Managing Implementation and Ensuring Solution and Operations Reliability →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
Google PCA GKE nodes Practice Question
During a load test, an application running on GKE experiences high latency and errors. You suspect the issue is due to insufficient cluster resources. Which gcloud command should you use to quickly check the current resource utilization of all nodes in the cluster?
⚠ Common exam trap
Do not assume that gcloud container clusters describe or gcloud compute instances list shows resource utilization. They do not provide current CPU/memory metrics; use kubectl top nodes for that.
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
✓
gcloud compute instances list
None of the listed gcloud commands shows current resource utilization of GKE nodes. gcloud container clusters describe shows configuration, gcloud container clusters list lists clusters, gcloud container clusters get-credentials retrieves credentials, and gcloud compute instances list only lists instances and their status. The correct command for current CPU/memory utilization is kubectl top nodes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
gcloud container clusters describe
Why it's wrong here
This command displays cluster configuration, such as node pools and machine types, but does not show real-time resource utilization. It is useful for capacity planning but not for immediate utilization checks.
- ✗
gcloud container clusters list
Why it's wrong here
This command lists GKE clusters in a project, not the nodes within a cluster. It does not provide resource utilization information.
- ✗
gcloud container clusters get-credentials
Why it's wrong here
This command retrieves credentials for a cluster to use with kubectl. It does not show resource utilization.
- ✓
gcloud compute instances list
Why this is correct
This command lists all compute instances, including GKE cluster nodes, and shows their status. While it does not display real-time CPU/memory usage, it quickly provides a list of nodes and their current state, which can help identify if nodes are down or overutilized based on status. However, for exact resource utilization, you would use kubectl top nodes.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Google Cloud Resource Hierarchy and Organization
Key term
GKE
GKE is Google's managed Kubernetes service that automates deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications in the cloud.
Key term
Latency
Latency is the time delay between a request being sent over a network and the response being received, often measured in milliseconds.
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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.