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?
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
PodDisruptionBudgets (PDBs) ensure that a minimum number of pods remain available during voluntary disruptions like cluster upgrades. PersistentVolumeClaims with ReadWriteOnce access mode allow pods to persist data. Combining PDBs with StatefulSets provides ordered, graceful deployment and scaling while preserving storage. The cluster autoscaler only adjusts node count, not pod disruptions. HorizontalPodAutoscaler scales pods based on metrics but does not protect against disruptions.
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 adds/removes nodes based on resource demands, but does not protect pods from disruptions during upgrades.
- ✗
Use a Deployment with a HorizontalPodAutoscaler
Why it's wrong here
Deployments are for stateless applications; they do not guarantee persistent storage. HorizontalPodAutoscaler does not prevent disruptions.
- ✓
Use a StatefulSet with a PodDisruptionBudget
Why this is correct
StatefulSets provide stable persistent storage for each pod, and PodDisruptionBudgets prevent voluntary disruptions during cluster upgrades.
- ✗
Use PersistentVolumeClaims with ReadWriteMany access mode
Why it's wrong here
ReadWriteMany allows multiple pods to share a volume but does not prevent pod disruption. Storage is preserved, but pods may still be disrupted.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Key term
GKE
GKE is Google's managed Kubernetes service that automates deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications in the cloud.
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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