Is it possible to set the replica count to a number exceeding the number of nodes, for example 5 or 6, if only 4 nodes are available?

In Kubernetes and similar systems, you can set the replica count value higher than the available nodes, for example, 5 or 6 with 4 nodes. However, this does not guarantee that all replicas will be started simultaneously, as each replica requires resources (CPU, memory) on a node.

If resources are insufficient, some replicas will remain in Pending state, waiting for resources to be freed or new nodes to be added.

Therefore, technically, you can specify more replicas than nodes, but the actual placement and startup of all replicas depend on available resources and scheduler policies.