PCA Observability Concepts Practice Question
You notice that your Prometheus instance memory usage is growing linearly despite constant traffic. What is the most likely cause?
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
✓
Increasing metric cardinality.
If cardinality (unique label combinations) increases over time, the number of active time series keeps growing, increasing RAM usage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
CPU throttling.
Why it's wrong here
Throttling affects processing, not memory growth.
- ✗
Network latency.
Why it's wrong here
Latency doesn't impact memory storage.
- ✓
Increasing metric cardinality.
Why this is correct
High label variance causes memory inflation.
- ✗
Too many alert rules.
Why it's wrong here
Alert rules consume CPU, but rarely explain memory growth.
About these practice questions
One of 304 original PCA practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.