- A
A dashboard with a CPU utilization chart
Why wrong: Dashboards display metrics visually but do not send notifications — they require a human to observe the chart.
- B
An alerting policy with a CPU utilization threshold condition
Alerting policies evaluate metric conditions continuously and send notifications via configured channels when thresholds are breached for the specified duration.
- C
A log-based metric filter for high-CPU events
Why wrong: Log-based metrics extract numeric values from log entries — CPU utilization is a time-series metric, not a log-based event.
- D
An uptime check targeting the managed instance group
Why wrong: Uptime checks verify that an endpoint is reachable and returns an expected response — they don't monitor resource utilization metrics.
Quick Answer
The answer is an alerting policy with a CPU utilization threshold condition. This is correct because Cloud Monitoring alerting policies evaluate metric data against a defined threshold—here, the average CPU utilization of VMs in a managed instance group exceeding 80% for a duration of 5 minutes—and trigger a notification, such as an email, when the condition is met. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to translate a business requirement into a specific Cloud Monitoring resource; a common trap is confusing alerting policies with uptime checks or logs-based metrics, which serve different purposes. Remember that threshold-based alerts are the go-to for simple metric breaches, while you must also configure the notification channel (e.g., email) separately within the policy. A helpful memory tip: "Threshold triggers the alert, notification delivers the message."
Google ACE Practice Question: Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 team wants to receive an email alert when the average CPU utilization of VMs in a managed instance group exceeds 80% for more than 5 minutes. What should they create in Cloud Monitoring?
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
An alerting policy with a CPU utilization threshold condition
B is correct because Cloud Monitoring alerting policies allow you to define conditions based on metric thresholds, such as average CPU utilization exceeding 80% for a specified duration (5 minutes). This directly meets the requirement to trigger an email alert when the condition is met.
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.
- ✗
A dashboard with a CPU utilization chart
Why it's wrong here
Dashboards display metrics visually but do not send notifications — they require a human to observe the chart.
- ✓
An alerting policy with a CPU utilization threshold condition
Why this is correct
Alerting policies evaluate metric conditions continuously and send notifications via configured channels when thresholds are breached for the specified duration.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
A log-based metric filter for high-CPU events
Why it's wrong here
Log-based metrics extract numeric values from log entries — CPU utilization is a time-series metric, not a log-based event.
- ✗
An uptime check targeting the managed instance group
Why it's wrong here
Uptime checks verify that an endpoint is reachable and returns an expected response — they don't monitor resource utilization metrics.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between alerting policies (which trigger notifications) and dashboards (which only display data), so candidates mistakenly choose a dashboard thinking it can send alerts.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Cloud Monitoring alerting policies evaluate metric time series against a threshold condition using a rolling window (e.g., 5 minutes). The condition uses a 'metric threshold' with an alignment period and a 'for' duration to ensure sustained breach, preventing false positives from transient spikes. In a real-world scenario, you might combine this with a notification channel (e.g., email, Pub/Sub) and a documentation link for automated incident response.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution — This question tests Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: An alerting policy with a CPU utilization threshold condition — B is correct because Cloud Monitoring alerting policies allow you to define conditions based on metric thresholds, such as average CPU utilization exceeding 80% for a specified duration (5 minutes). This directly meets the requirement to trigger an email alert when the condition is met.
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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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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