Google PCA Manage implementation of cloud architecture Practice Question
A company is deploying a web application on Compute Engine. They want to automatically scale the number of instances based on CPU utilization. Which two components are required to set up autoscaling? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently think Cloud Monitoring is required because autoscaling uses CPU metrics, but the autoscaler automatically accesses those metrics without requiring Cloud Monitoring to be separately configured.
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
✓
Instance template
Option C (Instance template) is correct because a managed instance group requires an instance template to define the machine type, boot disk image, network, and other configuration used when automatically creating new VM instances during scaling. Option D (Managed instance group) is correct because autoscaling in Compute Engine operates on a managed instance group (MIG), where the autoscaler adds or removes instances based on the specified CPU utilization target. Cloud Functions (A) is a serverless event-driven compute service and plays no role in Compute Engine autoscaling. Cloud Load Balancing (B) is commonly used to distribute traffic to the instances but is not a required component to configure the autoscaling policy itself. Cloud Monitoring (E) can surface metrics and alerts, but the autoscaler uses the MIG's built-in CPU utilization signal and does not require a separate Monitoring configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cloud Functions
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Functions runs event-driven serverless code and cannot provision or terminate Compute Engine instances, so it cannot drive a managed instance group's scaling. It is tempting because it executes code in response to triggers, which suits glue tasks such as reacting to Pub/Sub messages or HTTP events, not capacity management.
- ✗
Cloud Load Balancing
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Load Balancing distributes traffic across instances but does not itself add or remove them; the managed instance group performs the scaling action based on the autoscaling policy. It is tempting because load balancers front autoscaled backends, making it correct when the requirement is even traffic distribution rather than capacity adjustment.
- ✓
Instance template
Why this is correct
An instance template defines the machine type, boot disk image, and startup configuration used to create each replica. Autoscaling needs it so the managed instance group can provision identical new VMs when CPU utilisation crosses the target threshold.
- ✓
Managed instance group
Why this is correct
A managed instance group is the resource the autoscaler actually scales; it tracks the target size and adds or removes instances created from the template. Without it, there is no group for the autoscaling policy to act upon.
- ✗
Cloud Monitoring
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Monitoring supplies the CPU utilisation metric that triggers scaling, but a managed instance group is the component that actually adds or removes instances; monitoring alone cannot resize capacity. It is tempting because autoscaling policies are defined against monitoring metrics, making it correct when configuring alerting or dashboards rather than the scaling mechanism itself.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
IAM Policies, Service Accounts, and Auditing
Key term
Instance template
An instance template is a reusable configuration blueprint that defines the virtual machine settings, such as machine type, boot disk image, and network, for creating identical VM instances in Google Cloud Platform.
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCA 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 PCA exam.