- A
Use separate GKE clusters: one for payment services and one for everything else.
Why wrong: Separate clusters provide isolation but add significant operational overhead (two control planes, separate networking, separate upgrades) when taints/tolerations achieve the same within one cluster.
- B
Apply taints to the dedicated node pool and tolerations to payment service pod specs.
Taints prevent regular pods from being scheduled on payment nodes. Tolerations in payment pod specs allow scheduling there. This achieves workload isolation within a single cluster.
- C
Use Kubernetes NetworkPolicy to restrict network access between payment pods and other pods.
Why wrong: NetworkPolicy controls network traffic between pods, not pod scheduling placement. It doesn't prevent other workloads from running on the same nodes as payment services.
- D
Set resource requests and limits so payment services consume all resources on their nodes.
Why wrong: Resource requests/limits manage resource allocation, not scheduling isolation. Other pods could still be scheduled on the same nodes if resources appear available.
Quick Answer
The correct approach is to apply taints to the dedicated node pool and tolerations to the payment service pod specs. This works because taints act as a repulsion mechanism on nodes, preventing any pod without a matching toleration from being scheduled there, while tolerations on the payment pods explicitly allow them to bypass that restriction. This isolates sensitive workloads at the node level without the overhead of managing separate clusters. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of pod scheduling constraints and node isolation strategies, often appearing as a distractor where candidates mistakenly choose separate clusters or node selectors alone. A common trap is confusing taints/tolerations with node affinity—remember that taints repel, while affinity attracts. Memory tip: think of taints as a “keep out” sign on the node, and tolerations as the special key that lets only your sensitive pods through.
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.
Your team is planning a GKE cluster for a microservices application. Some services process sensitive payment data and must run on dedicated nodes that no other workloads can access. The rest of the application can share nodes. How should you configure the cluster?
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
Apply taints to the dedicated node pool and tolerations to payment service pod specs.
Option B is correct because taints on dedicated node pools prevent pods without matching tolerations from being scheduled on those nodes, ensuring that only payment service pods (which include the corresponding tolerations) can run on the dedicated nodes. This isolates sensitive workloads at the node level without requiring separate clusters, which would add operational overhead and complexity.
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 separate GKE clusters: one for payment services and one for everything else.
Why it's wrong here
Separate clusters provide isolation but add significant operational overhead (two control planes, separate networking, separate upgrades) when taints/tolerations achieve the same within one cluster.
- ✓
Apply taints to the dedicated node pool and tolerations to payment service pod specs.
Why this is correct
Taints prevent regular pods from being scheduled on payment nodes. Tolerations in payment pod specs allow scheduling there. This achieves workload isolation within a single cluster.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Kubernetes NetworkPolicy to restrict network access between payment pods and other pods.
Why it's wrong here
NetworkPolicy controls network traffic between pods, not pod scheduling placement. It doesn't prevent other workloads from running on the same nodes as payment services.
- ✗
Set resource requests and limits so payment services consume all resources on their nodes.
Why it's wrong here
Resource requests/limits manage resource allocation, not scheduling isolation. Other pods could still be scheduled on the same nodes if resources appear available.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that network policies (Option C) provide workload isolation, when in fact they only control east-west traffic and do not prevent co-location of pods on the same node, which is the core requirement for dedicated node isolation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Taints use the `NoSchedule` effect by default, which prevents pods without matching tolerations from being scheduled onto the node, but existing pods are not evicted. For stronger isolation, you can use `NoExecute` to evict all pods without the toleration. In a real-world scenario, you might combine taints with node affinity to ensure payment pods are placed on specific nodes, and use PodDisruptionBudgets to maintain availability during node maintenance.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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?
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: Apply taints to the dedicated node pool and tolerations to payment service pod specs. — Option B is correct because taints on dedicated node pools prevent pods without matching tolerations from being scheduled on those nodes, ensuring that only payment service pods (which include the corresponding tolerations) can run on the dedicated nodes. This isolates sensitive workloads at the node level without requiring separate clusters, which would add operational overhead and complexity.
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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