Conquer the CKAD Challenge 2025: Unleash Your Kubernetes Power!

The distinction that a StatefulSet manages network identities and persistent storage, while a Deployment does not, accurately highlights the unique characteristics of a StatefulSet in Kubernetes.

A StatefulSet is specifically designed for applications that require stable, unique network identifiers and persistent storage across pod restarts. This is essential for stateful applications, such as databases, where maintaining stable identities and consistent storage is crucial for data integrity and availability. Each pod in a StatefulSet receives a unique, stable hostname based on its ordinal index, enabling them to be addressed individually. Additionally, StatefulSets are associated with persistent volume claims to ensure that data persists independent of pod lifecycles.

In contrast, a Deployment focuses on managing stateless applications. While it provides robust functionality for scaling and rolling updates, it does not handle network identities or persistent storage in the same way. Deployments are built for use cases where the individual instances (pods) do not need to maintain identity or storage continuity, enabling high scalability and flexibility for applications that can be easily recreated and are typically designed to handle ephemeral workloads.

Thus, the correct answer emphasizes the capabilities of StatefulSets in managing stateful applications through persistent storage and stable network identities.