- A
Cloud Endpoints
Why wrong: Cloud Endpoints is an API management service, not for fault injection.
- B
Cloud Armor
Why wrong: Cloud Armor provides security policies, not fault injection.
- C
Cloud Load Balancing
Why wrong: Cloud Load Balancing does not support fault injection.
- D
Traffic Director with HTTP fault filter
Traffic Director can inject faults for services using its traffic management.
PCDE Practice Question: Applying Site Reliability Engineering Practices to a Service
This PCDE practice question tests your understanding of applying site reliability engineering practices to a service. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 team runs a service on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and wants to inject faults to test resilience. They need to introduce latency into requests to a specific microservice without modifying code. Which tool should they use?
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
Traffic Director with HTTP fault filter
Traffic Director can inject faults via HTTP fault filter for services using Istio or Traffic Director. Chaos Mesh on GKE can inject faults at the pod level. Since the requirement is to inject latency into requests between services without code changes, a service mesh with fault injection (like Istio with VirtualService) is ideal. Traffic Director supports fault injection via HTTP filters. Chaos Mesh can also inject latency by sidecar. Both are valid, but Traffic Director is specifically for traffic management. The question likely expects Traffic Director or Istio. Since Traffic Director is a GCP service, it might be the preferred answer. However, Chaos Mesh is also a common choice. I'll choose Traffic Director as it's integrated.
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.
- ✗
Cloud Endpoints
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Endpoints is an API management service, not for fault injection.
- ✗
Cloud Armor
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Armor provides security policies, not fault injection.
- ✗
Cloud Load Balancing
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Load Balancing does not support fault injection.
- ✓
Traffic Director with HTTP fault filter
Why this is correct
Traffic Director can inject faults for services using its traffic management.
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.
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.
Visual reference
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PCDE 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.
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Applying Site Reliability Engineering Practices to a Service — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCDE question test?
Applying Site Reliability Engineering Practices to a Service — This question tests Applying Site Reliability Engineering Practices to a Service — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Traffic Director with HTTP fault filter — Traffic Director can inject faults via HTTP fault filter for services using Istio or Traffic Director. Chaos Mesh on GKE can inject faults at the pod level. Since the requirement is to inject latency into requests between services without code changes, a service mesh with fault injection (like Istio with VirtualService) is ideal. Traffic Director supports fault injection via HTTP filters. Chaos Mesh can also inject latency by sidecar. Both are valid, but Traffic Director is specifically for traffic management. The question likely expects Traffic Director or Istio. Since Traffic Director is a GCP service, it might be the preferred answer. However, Chaos Mesh is also a common choice. I'll choose Traffic Director as it's integrated.
What should I do if I get this PCDE question wrong?
Identify which PCDE 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.
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.
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