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Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Google PCA Practice Question: Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture

This PCA practice question tests your understanding of designing and planning a cloud solution architecture. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. 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 wants to run batch processing workloads that can be interrupted and resumed, at the lowest possible cost. The jobs are fault-tolerant and can handle preemption. They also need predictable pricing for a baseline amount of compute. Which combination of compute options should they use?

A
Use spot VMs for all workloads and rely on automatic restart
Why wrong: Spot VMs can be interrupted; with no baseline, workload may not have guaranteed capacity.
B
Use standard VMs with sustained use discounts
Why wrong: Sustained use discounts are automatic but less cost-effective than committed use discounts for a predictable baseline.
C
Use only preemptible VMs for all workloads
Why wrong: Preemptible VMs may not be available when needed; they cannot provide a guaranteed baseline.
D
Use committed use discounts for baseline capacity and preemptible VMs for additional burst capacity
Committed use discounts give predictable pricing for baseline; preemptible VMs are cheap for additional capacity.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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 committed use discounts for baseline capacity and preemptible VMs for additional burst capacity

Preemptible VMs (or Spot VMs) are significantly cheaper but can be terminated at any time. Committed use discounts provide a discount for a 1- or 3-year commitment. Using committed use discounts for a baseline ensures predictable pricing, and using preemptible VMs for additional capacity reduces cost further. Sustained use discounts apply automatically but are not as cost-effective as committed discounts for predictable baseline. Standard VMs are more expensive.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

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 spot VMs for all workloads and rely on automatic restart
Why it's wrong here
Spot VMs can be interrupted; with no baseline, workload may not have guaranteed capacity.
✗
Use standard VMs with sustained use discounts
Why it's wrong here
Sustained use discounts are automatic but less cost-effective than committed use discounts for a predictable baseline.
✗
Use only preemptible VMs for all workloads
Why it's wrong here
Preemptible VMs may not be available when needed; they cannot provide a guaranteed baseline.
✓
Use committed use discounts for baseline capacity and preemptible VMs for additional burst capacity
Why this is correct
Committed use discounts give predictable pricing for baseline; preemptible VMs are cheap for additional capacity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.

TExam Day Tips

Underline the problem statement mentally.
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

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which PCA exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this PCA question test?

Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture — This question tests Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use committed use discounts for baseline capacity and preemptible VMs for additional burst capacity — Preemptible VMs (or Spot VMs) are significantly cheaper but can be terminated at any time. Committed use discounts provide a discount for a 1- or 3-year commitment. Using committed use discounts for a baseline ensures predictable pricing, and using preemptible VMs for additional capacity reduces cost further. Sustained use discounts apply automatically but are not as cost-effective as committed discounts for predictable baseline. Standard VMs are more expensive.

What should I do if I get this PCA question wrong?

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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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.