Google ACE Deploying and Implementing a Cloud Solution Practice Question
Which gcloud command creates a regional GKE cluster named 'my-cluster' with 3 nodes per zone in the 'us-central1' region?
⚠ Common exam trap
ACE often tests the distinction between --zone (zonal cluster) and --region (regional cluster), plus the exact flag --num-nodes versus the invalid --nodes, catching candidates who mix up cluster scope or flag names.
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
✓
gcloud container clusters create my-cluster --region us-central1 --num-nodes 3
The correct command uses --region us-central1 to create a regional cluster and --num-nodes 3 to set three nodes per zone. A regional GKE cluster replicates nodes across all zones in the region, so --num-nodes specifies the count per zone. This matches the requirement of a regional cluster with 3 nodes per zone.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
gcloud container clusters create my-cluster --zone us-central1 --num-nodes 3
Why it's wrong here
In gcloud container clusters create, the --zone flag is used to create a zonal cluster and expects a concrete zone identifier such as us-central1-a. Passing us-central1, which is a region, results in an invalid value error because the CLI validates the zone against a list of zones. To create a regional cluster, you must use --region instead.
- ✗
gcloud container clusters create my-cluster --zone us-central1-a --num-nodes 3
Why it's wrong here
This command uses --zone us-central1-a, which creates a zonal cluster confined to that single availability zone. Even though us-central1 is a region, specifying a specific zone under it does not make the cluster regional; a regional cluster requires the --region flag and distributes control plane and nodes across multiple zones. Therefore, this does not satisfy the requirement of creating a regional cluster.
- ✗
gcloud container clusters create my-cluster --region us-central1 --nodes 3
Why it's wrong here
The --region us-central1 flag is valid for a regional cluster, but the node count flag is misspelled as --nodes, which is not a recognized parameter. The gcloud CLI will fail with a 'Flag --nodes is not available' error before any cluster creation occurs. The correct flag is --num-nodes, which specifies the number of nodes to create per zone in the region.
- ✓
gcloud container clusters create my-cluster --region us-central1 --num-nodes 3
Why this is correct
This is the correct command because it uses --region us-central1 to designate a regional cluster, which GKE deploys across multiple zones within that region for redundancy and high availability. The --num-nodes 3 flag sets the number of nodes per zone in the default node pool, ensuring each zone gets three nodes. Together, these flags meet the requirement for a regional GKE cluster named my-cluster.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
GKE Node Pools and Cluster Autoscaler
Key term
GKE
GKE is Google's managed Kubernetes service that automates deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications in the cloud.
Key term
Region
A region is a distinct geographic location where a cloud provider operates multiple data centers that are connected by low-latency networks and provide cloud services.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
This ACE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud 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 ACE exam.