PCA Observability Concepts Practice Question
Which THREE factors contribute to a 'high cardinality' problem in a Prometheus environment?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Adding high-variance values like email addresses to labels.
High cardinality is caused by labels with many unique values, like timestamps, user IDs, or un-normalized request paths.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Adding high-variance values like email addresses to labels.
Why this is correct
These values are unique per user, leading to massive series growth.
- ✓
Including a unique request ID in a label.
Why this is correct
Unique IDs create a new time series for every request.
- ✓
Adding full URL paths as labels including query parameters.
Why this is correct
Unique query parameters make the label set unique for almost every request.
- ✗
Using a low scrape interval.
Why it's wrong here
This increases data volume, not label cardinality.
- ✗
Using too many scrape targets.
Why it's wrong here
This affects memory but is not technically a cardinality issue.
About these practice questions
This PCA question is part of Courseiva's 304-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official CNCF / Linux Foundation exam blueprint
This PCA practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF / Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCA exam.