This PCD practice question tests your understanding of deploying applications. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 developer is deploying a microservice on GKE that needs to be accessible only from within the same VPC network. The microservice must have a stable, internal IP address that does not change when pods are updated. Which options should be used?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a Service of type LoadBalancer with the annotation 'cloud.google.com/load-balancer-type: Internal'.
Option C is correct because deploying a Service of type LoadBalancer with the annotation 'cloud.google.com/load-balancer-type: Internal' creates an internal TCP/UDPload balancer within the VPC network. This provides a stable, internal IP address that persists across pod updates, as the load balancer's IP is independent of the underlying pods and is managed by Google Cloud's networking layer.
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 a Service of type NodePort with a static reservation.
Why it's wrong here
NodePort exposes on each node's IP; not a stable single IP.
✗
Use a Service of type ClusterIP with a static IP.
Why it's wrong here
ClusterIP is not load-balanced and IP is not static across updates.
✓
Use a Service of type LoadBalancer with the annotation 'cloud.google.com/load-balancer-type: Internal'.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use a Service of type ExternalName pointing to the pods' internal IPs.
Why it's wrong here
ExternalName returns CNAME records, not stable internal IP.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that ClusterIP provides a static IP, but in GKE, ClusterIP is ephemeral unless explicitly reserved via a custom IP range, whereas the internal LoadBalancer type guarantees a stable, reserved IP within the VPC.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the internal load balancer created by this annotation uses Google Cloud's Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancing, which assigns a static internal IP from the VPC subnet (configurable via the `networking.gke.io/load-balancer-ip` annotation). This IP is managed by the GKE control plane and persists across pod restarts, scaling events, and rolling updates because the load balancer forwards traffic to the service's endpoints via the kube-proxy iptables/IPVS rules. A real-world scenario is a backend microservice that must be reached by other services within the same VPC via a fixed IP for firewall rules or DNS configuration, ensuring zero downtime during deployments.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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.
Deploying applications — This question tests Deploying applications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a Service of type LoadBalancer with the annotation 'cloud.google.com/load-balancer-type: Internal'. — Option C is correct because deploying a Service of type LoadBalancer with the annotation 'cloud.google.com/load-balancer-type: Internal' creates an internal TCP/UDP load balancer within the VPC network. This provides a stable, internal IP address that persists across pod updates, as the load balancer's IP is independent of the underlying pods and is managed by Google Cloud's networking layer.
What should I do if I get this PCD 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.
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Question Discussion
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