Cloud Digital Leader Scaling with Google Cloud operations Practice Question
Exhibit
{
"displayName": "High Error Rate",
"condition": {
"conditionThreshold": {
"filter": "metric.type=\"logging.googleapis.com/user/myapp_errors\" AND resource.type=\"k8s_container\"",
"aggregations": [
{
"alignmentPeriod": "60s",
"perSeriesAligner": "ALIGN_RATE"
}
],
"comparison": "COMPARISON_GT",
"thresholdValue": 5,
"trigger": {
"count": 1
}
}
},
"alertStrategy": {
"autoClose": "1800s"
}
}Refer to the exhibit. A DevOps engineer notices that the alert fires even when there is only a single 5-second spike of errors that lasts for one minute. 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
✓
The trigger count is set to 1, so a single minute of high rate fires the alert
The correct answer is A: the trigger count is set to 1, so a single minute of high rate fires the alert. In Cloud Monitoring alerting policies, the trigger count specifies how many consecutive alignment periods must violate the condition before the alert fires; with a count of 1, even one 60-second window containing a brief 5-second error spike is enough to trigger the alert. This matches the scenario where a single short spike lasting one minute causes the alert to fire. Option B is wrong because a 60s alignment period is not inherently too short and would not by itself cause firing on one spike. Option C is wrong because the threshold value of 5 relates to the metric condition, not the number of periods required to fire. Option D is wrong because a trigger count of 2 would require two consecutive violating periods, which would actually suppress firing on a single one-minute spike.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The trigger count is set to 1, so a single minute of high rate fires the alert
Why this is correct
A trigger count of 1 means the alert fires on the first evaluation window that breaches the threshold, so a single one-minute spike of errors is enough. Raising the count requires consecutive breaching periods, which would suppress this transient spike.
- ✗
The alignment period is too short (60s)
Why it's wrong here
A 60-second alignment period aggregates the five-second spike into one data point, which actually dampens sensitivity rather than causing the alert to fire. Alignment periods are tempting because they set aggregation windows, and this would be correct if the window were so long that genuine sustained breaches were averaged away.
- ✗
The threshold value (5) is too low
Why it's wrong here
A threshold of 5 is not inherently too low; the alert fires because the condition is met within a single alignment period rather than sustained across several. Threshold values are tempting because they set the breach level, and this would be correct if the metric's normal baseline sat near or above five.
- ✗
The trigger count is set to 2, so two consecutive periods are needed
Why it's wrong here
A trigger count of 2 requires two consecutive violating periods, which suppresses alerts rather than firing on a single spike, so it cannot explain the behaviour. Trigger counts are tempting because they control how many periods must breach, and this would be correct if the alert were failing to fire at all.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
DevOps on Google Cloud
Key term
Alerting policy
An alerting policy is a set of rules that defines when to send notifications about a system condition that needs attention.
Key term
Cloud Monitoring
Cloud monitoring is the process of observing, measuring, and managing an organization's cloud infrastructure and applications to ensure performance, availability, and security.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This GCDL 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 GCDL exam.