- A
Change the health check to a TCP check on the application's port
Why wrong: Incorrect. A TCP check only checks if the port is open, not if the application is fully healthy. Changing to TCP would not reveal the root cause.
- B
Increase the health check check interval and decrease the unhealthy threshold
Why wrong: Incorrect. Increasing the check interval and decreasing the unhealthy threshold does not address why the health check is failing; it may mask the issue or delay detection.
- C
Increase the number of instances in the managed instance group
Why wrong: Incorrect. Adding instances does not fix the health check problem; it only distributes traffic if some instances are unhealthy, but the root cause remains.
- D
Check the application's logs on the instances to see why the health check endpoint sometimes returns non-200
Correct. The health check endpoint is custom and returns a 200 only when fully healthy. Since instances appear normal, checking the application logs will reveal why the endpoint sometimes returns non-200.
Google PCA Health Check Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of manage and provision cloud infrastructure. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. A key principle to apply: health Check. 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.
A company runs a critical web application behind an external HTTPS load balancer. The backend consists of a managed instance group of Compute Engine instances. Users report intermittent 502 Bad Gateway errors. The load balancer logs show occasional health check failures for some instances. The instances have a custom health check endpoint that returns a 200 status code only if the application is fully healthy. The application logs do not show any errors, and CPU/memory usage on the instances is normal. What should be the first troubleshooting step to identify the root cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"first"Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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
Check the application's logs on the instances to see why the health check endpoint sometimes returns non-200
The health check endpoint is custom and returns 200 only when the application is fully healthy. Since the instances show normal CPU/memory and application logs show no errors, the intermittent 502 errors and health check failures might be due to the health check endpoint itself returning non-200 sporadically. The first troubleshooting step is to examine the application logs on the instances to understand why the health check endpoint sometimes fails. This will pinpoint the specific condition causing the health check to fail. Option A is incorrect because a TCP check would not validate application health and could mask the problem. Option B is incorrect because increasing the interval and decreasing the unhealthy threshold would delay detection or make it more sensitive, not address the root cause. Option C is incorrect because adding instances does not fix the health check issue; it only spreads traffic if some instances are unhealthy.
Key principle: Health Check
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Change the health check to a TCP check on the application's port
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. A TCP check only checks if the port is open, not if the application is fully healthy. Changing to TCP would not reveal the root cause.
- ✗
Increase the health check check interval and decrease the unhealthy threshold
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Increasing the check interval and decreasing the unhealthy threshold does not address why the health check is failing; it may mask the issue or delay detection.
- ✗
Increase the number of instances in the managed instance group
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Adding instances does not fix the health check problem; it only distributes traffic if some instances are unhealthy, but the root cause remains.
- ✓
Check the application's logs on the instances to see why the health check endpoint sometimes returns non-200
Why this is correct
Correct. The health check endpoint is custom and returns a 200 only when fully healthy. Since instances appear normal, checking the application logs will reveal why the endpoint sometimes returns non-200.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Health Check
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap is to assume that normal CPU/memory and no application errors mean the instances are healthy; however, the health check endpoint itself may be the source of the problem due to a bug or misconfiguration.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Treat this as a scenario question. Identify the problem, the constraint, and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Health Check
- Application-Specific Health Check
TExam Day Tips
- 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
Health Check
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.
Review health Check, then practise related PCA questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCA question test?
Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — This question tests Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — Health Check.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Check the application's logs on the instances to see why the health check endpoint sometimes returns non-200 — The health check endpoint is custom and returns 200 only when the application is fully healthy. Since the instances show normal CPU/memory and application logs show no errors, the intermittent 502 errors and health check failures might be due to the health check endpoint itself returning non-200 sporadically. The first troubleshooting step is to examine the application logs on the instances to understand why the health check endpoint sometimes fails. This will pinpoint the specific condition causing the health check to fail. Option A is incorrect because a TCP check would not validate application health and could mask the problem. Option B is incorrect because increasing the interval and decreasing the unhealthy threshold would delay detection or make it more sensitive, not address the root cause. Option C is incorrect because adding instances does not fix the health check issue; it only spreads traffic if some instances are unhealthy.
What should I do if I get this PCA question wrong?
Review health Check, then practise related PCA questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Health Check
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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