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PMLE Practice Question: Responsible for monitoring a batch prediction…
You are responsible for monitoring a batch prediction pipeline that runs daily. Recently, the pipeline started failing intermittently with out-of-memory errors. The input data volume has not changed. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume OOM errors are always caused by increased data volume or resource scaling issues, but the question explicitly states data volume is unchanged, forcing you to consider code-level changes that alter memory access patterns.
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
✓
A recent code change that loads the entire dataset into memory before processing
A code change that loads the entire dataset into memory before processing would directly cause out-of-memory (OOM) errors, even if the input data volume remains unchanged. In batch prediction pipelines, data is typically streamed or processed in chunks to manage memory efficiently. A change that bypasses this pattern and loads all data at once can exceed the available heap or container memory, leading to intermittent failures depending on data characteristics or concurrent loads.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A recent code change that loads the entire dataset into memory before processing
Why this is correct
This could cause OOM for large datasets.
- ✗
Increase in model size due to retraining
Why it's wrong here
Model is served elsewhere; batch pipeline typically runs predictions using the same model.
- ✗
Decrease in the number of worker machines
Why it's wrong here
Fewer workers would cause slower processing, not OOM.
- ✗
Increase in input data size
Why it's wrong here
Data volume has not changed.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PMLE 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 PMLE exam.