- A
The SLO was met because 47 minutes is less than 1 hour of downtime per month
Why wrong: Meeting an SLO requires calculation against the specific target, not a round-number intuition. 99.9% allows 43.2 minutes; 47 minutes exceeds this by ~3.8 minutes. The SLO was missed.
- B
The SLO was missed: 99.9% availability allows approximately 43.2 minutes of downtime in a 30-day month, so 47 minutes exceeded the error budget by about 3.8 minutes
The math: 30 days × 24 hours × 60 minutes = 43,200 minutes. 0.1% × 43,200 = 43.2 minutes allowed downtime. 47 minutes actual > 43.2 minutes allowed → SLO missed by ~3.8 minutes. The error budget is exhausted and the team should prioritize reliability work.
- C
The SLO cannot be evaluated because downtime minutes are not the correct unit for measuring availability
Why wrong: Availability is directly calculable from downtime minutes. Availability % = (total minutes − downtime minutes) / total minutes × 100. Downtime minutes are a valid and direct measure.
- D
The SLO was met with margin because 47 minutes represents less than 0.5% downtime
Why wrong: 47/43,200 = 0.109% downtime, which corresponds to 99.891% availability — below the 99.9% SLO target. Even small fractions of a percent matter in SLO math.
Quick Answer
The answer is that the SLO was missed because 47 minutes of downtime exceeds the allowable error budget. This is correct because a 99.9% monthly availability SLO permits only 43.2 minutes of downtime in a 30-day period, calculated as 30 days × 24 hours × 60 minutes × 0.001. Since the actual downtime was 47 minutes, the error budget was exceeded by 3.8 minutes, meaning the service failed to meet its reliability target. On the Google Cloud Digital Leader exam, this concept tests your understanding of how SRE teams use error budgets to balance reliability with feature velocity. A common trap is confusing the SLO percentage with the allowed downtime percentage—remember that 99.9% availability means 0.1% downtime, not 1%. A useful memory tip: for a 99.9% SLO, think of the "three nines" rule—each nine after the decimal roughly corresponds to a factor of ten in allowed downtime, so 99.9% allows just over 43 minutes per month, while 99.99% would allow only about 4.3 minutes.
Cloud Digital Leader Scaling with Google Cloud operations Practice Question
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of scaling with google cloud operations. 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.
An SRE team analyzes that their service had 47 minutes of downtime in the past 30 days. Their SLO is 99.9% monthly availability. How should the team characterize their performance relative to the SLO?
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
The SLO was missed: 99.9% availability allows approximately 43.2 minutes of downtime in a 30-day month, so 47 minutes exceeded the error budget by about 3.8 minutes
The SLO of 99.9% monthly availability allows a maximum downtime of 43.2 minutes in a 30-day month (30 days × 24 hours × 60 minutes × 0.001 = 43.2 minutes). Since the actual downtime was 47 minutes, the error budget was exceeded by 3.8 minutes, meaning the SLO was missed. This calculation is standard for Google Cloud SRE practices, where error budgets are derived directly from the SLO percentage.
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 SLO was met because 47 minutes is less than 1 hour of downtime per month
Why it's wrong here
Meeting an SLO requires calculation against the specific target, not a round-number intuition. 99.9% allows 43.2 minutes; 47 minutes exceeds this by ~3.8 minutes. The SLO was missed.
- ✓
The SLO was missed: 99.9% availability allows approximately 43.2 minutes of downtime in a 30-day month, so 47 minutes exceeded the error budget by about 3.8 minutes
Why this is correct
The math: 30 days × 24 hours × 60 minutes = 43,200 minutes. 0.1% × 43,200 = 43.2 minutes allowed downtime. 47 minutes actual > 43.2 minutes allowed → SLO missed by ~3.8 minutes. The error budget is exhausted and the team should prioritize reliability work.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The SLO cannot be evaluated because downtime minutes are not the correct unit for measuring availability
Why it's wrong here
Availability is directly calculable from downtime minutes. Availability % = (total minutes − downtime minutes) / total minutes × 100. Downtime minutes are a valid and direct measure.
- ✗
The SLO was met with margin because 47 minutes represents less than 0.5% downtime
Why it's wrong here
47/43,200 = 0.109% downtime, which corresponds to 99.891% availability — below the 99.9% SLO target. Even small fractions of a percent matter in SLO math.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the precise calculation of error budgets from SLO percentages, trapping candidates who round or assume common approximations (like 1 hour per month) instead of computing the exact allowed downtime.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The error budget is calculated as (1 - SLO) × total time in the period. For a 99.9% SLO over a 30-day month (43,200 minutes), the budget is 43.2 minutes. In Google Cloud SRE, exceeding the error budget triggers a freeze on new feature releases until the budget is replenished, enforcing reliability over velocity. This aligns with the SRE principle of using error budgets to balance reliability and innovation.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Scaling with Google Cloud operations — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Scaling with Google Cloud operations practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All GCDL questions
507 questions across all exam domains
- →
Google Cloud Digital Leader study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
GCDL practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related GCDL practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Why cloud technology is transforming business practice questions
Practise GCDL questions linked to Why cloud technology is transforming business.
Fundamental cloud concepts practice questions
Practise GCDL questions linked to Fundamental cloud concepts.
Google Cloud products, services, and solutions practice questions
Practise GCDL questions linked to Google Cloud products, services, and solutions.
Scaling with Google Cloud operations practice questions
Practise GCDL questions linked to Scaling with Google Cloud operations.
Trust and security with Google Cloud practice questions
Practise GCDL questions linked to Trust and security with Google Cloud.
GCDL fundamentals practice questions
Practise GCDL questions linked to GCDL fundamentals.
GCDL scenario practice questions
Practise GCDL questions linked to GCDL scenario.
GCDL troubleshooting practice questions
Practise GCDL questions linked to GCDL troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free GCDL practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this GCDL question test?
Scaling with Google Cloud operations — This question tests Scaling with Google Cloud operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The SLO was missed: 99.9% availability allows approximately 43.2 minutes of downtime in a 30-day month, so 47 minutes exceeded the error budget by about 3.8 minutes — The SLO of 99.9% monthly availability allows a maximum downtime of 43.2 minutes in a 30-day month (30 days × 24 hours × 60 minutes × 0.001 = 43.2 minutes). Since the actual downtime was 47 minutes, the error budget was exceeded by 3.8 minutes, meaning the SLO was missed. This calculation is standard for Google Cloud SRE practices, where error budgets are derived directly from the SLO percentage.
What should I do if I get this GCDL 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.
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 GCDL 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 GCDL exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.