Explain Kubernetes autoscaling and traffic routing
Company: Mercor
Role: Software Engineer
Category: System Design
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Technical Screen
In Kubernetes:
1) How does **autoscaling** work (pod and node scaling)?
2) How is **traffic routed** from outside the cluster to the right Pods?
3) What are the differences between **ReplicaSet** and **StatefulSet**, and when would you use each?
Quick Answer: This question evaluates understanding of Kubernetes autoscaling mechanisms, external-to-pod traffic routing, and the differences between ReplicaSet and StatefulSet controllers.