Google PCA Practice Question: Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure
A company uses Cloud Deployment Manager to manage infrastructure. They want to roll back to a previous deployment state after a failed update. What is the recommended approach?
⚠ Common exam trap
PCA often tests whether candidates invent CLI subcommands — the trap is assuming a 'rollback' verb exists because other tools have one, when Deployment Manager requires re-applying a prior manifest.
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
✓
Run gcloud deployment-manager deployments update --config <previous_manifest>
Cloud Deployment Manager does not provide a native rollback command; the documented way to revert to a prior state is to re-run an update using the previous configuration and manifest files. Running 'gcloud deployment-manager deployments update --config <previous_manifest>' reapplies the earlier desired state, effectively rolling the deployment back to that point.
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 gcloud deployment-manager deployments rollback --deployment <name>
Why it's wrong here
Deployment Manager has no rollback subcommand; the gcloud CLI exposes create, update, delete, describe, list and cancel-preview only. The flag is tempting because other tools offer rollback, but here you instead update the deployment using the previous configuration file to restore the prior state.
- ✗
Use the --update-policy=PARTIAL flag to selectively revert changes
Why it's wrong here
No --update-policy flag with a PARTIAL value exists in Deployment Manager; update policies are PREVIEW and CANCEL. Selectively reverting resources is tempting, but the supported mechanism is re-running an update with the earlier template and properties, which reconciles the deployment back to that state.
- ✗
Delete the deployment and recreate it from the previous template
Why it's wrong here
Deleting and recreating the deployment discards its resource history and any resources not in the template, and cannot target a specific prior state. It is tempting as a clean slate, but the correct approach updates the existing deployment with the previous configuration so the prior state is restored in place.
- ✓
Run gcloud deployment-manager deployments update --config <previous_manifest>
Why this is correct
Redeploying the previous manifest restores the last known-good configuration, satisfying the rollback requirement after a failed update. Deployment Manager is declarative, so reapplying the prior manifest reconciles resources back to that state rather than attempting an in-place undo.
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JA
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.