Google PCA Ensure solution and operations reliability Practice Question
Exhibit
gcloud container clusters describe my-cluster --zone us-central1-a
...
nodePools:
- name: default-pool
config:
machineType: n1-standard-4
diskSizeGb: 100
imageType: COS_CONTAINERD
oauthScopes:
- https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only
initialNodeCount: 3
autoscaling:
enabled: true
minNodeCount: 1
maxNodeCount: 10
Horizontal Pod Autoscaler:
Name: my-hpa
Min replicas: 3
Max replicas: 20
CPU target: 80%
Current state: The deployment has 5 pods. CPU usage is at 90%. The HPA has not scaled up.Refer to the exhibit. The HPA is configured to scale based on CPU, but it has not scaled up despite the CPU usage being above the target. Which is the most likely cause?
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 node pool oauthScopes lack the monitoring scope required for HPA to read metrics.
The node pool uses a service account with devstorage.read_only scope, which does not include the required permissions for the HPA to read metrics. The HPA needs the monitoring scope or a service account with monitoring roles to access CPU metrics.
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 cluster has autoscaling enabled, which may conflict with HPA.
Why it's wrong here
Cluster autoscaler and HPA work together; they do not conflict.
- ✓
The node pool oauthScopes lack the monitoring scope required for HPA to read metrics.
Why this is correct
Without the monitoring scope, the HPA cannot retrieve CPU metrics from the nodes.
- ✗
The HPA target is 80%, but the current CPU is 90% which should trigger scaling; the HPA may be broken.
Why it's wrong here
The HPA itself is not broken; the issue is likely permissions.
- ✗
The HPA min replicas is 3, so it cannot scale down, but it should scale up.
Why it's wrong here
Min replicas does not prevent scaling up.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Key term
Service account
A service account is a special type of account used by an application or a virtual machine, rather than a human user, to authenticate and interact with cloud services and APIs securely.
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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JA
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.