- A
Create an Ingress resource with the GCE ingress controller.
The GCE ingress controller provisions an external HTTP(S) load balancer with a single anycast IP address, which meets the requirement for a global IP.
- B
Create a Service of type NodePort and use a firewall rule to allow traffic.
Why wrong: NodePort exposes the service on a static port on each node, but it does not provide a single global IP and is not recommended for production internet-facing traffic.
- C
Create a Service of type ClusterIP and a load balancer manually.
Why wrong: ClusterIP is only reachable within the cluster; a load balancer would need to be created separately, but the correct approach is to use an Ingress or LoadBalancer service.
- D
Define a Network Endpoint Group (NEG) and attach it to a backend service.
Why wrong: An NEG is a lower-level component used by load balancers, but without an Ingress or LoadBalancer service, it does not expose the application to the internet.
Google PCA Manage and provision cloud infrastructure Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of manage and provision cloud infrastructure. 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 company is deploying a web application on Google Kubernetes Engine. The application serves HTTP traffic and needs to scale based on CPU utilization. They also need to expose the application to the internet with a single global IP address. They create a Deployment with a HorizontalPodAutoscaler. However, the application is not receiving traffic from the internet. What should they do to expose the application correctly?
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 an Ingress resource with the GCE ingress controller.
The correct approach is to create an Ingress resource with the GCE ingress controller because it provides a single global IP address via an HTTP(S) load balancer, which is required for internet-facing traffic. The HorizontalPodAutoscaler scales the Deployment based on CPU utilization, but the application must be exposed through a Service (typically of type NodePort or ClusterIP) that the Ingress routes to. The GCE ingress controller automatically provisions a global HTTP(S) load balancer, satisfying the requirement for a single global IP address.
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.
- ✓
Create an Ingress resource with the GCE ingress controller.
Why this is correct
The GCE ingress controller provisions an external HTTP(S) load balancer with a single anycast IP address, which meets the requirement for a global IP.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create a Service of type NodePort and use a firewall rule to allow traffic.
Why it's wrong here
NodePort exposes the service on a static port on each node, but it does not provide a single global IP and is not recommended for production internet-facing traffic.
- ✗
Create a Service of type ClusterIP and a load balancer manually.
Why it's wrong here
ClusterIP is only reachable within the cluster; a load balancer would need to be created separately, but the correct approach is to use an Ingress or LoadBalancer service.
- ✗
Define a Network Endpoint Group (NEG) and attach it to a backend service.
Why it's wrong here
An NEG is a lower-level component used by load balancers, but without an Ingress or LoadBalancer service, it does not expose the application to the internet.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse exposing a service with a LoadBalancer type (which gives a regional IP) versus using an Ingress (which gives a global IP), and they overlook that the question explicitly requires a single global IP address, which only the GCE ingress controller can provide.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The GCE ingress controller creates an HTTP(S) load balancer that uses a global anycast IP address, which is essential for serving traffic from a single IP across multiple regions. Under the hood, the Ingress resource defines routing rules that map to backend services, which are backed by NEGs that contain the Pod IPs directly, avoiding the need for kube-proxy and reducing latency. In a real-world scenario, this setup allows the HorizontalPodAutoscaler to scale the Deployment based on CPU, while the Ingress handles SSL termination and path-based routing, making it ideal for production web applications.
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
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCA question test?
Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — This question tests Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an Ingress resource with the GCE ingress controller. — The correct approach is to create an Ingress resource with the GCE ingress controller because it provides a single global IP address via an HTTP(S) load balancer, which is required for internet-facing traffic. The HorizontalPodAutoscaler scales the Deployment based on CPU utilization, but the application must be exposed through a Service (typically of type NodePort or ClusterIP) that the Ingress routes to. The GCE ingress controller automatically provisions a global HTTP(S) load balancer, satisfying the requirement for a single global IP address.
What should I do if I get this PCA 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
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This PCA 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 PCA exam.
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