Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →- A
C2
Correct. C2 is Compute-optimized for CPU-bound workloads.
- B
E2
Why wrong: E2 is balanced, not optimized for CPU.
- C
N2
Why wrong: N2 is general purpose.
- D
M2
Why wrong: M2 is memory-optimized.
Question 254 of 500
PCDOE Optimizing service performance Practice Question
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of optimizing service performance. 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 wants to optimize a batch processing job that is CPU-bound. Which Compute Engine machine family 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
✓
C2
C2 is the correct machine family because it is specifically designed for compute-intensive, CPU-bound workloads. It offers the highest clock speed and per-core performance among Compute Engine machine families, making it ideal for batch processing jobs that are limited by CPU throughput rather than memory or I/O.
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.
- ✓
C2
Why this is correct
Correct. C2 is Compute-optimized for CPU-bound workloads.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
E2
Why it's wrong here
E2 is balanced, not optimized for CPU.
- ✗
N2
Why it's wrong here
N2 is general purpose.
- ✗
M2
Why it's wrong here
M2 is memory-optimized.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between general-purpose (N2, E2) and specialized families (C2, M2), and the trap here is that candidates pick N2 thinking it is 'balanced' for all workloads, failing to recognize that CPU-bound jobs require the dedicated high-frequency compute of the C2 family.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
C2 machines use Intel Xeon Scalable processors (Cascade Lake or later) with a sustained all-core turbo frequency of up to 3.8 GHz, and they support advanced features like Intel Hyper-Threading and AVX-512 for vectorized compute. In a real-world scenario, a batch processing job performing heavy numerical simulations or video transcoding would see significantly lower latency and higher throughput on C2 compared to N2, because C2 dedicates more CPU resources per vCPU and avoids resource contention from other tenants.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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.
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Optimizing service performance — study guide chapter
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Optimizing service performance practice questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCDOE question test?
Optimizing service performance — This question tests Optimizing service performance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: C2 — C2 is the correct machine family because it is specifically designed for compute-intensive, CPU-bound workloads. It offers the highest clock speed and per-core performance among Compute Engine machine families, making it ideal for batch processing jobs that are limited by CPU throughput rather than memory or I/O.
What should I do if I get this PCDOE 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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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This PCDOE 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 PCDOE exam.
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