How many Refer to the Exhibit Practice Questions questions are on this page?

This page has 14 Refer to the Exhibit Practice Questions scenario questions for the GCDL exam, each with detailed explanations and wrong-answer analysis.

How should I approach GCDL scenario questions?

Read the full scenario before looking at the answer options. Identify the constraint or requirement in the scenario, then eliminate options that are generally true but wrong for this specific case. Scenario questions reward careful reading over pattern matching.

← Back to Google Cloud Digital Leader questions

Scenario-based practice

Refer to the Exhibit Practice Questions

Practise Google Cloud Digital Leader practice questions — original exam-style scenarios covering every exam domain, with detailed explanations, wrong-answer analysis, and common exam traps.

Start full practice test Read exam guide

scenario questions

GCDL

exam code

Google Cloud

vendor

Scenario guide

How to approach refer to the exhibit practice questions

Practise exhibit-style questions that ask you to read a topology, table, command output or diagram before choosing the best answer.

Quick answer

Exhibit-style questions test whether you can read a topology, command output, diagram or table before choosing the best answer.

How to extract the relevant detail from an exhibit.

How topology, command output or routing information affects the answer.

How to avoid answering from memory before reading the evidence.

How to map the exhibit back to the exam objective.

Practice scenarios

Question 1hardmultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A team deployed this Cloud Run service. During a load test, the service receives high traffic, but the number of container instances never exceeds 10. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

apiVersion: serving.knative.dev/v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: hello
spec:
  template:
    metadata:
      autoscaling.knative.dev/maxScale: "10"
      autoscaling.knative.dev/minScale: "2"
    spec:
      containerConcurrency: 80
      containers:
      - image: us-docker.pkg.dev/cloudrun/container/hello
        resources:
          limits:
            cpu: "1"
            memory: "256Mi"

A
The maxScale annotation limits the maximum number of instances to 10.
The autoscaling.knative.dev/maxScale annotation sets the maximum number of instances; with value 10, it cannot scale beyond 10.
B
The minScale of 2 forces at least two instances, but not the max.
Why wrong: minScale sets a minimum number of instances; it does not prevent scaling above 10.
C
The containerConcurrency of 80 limits the number of concurrent requests per instance.
Why wrong: Concurrency determines how many requests each instance can handle, but does not limit the total number of instances.
D
The CPU limit of 1 vCPU is too low to handle the traffic.
Why wrong: CPU limit affects per-instance processing capacity, but the instance count can still scale up to serve traffic, unless the limit causes throttling but not a hard cap on instances.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 2hardmultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A data processing job must complete within 2 hours. The job can be interrupted but must resume from the last checkpoint. Which two instances should be used to minimize cost while meeting the requirement?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.
```
$ gcloud compute instances list
NAME        ZONE           MACHINE_TYPE  PREEMPTIBLE  INTERNAL_IP  EXTERNAL_IP
worker-1    us-central1-a  e2-standard-4              10.128.0.1   35.184.0.1
worker-2    us-central1-a  e2-standard-4  YES         10.128.0.2   35.184.0.2
worker-3    us-central1-b  e2-standard-4              10.128.0.3   35.184.0.3
worker-4    us-central1-b  e2-standard-4  YES         10.128.0.4   35.184.0.4
```

