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Planning and configuring a cloud solution →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is to add a nodeSelector with cloud.google.com/gke-spot: 'true' to the simulation Deployment spec. This is correct because GKE automatically applies this specific label to all nodes in a Spot VM node pool, and a nodeSelector acts as a hard scheduling constraint that forces pods to land only on nodes matching that label. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to route pods to a specific node pool using node selectors versus node affinity or taints and tolerations—a common trap is confusing the label key for Spot VMs with the generic preemptible label or forgetting that nodeSelector is an exact match. For a memory tip, remember that Spot VMs are labeled like a "spotlight" on the node: cloud.google.com/gke-spot shines true, so your selector must match that exact beam.

Google ACE Planning and configuring a cloud solution Practice Question

This ACE practice question tests your understanding of planning and configuring a cloud solution. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 gaming company's GKE cluster uses a mix of node pools: a standard on-demand pool for stateful database pods, and a Spot VM pool for compute-intensive but fault-tolerant game simulation pods. The simulation pods occasionally get preempted. How should the Deployment be configured to route simulation pods to the Spot pool only?

Question 1mediummultiple choice
Review the full routing breakdown →

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

✓

Add a nodeSelector: cloud.google.com/gke-spot: 'true' to the simulation Deployment spec

Option B is correct because GKE uses the node label `cloud.google.com/gke-spot` to identify Spot VMs. Adding a `nodeSelector` with that exact key-value pair ensures the simulation Deployment is scheduled exclusively on Spot nodes, which is the intended behavior for fault-tolerant, preemptible workloads.

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.

  • ✗

    Set podAffinity to prefer nodes where Spot pods are running

    Why it's wrong here

    podAffinity attracts pods to nodes based on other pods, not node type — it doesn't target Spot VM node pools.

  • ✓

    Add a nodeSelector: cloud.google.com/gke-spot: 'true' to the simulation Deployment spec

    Why this is correct

    GKE automatically labels Spot VMs with `cloud.google.com/gke-spot: 'true'`. A nodeSelector with this label ensures simulation Pods are scheduled only on Spot nodes.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • ✗

    Set requests.cpu and requests.memory to very high values — GKE will route them to Spot nodes

    Why it's wrong here

    Resource requests determine scheduling fit — they don't route pods to specific node pool types.

  • ✗

    Name the simulation Deployment with a 'spot-' prefix — GKE routes prefixed deployments to Spot pools

    Why it's wrong here

    Deployment naming has no bearing on node pool selection in GKE.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may confuse `nodeSelector` with `podAffinity` or assume GKE uses naming conventions or resource requests to determine node pool placement, when in fact it relies on node labels and taints.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Under the hood, Spot VMs in GKE are automatically tainted with `cloud.google.com/gke-spot` (NoSchedule effect) to prevent non-tolerant pods from being scheduled on them. To run pods on Spot nodes, you must either add a `nodeSelector` matching the label or add a toleration for the taint; the `nodeSelector` approach is simpler when you want to exclusively target Spot nodes. In real-world scenarios, using both a toleration and a `nodeSelector` is common to ensure pods are both allowed and directed to Spot nodes, especially in clusters with mixed node pools.

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

A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this ACE question test?

Planning and configuring a cloud solution — This question tests Planning and configuring a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Add a nodeSelector: cloud.google.com/gke-spot: 'true' to the simulation Deployment spec — Option B is correct because GKE uses the node label `cloud.google.com/gke-spot` to identify Spot VMs. Adding a `nodeSelector` with that exact key-value pair ensures the simulation Deployment is scheduled exclusively on Spot nodes, which is the intended behavior for fault-tolerant, preemptible workloads.

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 11, 2026

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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.