PCDOE Optimizing service performance Practice Question
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of optimizing service performance. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Exhibit
NAME ZONE MACHINE_TYPE PREEMPTIBLE INTERNAL_IP EXTERNAL_IP STATUS
instance-1 us-central1-c n1-standard-2 false 10.128.0.2 34.67.89.100 RUNNING
instance-2 us-central1-c n1-highmem-4 false 10.128.0.3 34.67.89.101 RUNNING
instance-3 us-central1-c n1-standard-2 true 10.128.0.4 34.67.89.102 RUNNING
Refer to the exhibit. A team uses these Compute Engine instances to run a batch processing job. The job frequently gets killed on instance-3. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Instance-3 is preemptible and gets terminated by Google Cloud.
Instance-3 is a preemptible VM, which means Google Cloud can terminate it at any time if its resources are needed elsewhere. Preemptible instances have a maximum runtime of 24 hours and are subject to termination with a 30-second warning. The batch processing job being frequently killed on instance-3 is a classic symptom of preemptible VM termination, not a resource exhaustion or disk issue.
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.
✗
Instance-3 has insufficient CPU.
Why it's wrong here
Instance-3 has the same machine type (n1-standard-2) as instance-1, which is not having issues.
✗
Instance-3 has a corrupted disk.
Why it's wrong here
No evidence in the exhibit suggests disk issues.
✓
Instance-3 is preemptible and gets terminated by Google Cloud.
Why this is correct
Preemptible instances can be shut down within 24 hours, causing job interruptions.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Instance-3 has insufficient memory.
Why it's wrong here
Again, same machine type as instance-1, so memory is comparable.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between preemptible VM termination and resource exhaustion (CPU/memory/disk) by presenting a scenario where a job is 'killed' — candidates may incorrectly attribute this to insufficient resources rather than recognizing the preemptible VM behavior.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Preemptible VMs in Compute Engine are priced at up to 80% lower than standard instances but can be terminated at any time when Google needs the capacity. They receive a 30-second ACPI G2 soft-off signal before forced shutdown, and the instance status changes to TERMINATED. For batch processing jobs, this termination can be handled by using managed instance groups with autohealing, checkpointing job state to persistent disks or Cloud Storage, or using preemptible VMs only for fault-tolerant workloads.
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.
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: Instance-3 is preemptible and gets terminated by Google Cloud. — Instance-3 is a preemptible VM, which means Google Cloud can terminate it at any time if its resources are needed elsewhere. Preemptible instances have a maximum runtime of 24 hours and are subject to termination with a 30-second warning. The batch processing job being frequently killed on instance-3 is a classic symptom of preemptible VM termination, not a resource exhaustion or disk issue.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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