This PCD practice question tests your understanding of deploying applications. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
Network Topology
A developer runs the command above. What is the effect of the --promote flag in this deployment?
Network Topology
A
It creates a new default service version with split traffic.
Why wrong: --promote does not split traffic; it assigns all traffic to that version.
B
It promotes the previous version to receive traffic.
Why wrong: The --promote flag affects the new version being deployed.
C
It causes the new version (v2) to receive 100% of traffic after deployment.
Correct: --promote directs all traffic to the newly deployed version.
D
It enables automatic scaling for the new version.
Why wrong: Automatic scaling is configured in app.yaml, not by the flag.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
It causes the new version (v2) to receive 100% of traffic after deployment.
The --promote flag in a Google Cloud App Engine deployment command (gcloud app deploy --promote) causes the newly deployed version (v2) to immediately receive 100% of traffic, effectively making it the default serving version. This is the standard behavior unless the --no-promote flag is explicitly used to keep traffic on the previous version.
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.
✗
It creates a new default service version with split traffic.
Why it's wrong here
--promote does not split traffic; it assigns all traffic to that version.
✗
It promotes the previous version to receive traffic.
Why it's wrong here
The --promote flag affects the new version being deployed.
✓
It causes the new version (v2) to receive 100% of traffic after deployment.
Why this is correct
Correct: --promote directs all traffic to the newly deployed version.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
It enables automatic scaling for the new version.
Why it's wrong here
Automatic scaling is configured in app.yaml, not by the flag.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
A common misconception is that the --promote flag affects the previous version or creates traffic splits. In Google Cloud App Engine, the --promote flag causes the newly deployed version to receive 100% of traffic, making it the default serving version. Using --no-promote keeps traffic on the previous version.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, App Engine uses a traffic migration mechanism where the --promote flag updates the 'default' traffic assignment in the service's routing configuration, which is stored in the App Engine admin API. Without --promote, the new version is deployed but remains at 0% traffic, allowing for canary testing or gradual rollout via the 'migrate traffic' option. In a real-world scenario, a developer might deploy with --no-promote to test v2 in isolation, then later use gcloud app services set-traffic to shift traffic incrementally.
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: It causes the new version (v2) to receive 100% of traffic after deployment. — The --promote flag in a Google Cloud App Engine deployment command (gcloud app deploy --promote) causes the newly deployed version (v2) to immediately receive 100% of traffic, effectively making it the default serving version. This is the standard behavior unless the --no-promote flag is explicitly used to keep traffic on the previous version.
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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