Google ACE Deploying and implementing a cloud solution Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of deploying and implementing a cloud solution. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A company wants to deploy a web application on Compute Engine. They expect variable traffic and want to automatically add or remove virtual machine instances based on CPU utilization. What is the recommended approach?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a managed instance group with an autoscaling policy based on CPU utilization
A managed instance group (MIG) with an autoscaling policy based on CPU utilization is the recommended approach because it automatically adjusts the number of VM instances in response to real-time CPU load, ensuring the application can handle variable traffic without manual intervention. This aligns with Google Cloud's best practices for elastic scaling of stateless web applications on Compute Engine.
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.
✗
Use a single large instance and rely on Cloud Load Balancing
Why it's wrong here
A single instance does not scale horizontally, and load balancing alone does not autoscale.
✗
Use an unmanaged instance group and manually add or remove instances
Why it's wrong here
Unmanaged groups do not support autoscaling and require manual intervention.
✓
Use a managed instance group with an autoscaling policy based on CPU utilization
Why this is correct
Managed instance groups with autoscaling automatically adjust instance count based on CPU utilization metrics.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Deploy the application on App Engine Standard environment
Why it's wrong here
App Engine Standard is serverless and automatically scales, but the question specifies Compute Engine.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between managed and unmanaged instance groups, where candidates mistakenly think unmanaged groups can be autoscaled, but only managed instance groups support autoscaling policies.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, a MIG with CPU-based autoscaling uses the `autoscaler` resource to monitor the average CPU utilization across all instances in the group, comparing it against a target utilization (e.g., 0.6 for 60%). The autoscaler then calculates the desired number of instances using a formula that considers the current load and the target, and it can scale up or down with a cooldown period to avoid thrashing. In a real-world scenario, if a flash sale causes CPU to spike to 90%, the autoscaler will provision additional instances within minutes, while a sudden drop in traffic will scale down to save costs.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
Deploying and implementing a cloud solution — This question tests Deploying and implementing a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a managed instance group with an autoscaling policy based on CPU utilization — A managed instance group (MIG) with an autoscaling policy based on CPU utilization is the recommended approach because it automatically adjusts the number of VM instances in response to real-time CPU load, ensuring the application can handle variable traffic without manual intervention. This aligns with Google Cloud's best practices for elastic scaling of stateless web applications on Compute Engine.
What should I do if I get this ACE 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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This ACE 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 ACE exam.
Question Discussion
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