Google PCA Design and plan a cloud solution architecture Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of design and plan a cloud solution architecture. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Exhibit
gcloud compute forwarding-rules list
NAME REGION IP_ADDRESS IP_PROTOCOL TARGET
my-rule us-central1 10.128.0.1 TCP my-target-pool
Health check configuration for 'my-target-pool':
- checkIntervalSec: 5
- timeoutSec: 5
- healthyThreshold: 2
- unhealthyThreshold: 2
Health check logs:
2024-01-15 10:00:01 Health check for instance web-01: healthy (response time 3ms)
2024-01-15 10:00:06 Health check for instance web-01: healthy (response time 2ms)
2024-01-15 10:00:11 Health check for instance web-01: healthy (response time 4ms)
2024-01-15 10:00:16 Health check for instance web-01: unhealthy (timeout)
2024-01-15 10:00:21 Health check for instance web-01: unhealthy (timeout)
2024-01-15 10:00:26 Health check for instance web-01: healthy (response time 2ms)
Refer to the exhibit. An engineer is reviewing health check logs for a target pool. The instance web-01 is still serving traffic despite two consecutive unhealthy health checks. Why is the instance not removed from the target pool?
gcloud compute forwarding-rules list
NAME REGION IP_ADDRESS IP_PROTOCOL TARGET
my-rule us-central1 10.128.0.1 TCP my-target-pool
Health check configuration for 'my-target-pool':
- checkIntervalSec: 5
- timeoutSec: 5
- healthyThreshold: 2
- unhealthyThreshold: 2
Health check logs:
2024-01-15 10:00:01 Health check for instance web-01: healthy (response time 3ms)
2024-01-15 10:00:06 Health check for instance web-01: healthy (response time 2ms)
2024-01-15 10:00:11 Health check for instance web-01: healthy (response time 4ms)
2024-01-15 10:00:16 Health check for instance web-01: unhealthy (timeout)
2024-01-15 10:00:21 Health check for instance web-01: unhealthy (timeout)
2024-01-15 10:00:26 Health check for instance web-01: healthy (response time 2ms)
A
The health check's timeoutSec is too high, causing delayed removal.
Why wrong: timeoutSec is 5 seconds, which is appropriate.
B
The forwarding rule is not using the target pool, so health checks have no effect.
Why wrong: The forwarding rule targets my-target-pool.
C
The healthyThreshold is set to 2, requiring two healthy checks before re-adding, but the instance only had one healthy check.
Why wrong: The healthyThreshold is 2, but the instance had only one healthy check after the failures, so it would not be re-added yet. However, the exhibit shows it is serving traffic, which contradicts this. Actually, the instance might have been removed and not re-added? The question says 'still serving traffic', so maybe the instance was never removed. The logs show two failures but then a success. The instance might still be considered healthy because the unhealthy threshold requires 2 consecutive failures, but the instance recovered before the second check? Wait, the second failure occurred at 10:00:21, so two consecutive failures. The instance should be marked unhealthy after 10:00:21. Then at 10:00:26 it is healthy. So it would be removed after 10:00:21 and then re-added after 10:00:26. The question implies it is still serving traffic, so it must have been re-added. Option B is correct.
D
The instance was removed after the second failure but then re-added after the next healthy check, so it is serving traffic again.
The instance was marked unhealthy after two consecutive failures, but the next health check succeeded, so it was re-added to the target pool.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The instance was removed after the second failure but then re-added after the next healthy check, so it is serving traffic again.
The health check has unhealthyThreshold: 2, meaning 2 consecutive failures are required to mark the instance unhealthy. However, after two failures, the next check was successful, so the instance was not removed because it recovered before the threshold was met? Actually, the logs show two consecutive failures (10:00:16 and 10:00:21) but then a healthy check at 10:00:26. The instance might have been marked unhealthy after the second failure, but since the health check interval is 5 seconds, the removal might not have happened yet? Or the instance was removed but then quickly re-added? The correct answer is that the health check has a checkIntervalSec of 5, and the unhealthyThreshold is 2, meaning the instance is marked unhealthy after 2 consecutive failures. The next check at 10:00:26 was healthy, so the instance might have been removed and then re-added? Actually, the instance is removed only after being unhealthy for a certain period? In GCP, once an instance fails the unhealthy threshold, it is removed from the target pool. But the exhibit shows that after the two failures, the next check is healthy. The removal may occur after the second failure, but the instance could be re-added after the next healthy check. The question asks why it is still serving traffic. Perhaps because the removal and re-addition happen quickly, or the engineer is looking at a log snapshot. The best answer is that the instance was removed after the second failure, but then re-added after the third check was healthy, so it is serving traffic again.
