Google PCA Practice Question: Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure
A company runs a stateful workload on GKE that requires at most one pod per node. They want to survive a zonal failure with minimal downtime. The application can be restarted on a new node. 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 pod anti-affinity required and a regional cluster
A StatefulSet with pod anti-affinity required ensures one pod per node. A regional cluster with nodes in multiple zones allows rescheduling in another zone. A single-zone cluster would not survive a zonal failure. PDB limits disruption but does not handle zone failure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use a StatefulSet with pod anti-affinity required and a regional cluster
Why this is correct
StatefulSet provides stable storage and network identity; anti-affinity ensures one pod per node; regional cluster spreads nodes across zones.
- ✗
Use a Deployment with a PodDisruptionBudget set to maxUnavailable=0
Why it's wrong here
PDB does not handle zone failure; it only controls voluntary disruptions.
- ✗
Deploy a Deployment with a nodeSelector for one zone
Why it's wrong here
A single zone deployment cannot survive zonal failure.
- ✗
Use a DaemonSet with node affinity
Why it's wrong here
DaemonSet runs one pod per node, but it's not designed for stateful workloads with persistent volumes.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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IP Addressing, Cloud DNS, and Cloud NAT
Key term
Zonal
Zonal refers to the practice of grouping computing resources within a single geographic area to improve fault isolation, reduce latency, and meet compliance requirements.
Key term
GKE
GKE is Google's managed Kubernetes service that automates deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications in the cloud.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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