Managed instance groups in GCP - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is a Managed Instance Group (MIG) in Google Cloud?

A Managed Instance Group is a collection of virtual machine instances that are managed as a single entity. It automatically handles tasks like scaling, updating, and healing instances to keep your application running smoothly.

beginner

How does a Managed Instance Group handle scaling?

A Managed Instance Group can automatically add or remove VM instances based on load or schedule. This helps your application handle more users or save costs when demand is low.

intermediate

What is the difference between a zonal and regional Managed Instance Group?

A zonal MIG manages instances in a single zone, while a regional MIG spreads instances across multiple zones in a region. Regional MIGs provide higher availability by distributing instances.

intermediate

What does 'autohealing' mean in the context of Managed Instance Groups?

Autohealing means the MIG automatically detects unhealthy instances and replaces them with new, healthy ones to keep your service running without manual intervention.

beginner

Why should you use instance templates with Managed Instance Groups?

Instance templates define the configuration for VM instances in a MIG, like machine type and startup scripts. Using templates ensures all instances are consistent and makes updates easier.

What is the main benefit of using a Managed Instance Group?

A Requires manual updates for each instance

B Manual control of each VM instance

C Only works with one VM instance

D Automatic scaling and healing of VM instances

Managed Instance Groups automatically scale and heal VM instances to maintain application availability.

Which type of Managed Instance Group provides higher availability by spreading instances across zones?

A Regional Managed Instance Group

B Zonal Managed Instance Group

C Single-instance Group

D Unmanaged Instance Group

Regional Managed Instance Groups distribute instances across multiple zones to improve availability.

What is the purpose of an instance template in a Managed Instance Group?

A To manually start instances

B To store data for the instances

C To define the configuration for VM instances

D To monitor network traffic

Instance templates specify the settings for VM instances in a MIG, ensuring consistency.

What does autohealing do in a Managed Instance Group?

A Saves instance data to disk

B Automatically replaces unhealthy instances

C Stops all instances when unhealthy

D Manually restarts instances

Autohealing detects and replaces unhealthy instances automatically.

How does a Managed Instance Group help with cost management?

A By automatically scaling down instances when demand is low

B By charging a fixed monthly fee

C By requiring manual instance shutdown

D By limiting the number of users

MIGs can scale down instances automatically to save costs when demand decreases.

Explain how Managed Instance Groups improve application availability and reliability.

Think about how the group manages instances to keep the app running smoothly.

Describe the role of instance templates in Managed Instance Groups and why they are important.

Consider how templates help manage many instances at once.