- A
Set the canary percentage to 10% and the promotion interval to 30m.
This defines the initial canary percentage and the wait time before promotion.
- B
Add an approval gate on the prod target.
The manual approval gate pauses the pipeline for approval before promoting to 100%.
- C
Define a canary strategy in the prod target within the delivery pipeline.
The strategy must be set to 'canary'.
- D
Set the strategy to 'blue/green' with a 10% initial pool.
Why wrong: Blue/green does not support gradual percentages like canary.
- E
Create a separate delivery pipeline for canary deployments.
Why wrong: Delivery pipelines can contain multiple targets; no need for separate pipelines.
PCDE Practice Question: Building and Implementing CI/CD Pipelines for a Service
This PCDE practice question tests your understanding of building and implementing ci/cd pipelines for a service. 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 uses Cloud Deploy to deploy to multiple GKE clusters (dev, staging, prod). They want to implement a canary deployment strategy for the prod target. The canary should deploy 10% of pods initially, then after 30 minutes and a manual approval, promote to 100%. Which configurations are necessary? (Choose THREE).
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Set the canary percentage to 10% and the promotion interval to 30m.
Option A is correct because setting the canary percentage to 10% and the promotion interval to 30m directly implements the required behavior: initially 10% of pods receive traffic, and after 30 minutes the deployment automatically attempts promotion. This matches the canary deployment strategy in Cloud Deploy where the `canaryDeployment` configuration specifies `percentages` and `verify` intervals.
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.
- ✓
Set the canary percentage to 10% and the promotion interval to 30m.
Why this is correct
This defines the initial canary percentage and the wait time before promotion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Add an approval gate on the prod target.
Why this is correct
The manual approval gate pauses the pipeline for approval before promoting to 100%.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Define a canary strategy in the prod target within the delivery pipeline.
Why this is correct
The strategy must be set to 'canary'.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Set the strategy to 'blue/green' with a 10% initial pool.
Why it's wrong here
Blue/green does not support gradual percentages like canary.
- ✗
Create a separate delivery pipeline for canary deployments.
Why it's wrong here
Delivery pipelines can contain multiple targets; no need for separate pipelines.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between canary and blue/green strategies, trapping candidates who confuse 'initial pool' percentages with canary incremental percentages, or who think separate pipelines are required for different deployment strategies.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Deploy's canary strategy uses a `canaryDeployment` object with a list of `percentages` (e.g., [10]) and optional `verify` boolean. The promotion interval is set via the `--promotion-interval` flag or `skaffold.yaml` `deploy` `promotionInterval`. After the interval, if no manual approval gate is present, the pipeline auto-promotes; with an approval gate, the pipeline pauses until manual approval is granted, enabling the 30-minute wait plus human check before full rollout.
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 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.
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.
- →
Building and Implementing CI/CD Pipelines for a Service — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Building and Implementing CI/CD Pipelines for a Service practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All PCDE questions
1,000 questions across all exam domains
- →
Google Professional Cloud Database Engineer study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
PCDE practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related PCDE practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Building and Implementing CI/CD Pipelines for a Service practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Building and Implementing CI/CD Pipelines for a Service.
Bootstrapping a Google Cloud Organisation for DevOps practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Bootstrapping a Google Cloud Organisation for DevOps.
Applying Site Reliability Engineering Practices to a Service practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Applying Site Reliability Engineering Practices to a Service.
Implementing Service Monitoring Strategies practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Implementing Service Monitoring Strategies.
Optimising Service Performance practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Optimising Service Performance.
Plan and manage database infrastructure practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Plan and manage database infrastructure.
Define data structures and implement SQL for Business Intelligence practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Define data structures and implement SQL for Business Intelligence.
Design and implement database schemas practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Design and implement database schemas.
Monitor and optimize database performance practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to Monitor and optimize database performance.
PCDE fundamentals practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to PCDE fundamentals.
PCDE scenario practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to PCDE scenario.
PCDE troubleshooting practice questions
Practise PCDE questions linked to PCDE troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free PCDE practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCDE question test?
Building and Implementing CI/CD Pipelines for a Service — This question tests Building and Implementing CI/CD Pipelines for a Service — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Set the canary percentage to 10% and the promotion interval to 30m. — Option A is correct because setting the canary percentage to 10% and the promotion interval to 30m directly implements the required behavior: initially 10% of pods receive traffic, and after 30 minutes the deployment automatically attempts promotion. This matches the canary deployment strategy in Cloud Deploy where the `canaryDeployment` configuration specifies `percentages` and `verify` intervals.
What should I do if I get this PCDE 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This PCDE 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 PCDE exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.