This PCD practice question tests your understanding of designing highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications. 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.
An application on Cloud Run needs to handle traffic spikes. Which configuration setting should be adjusted?
Enable HTTP/2
Why wrong: HTTP/2 improves connection efficiency but does not affect scaling.
Set min and max instances
Min instances pre-warm containers, max instances limit scaling; both control how many instances can serve traffic.
Increase CPU allocation
Why wrong: CPU allocation affects per-instance performance, not the ability to scale out.
Increase memory
Why wrong: Memory affects per-instance capacity but not scale-out behavior.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Set min and max instances
Cloud Run automatically scales the number of container instances based on incoming traffic. By setting min and max instances, you control the scaling range: a minimum ensures a baseline of warm instances to absorb sudden spikes, while a maximum caps costs and prevents resource exhaustion. This is the primary lever for handling traffic spikes in a serverless environment.
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.
Enable HTTP/2
Why it's wrong here
HTTP/2 improves connection efficiency but does not affect scaling.
Set min and max instances
Why this is correct
Min instances pre-warm containers, max instances limit scaling; both control how many instances can serve traffic.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Increase CPU allocation
Why it's wrong here
CPU allocation affects per-instance performance, not the ability to scale out.
Increase memory
Why it's wrong here
Memory affects per-instance capacity but not scale-out behavior.
Common exam traps
Cisco often tests the misconception that increasing per-instance resources (CPU/memory) or enabling performance features (HTTP/2) is the solution for handling traffic spikes, when the correct answer is always about scaling the number of instances via min/max instance settings.
Detailed technical explanation
Cloud Run uses the Knative Serving autoscaler, which monitors concurrent request count per instance (default concurrency is 80). Setting min instances to a value > 0 keeps containers warm, avoiding cold start latency during spikes. The max instances setting acts as a hard limit, preventing runaway scaling that could exceed quota or budget. Under the hood, Cloud Run's autoscaler uses a target concurrency metric to decide when to add or remove instances, and these settings directly override the default scaling behavior.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
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FAQ
Designing highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications — This question tests Designing highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Set min and max instances — Cloud Run automatically scales the number of container instances based on incoming traffic. By setting min and max instances, you control the scaling range: a minimum ensures a baseline of warm instances to absorb sudden spikes, while a maximum caps costs and prevents resource exhaustion. This is the primary lever for handling traffic spikes in a serverless environment.
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 25, 2026
This PCD 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 PCD exam.
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