Google PCA Manage and provision cloud infrastructure Practice Question
A startup is deploying a new web application on Google Cloud. They want to use a fully managed, serverless platform that automatically scales and requires no infrastructure management. The application is containerized and listens on HTTP. Which Google Cloud service should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse GKE Autopilot or App Engine flexible with a fully serverless platform that scales to zero and requires no infrastructure management.
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 platform that runs containers and automatically scales, including to zero. It requires no infrastructure management, making it ideal for a startup wanting to deploy a containerized web application. Compute Engine and GKE require more management, and App Engine flexible environment is not fully serverless.
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 is a fully managed serverless platform that runs containerized applications. It automatically scales based on traffic, including scaling to zero when there is no traffic. It abstracts away all infrastructure management. It supports HTTP and gRPC, making it ideal for this web application. This meets all requirements.
- ✗
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
Why it's wrong here
GKE is a managed Kubernetes service, but it still requires management of clusters, nodes, and Kubernetes resources. It is not fully serverless, although GKE Autopilot reduces node management. It does not automatically scale to zero and requires configuration. This option introduces more operational overhead than a serverless platform.
- ✗
Compute Engine
Why it's wrong here
Compute Engine provides virtual machines that require management of the operating system, patching, and scaling. It is not serverless and does not automatically scale without configuration. While it can run containers, it incurs operational overhead. This does not meet the requirement for a fully managed, serverless platform.
- ✗
App Engine flexible environment
Why it's wrong here
App Engine flexible environment runs containers on Compute Engine VMs, but it still involves some infrastructure management and does not scale to zero. It is not fully serverless in the same way as Cloud Run. It also has longer deployment times and higher costs. This does not meet the requirement for no infrastructure management.
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
Billing, Budgets, and Cost Management
Key term
GKE
GKE is Google's managed Kubernetes service that automates deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications in the cloud.
Key term
HTTP
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the set of rules web browsers and servers use to communicate and transfer web pages over the internet.
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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.