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. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 company runs a critical web application on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) with a regional cluster. The application uses a Cloud SQL instance for database. Recently, users have been experiencing intermittent connection timeouts. The application logs show database connection errors, but the Cloud SQL instance's CPU and memory usage are low. The GKE cluster and Cloud SQL are in the same region. You notice that the Cloud SQL instance is configured with a private IP address. What is the most likely cause of the timeouts?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The GKE cluster is not using a Private Service Connect endpoint to reach Cloud SQL.
The most likely cause is that the GKE cluster is not using a Private Service Connect endpoint to reach the Cloud SQL instance. When Cloud SQL uses a private IP, it is accessible only through a VPC network that has a Private Service Connect endpoint or a VPC peering connection to the Service Networking API. Without this endpoint, the GKE nodes cannot route traffic to the Cloud SQL private IP, leading to intermittent connection timeouts even though the instance itself is healthy.
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.
✗
The Cloud SQL instance is not configured with automatic failover.
Why it's wrong here
Automatic failover addresses availability, not intermittent connection errors.
✗
The Cloud SQL instance's connection pool size is too small.
Why it's wrong here
A small connection pool would cause errors under load, but database load is low.
✓
The GKE cluster is not using a Private Service Connect endpoint to reach Cloud SQL.
Why this is correct
Private connectivity to Cloud SQL via private IP requires a Private Service Connect endpoint.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The GKE cluster's nodes are in a different VPC subnet than the Cloud SQL instance.
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering can connect different subnets; the missing endpoint is the key issue.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that resources in the same region and VPC can communicate automatically via private IP, but Cloud SQL private IP requires explicit Private Service Connect or VPC peering, not just same-region placement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud SQL private IP addresses are allocated from a VPC subnet that is peered with the Service Networking API (e.g., using the `google-managed-services` range). GKE nodes must have a route to this subnet, which is automatically established when a Private Service Connect endpoint or VPC peering is configured. Without this, traffic to the Cloud SQL private IP is dropped at the VPC level, causing TCP connection timeouts (typically after 30 seconds of SYN retransmissions). This is a common misconfiguration when deploying GKE and Cloud SQL in the same region but forgetting to enable the necessary networking attachment.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
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: The GKE cluster is not using a Private Service Connect endpoint to reach Cloud SQL. — The most likely cause is that the GKE cluster is not using a Private Service Connect endpoint to reach the Cloud SQL instance. When Cloud SQL uses a private IP, it is accessible only through a VPC network that has a Private Service Connect endpoint or a VPC peering connection to the Service Networking API. Without this endpoint, the GKE nodes cannot route traffic to the Cloud SQL private IP, leading to intermittent connection timeouts even though the instance itself is healthy.
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: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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