PCDOE Implementing service monitoring strategies Practice Question
A company has on-premises servers running Linux and GKE clusters. They want to monitor all infrastructure using Cloud Monitoring. Which solution is most scalable and aligned with Google's best practices?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that self-managed Prometheus with a custom adapter is the most scalable solution, when in fact Google's managed service eliminates operational overhead and provides native integration with Cloud Monitoring, making it the best practice for hybrid environments.
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
✓
Use Google's managed service for Prometheus on GKE and a Prometheus federation for on-prem.
It leverages Google's managed service for Prometheus on GKE, which is fully integrated with Cloud Monitoring and eliminates the operational overhead of self-managing Prometheus. For on-premises servers, Prometheus federation allows scraping metrics from the on-prem Prometheus instance and forwarding them to the managed service, providing a unified, scalable monitoring solution that aligns with Google's best practices for hybrid environments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use collectd on on-prem servers to send to Cloud Monitoring via the Stackdriver agent configuration.
Why it's wrong here
The legacy Stackdriver agent is deprecated and not recommended for new deployments.
- ✗
Deploy Prometheus on both environments and use the PromQL adapter for Cloud Monitoring.
Why it's wrong here
While possible, the PromQL adapter is less integrated than the managed Prometheus service.
- ✓
Use Google's managed service for Prometheus on GKE and a Prometheus federation for on-prem.
Why this is correct
The managed service for Prometheus on GKE is fully integrated, and federation from on-prem Prometheus scales well.
- ✗
Install the Ops Agent on all on-prem servers and use Google's default GKE monitoring.
Why it's wrong here
The Ops Agent is designed for Compute Engine VMs, not for general on-premises use; it also requires network connectivity that may not be stable.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCDOE 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 PCDOE exam.