• Requests vs limits: scheduler uses requests for placement, kubelet enforces limits at runtime—understand this distinction to prevent node overcommitment • Three QoS classes (Guaranteed, Burstable, BestEffort) determine eviction priority when nodes face resource pressure • Five-step debugging workflow: check pod status, read describe output, analyze events, inspect logs, verify resource metrics • Right-sizing methodology: start with realistic estimates, monitor P50/P95/P99 metrics, add 20% headroom, adjust based on production data • Common mistakes: no limits (unlimited burst), equal requests/limits (wastes resources), guessing values (leads to OOMKilled), ignoring JVM memory overhead