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 health check's timeoutSec is too high, causing delayed removal.
Why it's wrong here
timeoutSec is 5 seconds, which is appropriate.
✗
The forwarding rule is not using the target pool, so health checks have no effect.
Why it's wrong here
The forwarding rule targets my-target-pool.
✗
The healthyThreshold is set to 2, requiring two healthy checks before re-adding, but the instance only had one healthy check.
Why it's wrong here
The healthyThreshold is 2, but the instance had only one healthy check after the failures, so it would not be re-added yet. However, the exhibit shows it is serving traffic, which contradicts this. Actually, the instance might have been removed and not re-added? The question says 'still serving traffic', so maybe the instance was never removed. The logs show two failures but then a success. The instance might still be considered healthy because the unhealthy threshold requires 2 consecutive failures, but the instance recovered before the second check? Wait, the second failure occurred at 10:00:21, so two consecutive failures. The instance should be marked unhealthy after 10:00:21. Then at 10:00:26 it is healthy. So it would be removed after 10:00:21 and then re-added after 10:00:26. The question implies it is still serving traffic, so it must have been re-added. Option B is correct.
✓
The instance was removed after the second failure but then re-added after the next healthy check, so it is serving traffic again.
Why this is correct
The instance was marked unhealthy after two consecutive failures, but the next health check succeeded, so it was re-added to the target pool.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
The healthyThreshold is 2, but the instance had only one healthy check after the failures, so it would not be re-added yet. However, the exhibit shows it is serving traffic, which contradicts this. Actually, the instance might have been removed and not re-added? The question says 'still serving traffic', so maybe the instance was never removed. The logs show two failures but then a success. The instance might still be considered healthy because the unhealthy threshold requires 2 consecutive failures, but the instance recovered before the second check? Wait, the second failure occurred at 10:00:21, so two consecutive failures. The instance should be marked unhealthy after 10:00:21. Then at 10:00:26 it is healthy. So it would be removed after 10:00:21 and then re-added after 10:00:26. The question implies it is still serving traffic, so it must have been re-added. Option B is correct.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PCA question in full detail.
Identify which PCA exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Design and plan a cloud solution architecture — This question tests Design and plan a cloud solution architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The instance was removed after the second failure but then re-added after the next healthy check, so it is serving traffic again. — The health check has unhealthyThreshold: 2, meaning 2 consecutive failures are required to mark the instance unhealthy. However, after two failures, the next check was successful, so the instance was not removed because it recovered before the threshold was met? Actually, the logs show two consecutive failures (10:00:16 and 10:00:21) but then a healthy check at 10:00:26. The instance might have been marked unhealthy after the second failure, but since the health check interval is 5 seconds, the removal might not have happened yet? Or the instance was removed but then quickly re-added? The correct answer is that the health check has a checkIntervalSec of 5, and the unhealthyThreshold is 2, meaning the instance is marked unhealthy after 2 consecutive failures. The next check at 10:00:26 was healthy, so the instance might have been removed and then re-added? Actually, the instance is removed only after being unhealthy for a certain period? In GCP, once an instance fails the unhealthy threshold, it is removed from the target pool. But the exhibit shows that after the two failures, the next check is healthy. The removal may occur after the second failure, but the instance could be re-added after the next healthy check. The question asks why it is still serving traffic. Perhaps because the removal and re-addition happen quickly, or the engineer is looking at a log snapshot. The best answer is that the instance was removed after the second failure, but then re-added after the third check was healthy, so it is serving traffic again.
What should I do if I get this PCA question wrong?
Identify which PCA exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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