Google PCA Practice Question: Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure
A company runs a stateful application on GKE that requires persistent storage. They want to ensure that during cluster upgrades, pods are not disrupted and storage is preserved. Which configuration should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
PCA often tests the confusion between stateless and stateful workload management, where candidates might choose Deployments or HPA for stateful applications, overlooking the need for StatefulSets and PDBs to ensure availability during upgrades.
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
✓
Use a StatefulSet with a PodDisruptionBudget
To ensure stateful pods are not disrupted during cluster upgrades and storage is preserved, you should use a StatefulSet with a PodDisruptionBudget (PDB). StatefulSets provide stable network identities and persistent storage for stateful applications, while PDBs ensure that a minimum number of pods remain available during voluntary disruptions like upgrades.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable Cluster Autoscaler on the node pool
Why it's wrong here
Cluster Autoscaler adjusts node pool size based on workload demand; it does not preserve persistent volumes or prevent pod disruption during upgrades. It is correct when scaling capacity dynamically, not for stateful upgrade resilience, which needs pod disruption budgets and persistent disks.
- ✗
Use a Deployment with a HorizontalPodAutoscaler
Why it's wrong here
A Deployment with a HorizontalPodAutoscaler scales stateless replica counts on CPU or custom metrics; it does not preserve per-pod storage identity or prevent eviction during upgrades. It is tempting because HPA handles load scaling, but stateful workloads need stable network identities and PersistentVolumeClaims bound to each pod.
- ✓
Use a StatefulSet with a PodDisruptionBudget
Why this is correct
A StatefulSet guarantees stable network identities and preserves each pod's PersistentVolumeClaim across rescheduling, satisfying the storage-preservation constraint. Adding a PodDisruptionBudget limits voluntary evictions during node draining, so cluster upgrades cannot disrupt more pods than the budget permits, keeping the stateful application available throughout.
- ✗
Use PersistentVolumeClaims with ReadWriteMany access mode
Why it's wrong here
ReadWriteMany access mode lets multiple nodes mount the same volume simultaneously, but it does not stop pods being disrupted or rescheduled during cluster upgrades. It is tempting because RWX suits shared storage, yet the requirement is controlled eviction and data retention, achieved through a StatefulSet with a PodDisruptionBudget.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
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.