retrieves the necessary credentials for cluster access.”

Incorrect Options:

A. kubectl get kubeconfig: kubectl does not have a get kubeconfig subcommand, and it cannot generate kubeconfig files for NKP clusters.

C. kubectl get secret iot-1 -n kommander: While secrets in the kommander namespace may store credentials, this command does not format them as a kubeconfig file.

D. nkp get configmaps: This is not a valid command for retrieving kubeconfig files; ConfigMaps do not store kubeconfig data in this context.

As per the NKPA 6.10 documentation, the primary requirement for attaching external (self-managed) Kubernetes clusters to NKP is network connectivity. Specifically, the NKP management cluster must be able to communicate with the Kubernetes API server and relevant services of the target cluster. This allows NKP to collect metrics, perform health checks, and manage the attached cluster through Kommander and associated tools.

Exact extract:

“For attaching existing Kubernetes clusters, ensure the NKP management cluster can reach the Kubernetes API server of the target cluster and that the kubeconfig used has sufficient permissions.”

There is no requirement that the Kubernetes versions be exactly matched or within N-1, nor that an NKP admin account be directly established on the target clusters; the connectivity and valid kubeconfig file are the essential requirements.

The NKPA course outlines the specifics of integrating Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with NKP, focusing on fleet management and the deployment architecture. The correct statements are:

Existing AKS clusters must be attached to the Management cluster (Option A):NKP does not provision AKS clusters directly because AKS is a managed Kubernetes service. Instead, NKP attaches existing AKS clusters to its management plane for centralized management. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “For AKS integration, existing AKS clusters must be attached to the NKP Management cluster using the Attach Cluster functionality, as NKP does not provision AKS clusters.” This involves creating a service account with cluster-admin permissions in the AKS cluster and providing its kubeconfig to NKP.

NKP Management cluster with the Kommander component must be installed before installing NKP on AKS cluster (Option C):The Kommander component is part of the NKP Management cluster and provides the centralized management plane for fleet management, including AKS clusters. The NKPA course specifies that an NKP Management cluster with Kommander must be deployed before attaching or managing external clusters like AKS. The NCP-CN 6.10 Study Guide notes: “An NKP Management cluster with Kommander must be installed prior to integrating AKS clusters, as Kommander enables the fleet management capabilities for external clusters.”

Incorrect Options:

B. AKS best practices encourage building customized images: AKS best practices recommend using the default node images provided by Azure, which are optimized for AKS features like autoscaling and security. Custom images can lead to loss of functionality, as noted in previous questions (e.g., Q91).

D. AKS clusters can be deployed as Management or Pro NKP clusters: AKS clusters are attached, not deployed, by NKP. Additionally, AKS clusters cannot serve as NKP Management clusters; the Management cluster must be deployed on supported infrastructure like Nutanix AHV, AWS, or vSphere. “Pro NKP clusters” is not a valid term in NKP documentation—Pro refers to a license tier, not a cluster type.

For creating custom images for vSphere (and other supported platforms), Konvoy Image Builder (KIB) is the officially supported tool for NKP. It can create images with custom configurations, package versions, and pre-bundled artifacts.

Key Reference:

“Konvoy Image Builder (KIB) is the Nutanix-recommended tool for building NKP cluster node images for vSphere, AWS, Azure, and other environments.”

The NKPA course details the deployment of an NKP Management cluster on AWS using the nkp install kommander command, which installs the Kommander component responsible for fleet management. For a testing environment with minimal resource usage, the engineer can optimize the installation process by adjusting parameters that control timeouts and initialization settings, reducing overhead and ensuring the deployment completes efficiently on smaller infrastructure.

The two relevant parameters are:

--wait-timeout (Option B): This parameter sets the maximum time the nkp install kommander command waits for the Kommander components to become ready. In a testing environment with minimal resources, components may take longer to start due to limited CPU and memory. Reducing the wait timeout (e.g., --wait-timeout=10m) ensures the command does not hang indefinitely, allowing the engineer to troubleshoot if needed. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “Use --wait-timeout with nkp install kommander to adjust the waiting period for component readiness, useful in low-resource environments.”

--init (Option D): This parameter initializes the Kommander installation with default settings optimized for minimal resource usage, suitable for a testing environment. It ensures that Kommander deploys with a lightweight configuration, reducing the resource footprint (e.g., fewer replicas, lower resource requests). The NKPA course notes: “The --init flag with nkp install kommander sets up a minimal configuration for testing purposes, minimizing resource usage on AWS.”

Incorrect Options:

A. --request-timeout: This parameter is not relevant to nkp install kommander. It is typically used for API request timeouts, not installation optimization.

C. --yaml: This parameter would specify a custom YAML configuration file, but the question asks for minimal resource usage, which is better achieved with --init for default lightweight settings.

The exhibit shows the NKP UI with the "Create Cluster" option grayed out in a new workspace, indicating that a prerequisite for cluster creation is missing. The NKPA course explains that to create a new Kubernetes cluster in a workspace, an Infrastructure Provider must be configured for that workspace. An Infrastructure Provider defines the underlying infrastructure (e.g., Nutanix AHV, AWS, vSphere) where the cluster will be provisioned, and without it, the Create Cluster option remains disabled in the UI.

The NKP Ultimate license supports creating clusters across various infrastructures, but the workspace must be associated with an Infrastructure Provider to enable cluster creation. The Nutanix Cloud Native (NCP-CN) 6.10 Study Guide states: “Before creating a cluster in a new workspace, ensure an Infrastructure Provider is configured for the workspace in the NKP UI; otherwise, the Create Cluster option will be grayed out.” The engineer should navigate to the Infrastructure Providers section in the NKP UI (typically under the Global or Administration view), create a provider (e.g., for Nutanix AHV, AWS, or vSphere), and associate it with the workspace. Once this is done, the Create Cluster option will become available.

Incorrect Options:

A. Create the cluster only using YAML and not the GUI: The issue is not with the GUI itself but with the missing Infrastructure Provider, which affects both GUI and CLI cluster creation. YAML alone does not resolve this.

B. Attach existing clusters instead of creating a new cluster: Attaching existing clusters is an alternative but does not address the requirement to create a new cluster.

D. Ensure NKP is upgraded to a minimum version of 2.12: The NKP Ultimate license implies a recent version, and the course does not indicate that version 2.12 is specifically required for this functionality. The issue is configuration-related, not version-related.

The error message:

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failed to list clusters: command "docker ps -a --filter label=io.x-k8s.kind.cluster --format '{{.Label "io.x-k8s.kind.cluster"}}'" failed with error: exit status 1

indicates that the command failed while attempting to list docker containers with the given filter. The kind tool (used for creating a bootstrap cluster) depends on Docker as the container runtime.

Root cause:

If Docker is not running or a compatible container runtime is not available (such as containerd), the kind tool cannot list or interact with the required containers, resulting in this error.

Key Reference:

“When creating bootstrap clusters, the kind tool requires Docker to be installed and running. If Docker is not running, errors will be encountered listing or interacting with containers.”