PCDOE Implementing service monitoring strategies Practice Question
A company runs a microservices architecture on GKE with Istio. They want to generate custom request-level metrics for SLO tracking without modifying application code. Which approach is most efficient?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that the Cloud Monitoring agent (or legacy Stackdriver) can scrape Istio metrics from pods, but in reality, the agent operates at the VM or node level and cannot access the Envoy proxy's in-memory metrics without explicit Prometheus scraping configuration.
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
✓
Set up Istio telemetry with the Cloud Monitoring adapter
Istio's telemetry v2 can be configured to export custom request-level metrics (e.g., latency, error rate) to Cloud Monitoring via the Cloud Monitoring adapter without modifying application code. This approach leverages Istio's sidecar proxy to capture metrics at the service mesh layer, making it the most efficient and non-invasive method for SLO tracking.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Set up Istio telemetry with the Cloud Monitoring adapter
Why this is correct
Istio's adapter exports request metrics directly to Cloud Monitoring.
- ✗
Write a custom Prometheus exporter deploying in each pod
Why it's wrong here
This requires code changes and is less efficient.
- ✗
Use the Cloud Monitoring agent to scrape metrics from pods
Why it's wrong here
The agent collects system metrics, not Istio request metrics.
- ✗
Enable Stackdriver for GKE (deprecated)
Why it's wrong here
This is deprecated and not the most efficient approach.
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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.