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PCA Promql Practice Question

Which aggregation operator would you use to calculate the total sum of a metric across all instances?

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

sum()

sum() is the standard operator for calculating totals across dimensions.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • sum()

    Why this is correct

    sum() aggregates values across all series.

  • avg_over_time()

    Why it's wrong here

    This averages over time, not across instances.

  • total()

    Why it's wrong here

    total() is not a valid PromQL operator.

  • count()

    Why it's wrong here

    count() counts the number of series, not the sum of values.

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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.