This PCA practice question tests your understanding of manage implementation of cloud architecture. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 using Cloud Load Balancing with backend services across multiple regions. They notice that traffic is not being evenly distributed and some backends are overloaded. Which configuration should they check?
Session affinity settings
Sticky sessions can lead to uneven load distribution.
Firewall rules
Why wrong: Control network access, not traffic distribution.
Cloud CDN caching
Why wrong: Caches content, does not affect backend load distribution.
Health check frequency
Why wrong: Only affects detection of unhealthy instances, not load distribution.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Session affinity settings
Session affinity (sticky sessions) directs all requests from a single client to the same backend instance. If enabled, this can cause uneven load distribution because certain clients may generate disproportionately more traffic, overloading their pinned backends while others remain underutilized. Disabling or properly configuring session affinity allows the load balancer to distribute requests based on its default algorithm (e.g., round-robin or least-connections), improving balance across backends.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Session affinity settings
Why this is correct
Sticky sessions can lead to uneven load distribution.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Firewall rules
Why it's wrong here
Control network access, not traffic distribution.
Cloud CDN caching
Why it's wrong here
Caches content, does not affect backend load distribution.
Health check frequency
Why it's wrong here
Only affects detection of unhealthy instances, not load distribution.
Common exam traps
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that health checks or firewall rules are responsible for load distribution, when in fact session affinity is the primary configuration that can cause uneven traffic patterns by overriding the default balancing algorithm.
Detailed technical explanation
Cloud Load Balancing uses a consistent hash (e.g., based on client IP, protocol, and port) when session affinity is enabled, pinning a client to a specific backend. This can lead to hot spots if a few clients generate high request volumes, as the hash does not rebalance until the backend is unhealthy or removed. In contrast, without session affinity, the load balancer uses a flow-based hashing algorithm that distributes new connections more evenly across healthy backends, leveraging Google's Maglev or similar technology for consistent, scalable distribution.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
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FAQ
Manage implementation of cloud architecture — This question tests Manage implementation of cloud architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Session affinity settings — Session affinity (sticky sessions) directs all requests from a single client to the same backend instance. If enabled, this can cause uneven load distribution because certain clients may generate disproportionately more traffic, overloading their pinned backends while others remain underutilized. Disabling or properly configuring session affinity allows the load balancer to distribute requests based on its default algorithm (e.g., round-robin or least-connections), improving balance across backends.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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