Google PCA Manage and provision cloud infrastructure Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of manage and provision cloud infrastructure. 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 wants to provision multiple similar environments (dev, test, prod) with consistent networking configurations. Which approach is a best practice for infrastructure as code?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a single Terraform configuration with workspaces.
Terraform workspaces allow you to manage multiple distinct environments (e.g., dev, test, prod) from a single configuration by maintaining separate state files. This ensures consistent networking configurations across environments while avoiding duplication of code, which is a core best practice for infrastructure as code.
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.
✗
Use Ansible playbooks to run ad-hoc commands.
Why it's wrong here
Ansible is more for configuration management, not provisioning infrastructure.
✓
Use a single Terraform configuration with workspaces.
Why this is correct
Workspaces allow reusable configuration across environments.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Run separate gcloud commands for each environment.
Why it's wrong here
This is manual and error-prone.
✗
Use Cloud Deployment Manager templates with environment-specific parameters.
Why it's wrong here
While possible, it lacks the simplicity of Terraform workspaces.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that environment-specific parameters in Deployment Manager templates are equivalent to Terraform workspaces, but the trap is that Terraform's workspace feature provides native state isolation and multi-cloud portability, whereas Deployment Manager is GCP-specific and lacks the same level of abstraction for consistent multi-environment management.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Terraform workspaces use separate state files (e.g., terraform.tfstate.d/dev, terraform.tfstate.d/prod) to isolate environment data, enabling the same configuration to apply different variable values via workspace-specific variable definitions. This approach leverages Terraform's backend locking to prevent concurrent modifications, which is critical in team environments. A real-world scenario is a company using workspaces to manage VPCs with identical CIDR blocks but different subnets per environment, avoiding code duplication while maintaining isolation.
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 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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PCA question in full detail.
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: Use a single Terraform configuration with workspaces. — Terraform workspaces allow you to manage multiple distinct environments (e.g., dev, test, prod) from a single configuration by maintaining separate state files. This ensures consistent networking configurations across environments while avoiding duplication of code, which is a core best practice for infrastructure as code.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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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