PCA Instrumentation And Exporters Practice Question
You are implementing a custom exporter for a legacy database. The database provides a single value representing the number of active connections. Which metric type should you use to best represent this data?
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
✓
Gauge
Because active connections fluctuate up and down as users connect and disconnect, a Gauge is the appropriate metric type for representing a snapshot of the current state.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Gauge
Why this is correct
Gauges are designed for values that can fluctuate arbitrarily, such as active connections.
- ✗
Summary
Why it's wrong here
Summaries are for calculating quantiles of observations over time.
- ✗
Histogram
Why it's wrong here
Histograms are for distribution of observations, not current instantaneous states.
- ✗
Counter
Why it's wrong here
A counter would only work if it measured total cumulative connections ever made.
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.