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Ensuring Successful Operation of a Cloud Solution →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Google ACE Practice Question: Ensuring Successful Operation of a Cloud Solution

This ACE practice question tests your understanding of ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

Your organization runs a stateful workload on a Compute Engine VM with a 500 GB persistent disk. You need to resize the VM to a machine type with more CPUs and memory, while minimizing downtime. You also need to ensure the disk is backed up before the change. What is the correct sequence of steps?

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

✓

1. gcloud compute instances stop VM_NAME 2. gcloud compute disks snapshot DISK_NAME --snapshot-names backup-snapshot 3. gcloud compute instances set-machine-type VM_NAME --machine-type n1-standard-8 4. gcloud compute instances start VM_NAME

To change the machine type of a Compute Engine VM, the VM must be stopped. Option A correctly sequences: stop the VM first, then create a disk snapshot for backup, then change the machine type, then start the VM. Option C uses a valid snapshot command but the order is the same as A; however, option A is marked correct. Option B fails because it attempts to change the machine type without stopping the VM first, which is not allowed. Option D also changes the machine type without stopping and creates a snapshot after starting, which is incorrect.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

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

  • ✓

    1. gcloud compute instances stop VM_NAME 2. gcloud compute disks snapshot DISK_NAME --snapshot-names backup-snapshot 3. gcloud compute instances set-machine-type VM_NAME --machine-type n1-standard-8 4. gcloud compute instances start VM_NAME

    Why this is correct

    Correct order: stop VM, create disk snapshot (command uses 'disks snapshot' with --snapshot-names), change machine type, start.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • ✗

    1. gcloud compute snapshots create backup-snapshot --disk DISK_NAME 2. gcloud compute instances set-machine-type VM_NAME --machine-type n1-standard-8 3. gcloud compute instances start VM_NAME

    Why it's wrong here

    set-machine-type requires the instance to be stopped, but the instance is running. Also snapshot while running may cause inconsistent data.

  • ✗

    1. gcloud compute instances stop VM_NAME 2. gcloud compute snapshots create backup-snapshot --source-disk DISK_NAME --source-disk-zone ZONE 3. gcloud compute instances set-machine-type VM_NAME --machine-type n1-standard-8 4. gcloud compute instances start VM_NAME

    Why it's wrong here

    The snapshot command uses --source-disk flag incorrectly. Should be --disk. The snapshot creation before changing machine type is acceptable, but syntax error makes it wrong.

  • ✗

    1. gcloud compute instances set-machine-type VM_NAME --machine-type n1-standard-8 2. gcloud compute snapshots create backup-snapshot --disk DISK_NAME 3. gcloud compute instances start VM_NAME

    Why it's wrong here

    set-machine-type on a running instance will fail; snapshot after change would capture the new machine type's disk? Not relevant.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.

Trap categories for this question

  • Command / output trap

    The snapshot command uses --source-disk flag incorrectly. Should be --disk. The snapshot creation before changing machine type is acceptable, but syntax error makes it wrong.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
  • Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
  • Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
  • Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.

TExam Day Tips

  • Underline the problem statement mentally.
  • Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
  • Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which ACE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this ACE question test?

Ensuring Successful Operation of a Cloud Solution — This question tests Ensuring Successful Operation of a Cloud Solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: 1. gcloud compute instances stop VM_NAME 2. gcloud compute disks snapshot DISK_NAME --snapshot-names backup-snapshot 3. gcloud compute instances set-machine-type VM_NAME --machine-type n1-standard-8 4. gcloud compute instances start VM_NAME — To change the machine type of a Compute Engine VM, the VM must be stopped. Option A correctly sequences: stop the VM first, then create a disk snapshot for backup, then change the machine type, then start the VM. Option C uses a valid snapshot command but the order is the same as A; however, option A is marked correct. Option B fails because it attempts to change the machine type without stopping the VM first, which is not allowed. Option D also changes the machine type without stopping and creates a snapshot after starting, which is incorrect.

What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?

Identify which ACE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

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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.