A
worker-2 and worker-4
Both are preemptible, offering lowest cost for interruptible workloads.
B
worker-1 and worker-2
Why wrong: worker-1 is non-preemptible, increasing cost unnecessarily.
C
worker-2 and worker-3
Why wrong: worker-3 is non-preemptible, increasing cost.
D
worker-1 and worker-3
Why wrong: Both are non-preemptible, leading to higher cost.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 3mediummultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. What level of access does this IAM policy grant to the members?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.
```json
{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "role": "roles/storage.objectViewer",
      "members": [
        "user:alice@example.com",
        "serviceAccount:sa-bucket-reader@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com"
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

A
Permission to create new objects and read existing ones.
Why wrong: That would be roles/storage.objectCreator combined with objectViewer, but the policy only grants objectViewer.
B
Full control over objects including create, read, update, and delete.
Why wrong: That would be roles/storage.objectAdmin.
C
Full control over the bucket including listing and deleting.
Why wrong: That would be roles/storage.admin or roles/storage.objectAdmin with bucket-level permissions.
D
Read-only access to objects in the bucket.
roles/storage.objectViewer grants read access to objects.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 4mediummultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A user receives this error when trying to SSH into a Compute Engine instance. Which IAM role should be granted to the user?

Network Topology

A
roles/compute.osLogin
Why wrong: Enables OS Login, but does not include the compute.instances.get permission required for SSH metadata.
B
roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1
This role includes compute.instances.get and compute.instances.setMetadata, which are needed for SSH access.
C
roles/iam.serviceAccountUser
Why wrong: Allows using a service account, but does not grant compute.instances.get.
D
roles/compute.admin
Why wrong: Grants full control over Compute Engine, which is more than necessary and not recommended.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 5mediummultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. The autoscaler is configured to maintain a target CPU utilization of 0.6. Currently the group has 10 instances, but the autoscaler is not scaling up even though CPU utilization is above 0.8. What is the most likely reason?

Exhibit

gcloud compute instance-groups managed list --zone us-central1-a
NAME          LOCATION       SCOPE  BASE_INSTANCE_NAME  SIZE  TARGET_SIZE  INSTANCE_TEMPLATE  AUTOSCALED
my-mig        us-central1-a  zone   my-instance         10    20           my-template         yes

A
The maximum number of instances is set to 10
If max instances is 10, the autoscaler cannot scale beyond that even if target is higher.
B
The autoscaler is disabled
Why wrong: The output shows AUTOSCALED: yes, so it is enabled.
C
The instance template is misconfigured
Why wrong: Misconfigured template would cause new instances to fail, but autoscaler would still try.
D
The autoscaler cooldown period is preventing new instances
Why wrong: Cooldown is temporary and would not prevent scaling for long.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 6hardmultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A developer receives this error when trying to create a Compute Engine instance. The developer is authenticated as a user with Project Editor role. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.
```
Error:
# gcloud compute instances create my-instance --zone us-central1-a
ERROR: (gcloud.compute.instances.create) Could not fetch resource:
 - Account 'my-service-account@project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com' requires permission 'compute.instances.create' on project 'my-project'
```

A
The project has reached its compute instance quota.
Why wrong: Quota errors would produce a different message.
B
The developer does not have the compute.instances.create permission.
Why wrong: The developer has Project Editor role, which includes that permission.
C
The service account used for the instance lacks IAM permissions.
The error indicates the service account (my-service-account) lacks compute.instances.create on the project.
D
The VPC network has insufficient IP addresses.
Why wrong: The error message points to a permission issue, not networking.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 7mediummultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. The IAM policy is applied at the project level. The bucket 'sensitive-data' exists and contains objects. What is the effective access for user alice@example.com?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "role": "roles/storage.objectViewer",
      "members": [
        "user:alice@example.com",
        "user:bob@example.com"
      ]
    },
    {
      "role": "roles/storage.objectAdmin",
      "members": [
        "user:carol@example.com"
      ],
      "condition": {
        "title": "restrict_to_sensitive_bucket",
        "expression": "resource.name.startsWith('projects/_/buckets/sensitive-data/objects/')"
      }
    }
  ],
  "etag": "BwW3ZJf4G7A="
}

A
Alice can view objects in all buckets including sensitive-data.
Alice has the objectViewer role on the project with no condition, so she can list and read objects in any bucket.
B
Alice can view objects only in non-sensitive buckets, and can view objects in sensitive-data only after 9 AM due to condition.
Why wrong: The condition is not on Alice's role; it's on Carol's objectAdmin role.
C
Alice can view objects in all buckets except sensitive-data.
Why wrong: Alice's objectViewer role is unconditional, so she can view objects in sensitive-data too.
D
