Google PCA Practice Question: Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure
A developer wants to deploy a containerized web application on Google Cloud that can scale to zero when not in use and charges only for resources consumed during request processing. Which compute service should they choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
PCA often tests the difference between serverless container options — candidates confuse App Engine Flexible (always-on instances) with Cloud Run (true scale-to-zero, per-request billing) when the question emphasizes cost only during request processing.
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
✓
Cloud Run
Cloud Run is a fully managed serverless container platform that scales to zero when there is no traffic and bills only for CPU/memory consumed during request processing (and optionally during background work). It runs any containerized HTTP application, making it the exact match for the stated requirements. GKE and Compute Engine do not scale to zero, and App Engine Flexible keeps at least one instance running.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Cloud Run
Why this is correct
Cloud Run runs stateless containers on a fully managed, request-driven platform that scales to zero when idle, billing only per request and consumed CPU/memory. This directly satisfies the stem's constraints: containerised deployment, automatic scale-to-zero, and pay-only-during-request-processing charging.
- ✗
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
Why it's wrong here
GKE requires at least one node in the cluster, so it cannot scale to zero. It is not serverless and incurs costs for idle resources.
- ✗
App Engine Flexible Environment
Why it's wrong here
App Engine Flexible Environment keeps at least one instance running and bills for the underlying Compute Engine instances continuously, so it cannot scale to zero. It is tempting because it runs containers, but the request-driven, scale-to-zero model described belongs to Cloud Run.
- ✗
Compute Engine instance group
Why it's wrong here
Compute Engine instance groups run persistent VMs that bill for provisioned uptime, so they cannot scale to zero or charge per request. They suit steady-state workloads needing full OS control. The stem's per-request billing and zero-scale requirement point to Cloud Run.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
IAM Policies, Service Accounts, and Auditing
Key term
GKE
GKE is Google's managed Kubernetes service that automates deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications in the cloud.
Key term
Compute Engine
Compute Engine is Google Cloud's Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering that lets you create and run virtual machines on Google's infrastructure.
About these practice questions
This PCA question is part of Courseiva's 807-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.