Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer Question 44
Select 3Google Cloud PlatformYou are managing a Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster running in production. A critical security vulnerability has been identified in the container runtime used by your nodes. To patch the vulnerability, you decide to perform a cluster upgrade. Which combination of steps ensures safe and secure patching while minimizing downtime?
- A
Upgrade the control plane first, then gradually upgrade the node pools.
- B
Enable surge upgrades for the node pools to minimize disruption during upgrades.
- C
Immediately delete and recreate all nodes in the cluster to apply the patch as quickly as possible.
- D
Test the upgrade process in a staging or test environment before applying it to production.
- E
Disable automatic upgrades to ensure manual control over the patching process.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, B, D
Explanation
Safe and secure patching in GKE involves following best practices such as upgrading the control plane first, enabling surge upgrades for minimal disruption, and testing the upgrade process in a non-production environment. These steps ensure the cluster is patched securely while minimizing downtime and reducing the risk of introducing issues into production. Immediate deletion of nodes or disabling automatic upgrades without a proper plan can lead to unnecessary risks or delays in applying critical updates.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Upgrading the control plane first ensures compatibility with the updated node versions. Gradual upgrades for node pools minimize risk by allowing you to monitor the impact of changes.
- B. Correct.
Correct. Surge upgrades create additional nodes temporarily to maintain workload availability while nodes are being upgraded, reducing downtime during the process.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Immediately deleting and recreating nodes risks service disruption and does not align with safe and secure patching practices, especially in a production environment.
- D. Correct.
Correct. Testing the upgrade in a staging environment allows you to identify potential issues and ensure the upgrade process is smooth before applying it to production.
- E. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Disabling automatic upgrades entirely increases the risk of missing critical patches. While manual control can be useful in some cases, automatic upgrades often provide a safer baseline for security.