Alice can view and modify objects in all buckets.
Why wrong: objectViewer is read-only; she cannot modify objects.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 8mediummultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. An operations team configured this Cloud Monitoring alert. They notice that the alert fires, but the associated managed instance group autoscaler does not scale up. What is the most likely reason?

Exhibit

{
  "displayName": "High CPU Alert",
  "condition": {
    "conditionThreshold": {
      "aggregations": [
        {
          "alignmentPeriod": "60s",
          "perSeriesAligner": "ALIGN_RATE",
          "crossSeriesReducer": "REDUCE_NONE"
        }
      ],
      "comparison": "COMPARISON_GT",
      "duration": "300s",
      "filter": "metric.type=\"compute.googleapis.com/instance/cpu/utilization\" resource.type=\"gce_instance\"",
      "thresholdValue": 0.8,
      "trigger": {
        "count": 1
      }
    }
  },
  "enabled": true
}

A
The duration of 300 seconds (5 minutes) is too long, and the autoscaler uses a shorter evaluation period.
Autoscaler evaluates metrics over a short window (e.g., 1 minute); a 5-minute sustained threshold in the alert may cause the autoscaler to react differently.
B
The threshold value of 0.8 is too low.
Why wrong: A threshold of 0.8 (80%) is a typical target for autoscaling; lower threshold would trigger sooner, not prevent scaling.
C
The alignment period of 60 seconds is too short, causing unstable metrics.
Why wrong: An alignment period of 60 seconds is standard and should not cause instability.
D
The filter is missing the project ID, so it applies to all projects.
Why wrong: The filter specifies resource type and metric; it implicitly applies to the current scope, and missing project ID does not prevent proper evaluation.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 9hardmultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A DevOps engineer notices that the alert fires even when there is only a single 5-second spike of errors that lasts for one minute. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

{
  "displayName": "High Error Rate",
  "condition": {
    "conditionThreshold": {
      "filter": "metric.type=\"logging.googleapis.com/user/myapp_errors\" AND resource.type=\"k8s_container\"",
      "aggregations": [
        {
          "alignmentPeriod": "60s",
          "perSeriesAligner": "ALIGN_RATE"
        }
      ],
      "comparison": "COMPARISON_GT",
      "thresholdValue": 5,
      "trigger": {
        "count": 1
      }
    }
  },
  "alertStrategy": {
    "autoClose": "1800s"
  }
}

A
The trigger count is set to 1, so a single minute of high rate fires the alert
With trigger count 1, any single period above threshold triggers the alert.
B
The alignment period is too short (60s)
Why wrong: 60s is a standard alignment period; it does not cause single-spike alerts.
C
The threshold value (5) is too low
Why wrong: Even if threshold were higher, a spike could exceed it; the issue is the trigger count.
D
The trigger count is set to 2, so two consecutive periods are needed
Why wrong: The exhibit shows count: 1, not 2.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 10mediummultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A DevOps engineer wants to create a chart showing the rate of items sold per second over time. What is a limitation of this metric for that purpose?

Exhibit

{
  "metric": {
    "type": "custom.googleapis.com/inventory/items_sold",
    "labels": {}
  },
  "resource": {
    "type": "global",
    "labels": {
      "project_id": "my-project"
    }
  },
  "points": [
    {
      "interval": {
        "endTime": "2023-01-01T12:00:00Z"
      },
      "value": {
        "int64Value": "100"
      }
    }
  ],
  "metricKind": "GAUGE",
  "valueType": "INT64"
}

A
The metric kind is GAUGE, so it cannot be used to calculate rate
GAUGE metrics are snapshots; rate requires DELTA or CUMULATIVE.
B
The interval should include a startTime
Why wrong: For GAUGE, only endTime is required.
C
The metric has no labels to filter
Why wrong: Labels affect filtering but not rate computation.
D
The value should be DOUBLE instead of INT64
Why wrong: INT64 is fine for counts.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 11easymultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A security administrator reviews this Cloud Audit Logs entry. What does this entry indicate?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.
```
$ gcloud logging read "resource.type=project AND severity=ERROR" --limit 5
timestamp: 2023-10-05T10:30:00Z
protoPayload:
  methodName: "storage.objects.get"
  authenticationInfo:
    principalEmail: "user@example.com"
  resourceName: "projects/_/buckets/my-bucket/objects/secret.pdf"
```

A
The user attempted to read the object 'secret.pdf' and the request resulted in an error.
The method is 'get' and severity ERROR shows a failed read attempt.
B
The user updated the IAM policy on the bucket.
Why wrong: The method is not setIamPolicy.
C
The user attempted to delete the object 'secret.pdf'.
Why wrong: The method is 'storage.objects.get', not delete.
D
The user successfully read the object 'secret.pdf'.
Why wrong: The log has severity ERROR, indicating the operation failed.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 12easymultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A user receives this error when trying to copy an object from one bucket to another. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.
```
Error: 403 POST https://storage.googleapis.com/storage/v1/b/bucket/o:copyTo?sourceObject=source.txt
<Code>AccessDenied</Code>
<Message>Access denied.</Message>
```

A
The service account used does not have the required IAM permissions to copy objects.
The 403 error indicates access denied due to missing permissions.
B
The buckets are located in different regions and cross-region copy is not allowed.
