A. It's a mechanism for applications and microservices to locate each other on a network. Explanation: Cloud native service discovery is a crucial aspect of distributed systems architecture, particularly in microservices environments. It enables applications and microservices to dynamically discover and communicate with each other without hardcoding IP addresses or relying on static configurations. This mechanism allows services to be scalable, resilient, and loosely coupled, facilitating efficient communication and interaction within the cloud environment. An analogy for service discovery could be a directory in a large office building. Just as a directory helps individuals find the locations of various offices or departments within a building, service discovery enables components within a distributed system to locate and communicate with each other dynamically, regardless of their specific network locations or configurations.