This PCD practice question tests your understanding of deploying applications. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A developer deploys a Cloud Function (2nd gen) that processes messages from Pub/Sub. The function sometimes fails with 'Deadline Exceeded' for messages that take longer than 9 minutes. What should the developer do to handle these long-running messages without losing them?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Set the Pub/Sub subscription acknowledgment deadline to 10 minutes and implement a push endpoint that acknowledges after processing.
Option C is correct because Cloud Functions (2nd gen) have a maximum timeout of 60 minutes, but Pub/Sub push subscriptions have a default acknowledgment deadline of 10 seconds. By setting the acknowledgment deadline to 10 minutes and implementing a push endpoint that acknowledges after processing, the developer ensures the message is not redelivered prematurely while allowing the function up to 10 minutes to complete. This prevents 'Deadline Exceeded' errors for messages that take longer than 9 minutes without losing messages, as the subscription will wait for the acknowledgment before considering the message as failed.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Configure the function to retry on failure and set a maximum retry count.
Why it's wrong here
Retrying does not help if the function consistently takes longer than the ack deadline.
✗
Increase the Cloud Function timeout to 60 minutes.
Why it's wrong here
The function timeout is not the issue; the Pub/Sub ack deadline must be extended.
✓
Set the Pub/Sub subscription acknowledgment deadline to 10 minutes and implement a push endpoint that acknowledges after processing.
Why this is correct
Extending the ack deadline prevents the message from being redelivered before processing completes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Cloud Tasks instead of Pub/Sub for asynchronous invocation.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Tasks has a 30-minute timeout; still may not be sufficient and changes the architecture.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that increasing the Cloud Function timeout alone solves Pub/Sub push subscription issues, but the trap here is that the Pub/Sub subscription's acknowledgment deadline is independent of the function timeout and must be configured separately to prevent premature redelivery.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Pub/Sub push subscriptions use an acknowledgment deadline that defaults to 10 seconds, after which the message is considered undelivered and redelivered. By setting the acknowledgment deadline to 10 minutes (the maximum allowed for push subscriptions), the developer gives the Cloud Function up to 10 minutes to process and acknowledge the message. The push endpoint must explicitly acknowledge the message after processing; otherwise, the subscription will redeliver it after the deadline expires. This approach ensures no messages are lost, as the subscription retains the message until acknowledged, even if processing takes longer than the default timeout.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Deploying applications — This question tests Deploying applications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Set the Pub/Sub subscription acknowledgment deadline to 10 minutes and implement a push endpoint that acknowledges after processing. — Option C is correct because Cloud Functions (2nd gen) have a maximum timeout of 60 minutes, but Pub/Sub push subscriptions have a default acknowledgment deadline of 10 seconds. By setting the acknowledgment deadline to 10 minutes and implementing a push endpoint that acknowledges after processing, the developer ensures the message is not redelivered prematurely while allowing the function up to 10 minutes to complete. This prevents 'Deadline Exceeded' errors for messages that take longer than 9 minutes without losing messages, as the subscription will wait for the acknowledgment before considering the message as failed.
What should I do if I get this PCD question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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