PCDOE Implementing service monitoring strategies Practice Question
A team needs to monitor the availability of an HTTPS endpoint that requires a Bearer token in the request header. What is the simplest way to configure this with Cloud Monitoring?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that Uptime Checks cannot handle authentication, leading candidates to overcomplicate the solution with sidecars or scripts, when in fact custom headers are a built-in feature.
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
✓
Configure the Uptime Check to include a custom header with the Bearer token.
Cloud Monitoring's Uptime Checks natively support custom HTTP headers, including Authorization headers with Bearer tokens. This allows you to directly monitor an authenticated HTTPS endpoint without any additional infrastructure, scripting, or log-based workarounds. It is the simplest and most straightforward configuration for this requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Deploy a sidecar container that handles the authentication and exposes a plain endpoint.
Why it's wrong here
Adding a sidecar adds complexity; the simplest solution is to use native Uptime Check headers.
- ✗
Use a synthetic monitor from Cloud Monitoring that handles authentication via a script.
Why it's wrong here
While possible, synthetic monitors are overkill for simple header authentication; an Uptime Check suffices.
- ✗
Export the endpoint logs to Cloud Logging and set up a log-based metric for availability.
Why it's wrong here
This approach monitors logs, not actual endpoint availability, and requires authentication workarounds.
- ✓
Configure the Uptime Check to include a custom header with the Bearer token.
Why this is correct
Uptime Checks allow custom headers, so you can directly set the Authorization header with the token.
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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.