Why wrong: Cross-region copy is allowed; if denied, it would be a policy issue, not region.
C
The destination bucket has exceeded its storage quota.
Why wrong: Quota exceeded returns a 429 error, not 403.
D
The source bucket name is misspelled in the request.
Why wrong: Invalid bucket name would return a 404 Not Found.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 13hardmultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A company configures a lifecycle policy on a Cloud Storage bucket. The bucket contains objects uploaded over the past year with custom time set on each object. After 60 days, what happens to the objects?

Exhibit

{
  "lifecycle": {
    "rule": [
      {
        "action": {"type": "Delete"},
        "condition": {
          "daysSinceCustomTime": 30
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

A
All objects older than 30 days from now are deleted.
Why wrong: The condition does not use age from upload time; it uses custom time.
B
Objects with custom time more than 30 days ago are deleted.
The condition uses daysSinceCustomTime, so objects are deleted when the time since custom time exceeds 30 days.
C
Objects are deleted after 30 days from the last access.
Why wrong: The condition does not consider access time; it's based on custom time.
D
The lifecycle policy is invalid because custom time is not supported.
Why wrong: Custom time is a valid condition for lifecycle rules.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 14mediummultiple choice

Full question →

Refer to the exhibit. A security engineer applies this IAM policy. What is the effect?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.
```
gcloud projects set-iam-policy my-project policy.yaml
```
policy.yaml:
```
{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "role": "roles/compute.admin",
      "members": [
        "user:admin@example.com"
      ],
      "condition": {
        "title": "workstation_ip",
        "expression": "request.host == '203.0.113.1'"
      }
    }
  ]
}
```

A
Access is allowed only from the IP address 203.0.113.1.
The condition 'request.host' evaluates the source IP address.
B
Access is allowed only to resources tagged with 'production'.
Why wrong: Resource tags are not used in this condition.
C
Access is allowed only with two-factor authentication.
Why wrong: Two-factor authentication is not referenced in the condition.
D
Access is allowed only during business hours.
Why wrong: The condition does not include time attributes.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

These GCDL practice questions are part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style GCDL questions with detailed explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics.

Refer to the Exhibit Practice Questions

How to approach refer to the exhibit practice questions

Quick answer

Related GCDL topic practice pages

Why cloud technology is transforming business practice questions

Fundamental cloud concepts practice questions

Google Cloud products, services, and solutions practice questions

Scaling with Google Cloud operations practice questions

Trust and security with Google Cloud practice questions

GCDL fundamentals practice questions

GCDL scenario practice questions

GCDL troubleshooting practice questions

Practice scenarios

Refer to the exhibit. A team deployed this Cloud Run service. During a load test, the service receives high traffic, but the number of container instances never exceeds 10. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A data processing job must complete within 2 hours. The job can be interrupted but must resume from the last checkpoint. Which two instances should be used to minimize cost while meeting the requirement?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. What level of access does this IAM policy grant to the members?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A user receives this error when trying to SSH into a Compute Engine instance. Which IAM role should be granted to the user?

Refer to the exhibit. The autoscaler is configured to maintain a target CPU utilization of 0.6. Currently the group has 10 instances, but the autoscaler is not scaling up even though CPU utilization is above 0.8. What is the most likely reason?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A developer receives this error when trying to create a Compute Engine instance. The developer is authenticated as a user with Project Editor role. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. The IAM policy is applied at the project level. The bucket 'sensitive-data' exists and contains objects. What is the effective access for user alice@example.com?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. An operations team configured this Cloud Monitoring alert. They notice that the alert fires, but the associated managed instance group autoscaler does not scale up. What is the most likely reason?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A DevOps engineer notices that the alert fires even when there is only a single 5-second spike of errors that lasts for one minute. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A DevOps engineer wants to create a chart showing the rate of items sold per second over time. What is a limitation of this metric for that purpose?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A security administrator reviews this Cloud Audit Logs entry. What does this entry indicate?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A user receives this error when trying to copy an object from one bucket to another. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A company configures a lifecycle policy on a Cloud Storage bucket. The bucket contains objects uploaded over the past year with custom time set on each object. After 60 days, what happens to the objects?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. A security engineer applies this IAM policy. What is the effect?

Exhibit