Question 881 of 955
Google PCA Manage and provision cloud infrastructure Practice Question
A developer needs to deploy a containerized application on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) with minimal operational overhead. They want to automatically scale the number of pods based on CPU utilization. Which GKE feature should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between horizontal scaling (HPA) and vertical scaling (VPA), where candidates mistakenly choose VPA when the question explicitly asks for scaling the number of pods based on CPU utilization.
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
✓
Horizontal Pod Autoscaler.
The Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) is the correct choice because it automatically scales the number of pod replicas in a GKE deployment based on observed CPU utilization (or other custom metrics). This directly meets the requirement of scaling pods with minimal operational overhead, as HPA is a native Kubernetes resource that requires no manual intervention once configured.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Horizontal Pod Autoscaler.
Why this is correct
HPA scales pods based on metrics like CPU.
- ✗
Node auto-repair.
Why it's wrong here
Node auto-repair fixes node health issues.
- ✗
Vertical Pod Autoscaler.
Why it's wrong here
VPA adjusts resource requests, not pod replicas.
- ✗
Cluster Autoscaler.
Why it's wrong here
Cluster Autoscaler adjusts node pool size.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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