- A
Set the Deployment replica count to 6 — node upgrades will only affect half at a time
Why wrong: Without a PDB, a node upgrade could drain multiple nodes simultaneously, removing more than half the Pods. Replica count alone doesn't enforce a minimum availability guarantee.
- B
Create a PodDisruptionBudget with minAvailable: 3 targeting the payment service Pods
A PDB with minAvailable: 3 instructs GKE's node drain process (during upgrades, autoscaler removals) to ensure at least 3 payment service Pods remain running throughout the disruption.
- C
Add node affinity rules pinning all 3 replicas to specific long-lived nodes
Why wrong: Pinning to specific nodes makes Pods unschedulable elsewhere — if those nodes are upgraded or fail, the Pods can't be rescheduled.
- D
Enable cluster autoscaler with minNodeCount=3 — this preserves Pod availability
Why wrong: minNodeCount ensures at least 3 nodes exist — it doesn't prevent Pods from being evicted simultaneously during upgrades.
Quick Answer
The answer is to create a PodDisruptionBudget with minAvailable: 3 targeting the payment service Pods. This configuration is correct because a PodDisruptionBudget (PDB) acts as a safety contract with the Kubernetes scheduler, explicitly blocking voluntary disruptions—such as node upgrades or Pod evictions during cluster maintenance—that would reduce the number of healthy replicas below the specified threshold of three. For the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to maintain service availability during planned downtime, a key concept in production GKE workloads. A common trap is confusing minAvailable with maxUnavailable or assuming that replica counts in a Deployment alone guarantee uptime; the PDB is what actually enforces the minimum during disruptions. Memory tip: think of the PDB as a “minimum headcount” rule—no eviction is allowed if it would leave fewer than three Pods on shift.
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 production GKE service processes payments and must maintain at least 3 replicas running at all times, even during node upgrades or Pod evictions. How should this be enforced?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"least"Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
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
Create a PodDisruptionBudget with minAvailable: 3 targeting the payment service Pods
A PodDisruptionBudget (PDB) with `minAvailable: 3` ensures that at least 3 replicas of the payment service remain available during voluntary disruptions like node upgrades or Pod evictions. The Kubernetes scheduler respects the PDB by blocking evictions that would drop the number of healthy Pods below the specified threshold, guaranteeing continuous service availability even when nodes are being drained.
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 the Deployment replica count to 6 — node upgrades will only affect half at a time
Why it's wrong here
Without a PDB, a node upgrade could drain multiple nodes simultaneously, removing more than half the Pods. Replica count alone doesn't enforce a minimum availability guarantee.
- ✓
Create a PodDisruptionBudget with minAvailable: 3 targeting the payment service Pods
Why this is correct
A PDB with minAvailable: 3 instructs GKE's node drain process (during upgrades, autoscaler removals) to ensure at least 3 payment service Pods remain running throughout the disruption.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Add node affinity rules pinning all 3 replicas to specific long-lived nodes
Why it's wrong here
Pinning to specific nodes makes Pods unschedulable elsewhere — if those nodes are upgraded or fail, the Pods can't be rescheduled.
- ✗
Enable cluster autoscaler with minNodeCount=3 — this preserves Pod availability
Why it's wrong here
minNodeCount ensures at least 3 nodes exist — it doesn't prevent Pods from being evicted simultaneously during upgrades.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that increasing replica count or using node-level controls (affinity, autoscaler) alone can guarantee availability during voluntary disruptions, when in fact only a PodDisruptionBudget provides the explicit eviction protection needed.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
PodDisruptionBudgets work by intercepting eviction API requests (e.g., from `kubectl drain` or cluster autoscaler scale-down) and rejecting them if the eviction would cause the number of healthy Pods (matching the PDB selector) to fall below `minAvailable` or exceed `maxUnavailable`. The PDB counts only Pods in the `Running` and `Ready` state, so a Pod that is unhealthy or not yet ready does not count toward the budget, which can cause subtle stalls if readiness probes are misconfigured.
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: Create a PodDisruptionBudget with minAvailable: 3 targeting the payment service Pods — A PodDisruptionBudget (PDB) with `minAvailable: 3` ensures that at least 3 replicas of the payment service remain available during voluntary disruptions like node upgrades or Pod evictions. The Kubernetes scheduler respects the PDB by blocking evictions that would drop the number of healthy Pods below the specified threshold, guaranteeing continuous service availability even when nodes are being drained.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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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