Google ACE Practice Question: Ensuring Successful Operation of a Cloud Solution
You have a GKE cluster with a node pool that needs to scale automatically based on load. The cluster was created with autoscaling disabled. Which command enables autoscaling on an existing node pool?
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 node-pools update my-pool --cluster=my-cluster --enable-autoscaling --min-nodes=1 --max-nodes=10
gcloud container node-pools update with --enable-autoscaling and min/max node parameters enables autoscaling.
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 node-pools create my-pool --enable-autoscaling
Why it's wrong here
The `gcloud container node-pools create` command provisions a brand-new node pool rather than modifying an existing one. Running it against an existing pool named `my-pool` will fail with a conflict error because a pool with that name already exists in the cluster. Even if it succeeded, it would not enable autoscaling on the original pool; you need `node-pools update` to reconfigure an already-running pool.
- ✗
kubectl autoscale node-pool my-pool --min=1 --max=10
Why it's wrong here
`kubectl autoscale` is a Kubernetes client command used to create a HorizontalPodAutoscaler for a workload resource such as a Deployment, ReplicaSet, or StatefulSet. It does not understand `node-pool` as a resource type because node pools are GKE infrastructure objects, not Kubernetes objects. Additionally, node pool autoscaling is controlled by the GKE cluster autoscaler at the Google Cloud API level, not by in-cluster HPA objects.
- ✓
gcloud container node-pools update my-pool --cluster=my-cluster --enable-autoscaling --min-nodes=1 --max-nodes=10
Why this is correct
This is the correct command because it targets an existing node pool (`my-pool`) within the specified cluster and toggles the GKE cluster autoscaler on for that pool. The `--min-nodes=1` and `--max-nodes=10` flags define the scaling boundaries, allowing the pool to resize within those limits based on resource demand. The `--cluster` flag scopes the operation to the right cluster, and the update command modifies the live pool without recreating it.
- ✗
gcloud container clusters update my-cluster --enable-autoscaling
Why it's wrong here
The `gcloud container clusters update` command operates on the cluster as a whole, but GKE node autoscaling is not a cluster-level property; it is configured per node pool. This flag combination is not valid for cluster update operations—there is no `--enable-autoscaling` flag on `clusters update` for enabling autoscaling on existing default node pools. To reach the desired state, you must use the `node-pools update` subcommand to apply autoscaling to the specific pool.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Cloud Load Balancing Types
Key term
Node pool
A node pool is a group of virtual machines (nodes) within a container orchestration cluster that share the same configuration, such as machine size, operating system, and scaling settings, allowing you to manage them as a single unit.
Key term
Container
A container is a lightweight, standalone software package that includes everything needed to run an application, such as code, runtime, system tools, and libraries.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.