Google PCA Manage implementation of cloud architecture Practice Question
Network Topology
An engineer runs the command above. A few days later, the instance becomes unresponsive. Upon investigation, you find that the boot disk is 100 GB and 95% full. The data disk is 500 GB and only 20% full. What is the most likely cause of the unresponsiveness?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between disk space exhaustion and performance bottlenecks; the trap here is that candidates may focus on disk type (pd-standard vs pd-ssd) or IOPS limits instead of recognizing that a nearly full boot disk directly causes OS unresponsiveness.
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
✓
The boot disk is too small and has run out of space.
The boot disk is 95% full, which leaves insufficient free space for the operating system to write temporary files, logs, or perform essential system operations. When a Linux or Windows boot disk runs out of space, the OS can become unresponsive because critical processes (e.g., systemd, journald, or the Windows Registry) cannot write to disk. In Google Cloud, the boot disk is the root device (typically /dev/sda1), and filling it to 95% on a 100 GB disk means only 5 GB remains, which is easily exhausted by normal system activity.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The boot disk is too small and has run out of space.
Why this is correct
95% full boot disk can cause system instability and unresponsiveness.
- ✗
The data disk is pd-standard, which is causing I/O bottlenecks for the OS.
Why it's wrong here
The OS is on the boot disk, not the data disk.
- ✗
The boot disk is pd-ssd, which is too slow for the workload.
Why it's wrong here
pd-ssd is fast; performance is not the issue.
- ✗
The instance has run out of IOPS on the boot disk.
Why it's wrong here
pd-ssd has high IOPS; not likely exhausted.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
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CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.