20+ practice questions focused on Design and plan a cloud solution architecture — one of the most tested topics on the Google Professional Cloud Architect exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation so you learn why the right answer is correct.
Start Design and plan a cloud solution architecture PracticeA company has a hub-and-spoke VPC topology with multiple on-premises locations connected via Cloud VPN to the hub VPC. They notice IP conflicts because overlapping CIDR ranges are used in different spokes. The network team wants to allow communication between spokes without re-IPing. What should they do?
Explanation: Using Cloud VPN tunnels between spokes through the hub allows the hub to route traffic between spokes based on the tunnel interfaces. By assigning unique IP addresses to each tunnel endpoint (e.g., 10.254.0.1 for Spoke A and 10.254.0.2 for Spoke B), the hub can forward packets without relying on the overlapping spoke CIDRs. The spokes use static routes pointing to their respective tunnel interfaces, ensuring that traffic is encapsulated over IPsec and decapsulated at the destination, bypassing the IP conflict. This approach avoids re-IPing while enabling communication, though it introduces additional overhead and complexity.
A small startup wants to deploy a containerized web application that scales automatically and only charges for resources used. They have limited operational experience. Which compute solution should they choose?
Explanation: Cloud Run (fully managed) is the correct choice because it is a serverless container platform that scales to zero, meaning no cost when idle, and scales automatically with demand. It requires no infrastructure management, perfect for a startup with limited operational experience. Option A (App Engine Standard) is wrong because it only supports specific runtimes (e.g., Python, Java, Go), not custom containers, and is not ideal for containerized applications. Option B (GKE) is wrong because it requires managing a Kubernetes cluster, including node pools, which adds operational overhead. Option C (Compute Engine with managed instance group) is wrong because it still requires provisioning and scaling configuration, and does not scale to zero.
You need to store object data that is accessed infrequently (once a quarter) but must be retained for 10 years for compliance. Which storage class is the most cost-effective?
Explanation: For data accessed once a quarter (every 90 days), Coldline is the most cost-effective storage class. Coldline offers lower storage cost than Standard or Nearline, with retrieval costs lower than Archive's. The 90-day minimum storage duration aligns with the retention requirement, and retrieval time (typically under 1 minute) is acceptable for infrequent access. Archive is designed for data accessed less than once a year and has higher retrieval costs, making it less cost-effective for quarterly access.
A company is designing a VPC architecture for a multi-tenant SaaS platform. Each tenant has isolated workloads that must not communicate with each other. They also need centralized network security and logging. Which VPC design meets these requirements?
Explanation: Using a Shared VPC with separate subnets per tenant and firewall rules to enforce isolation provides centralized network security and logging while keeping tenants isolated. Option A is incorrect because dedicated Cloud VPN connections per tenant do not provide isolation within the VPC and are more for hybrid connectivity. Option C is incorrect because a single VPC with network tags and IAP tunnels does not enforce strict isolation between tenants and relies on tags which can be misconfigured. Option D is incorrect because peered VPCs for each tenant with Cloud NAT would create multiple VPCs but does not provide centralized management and logging as easily as a Shared VPC.
The exhibit shows a command to create a Compute Engine instance. The instance is intended to run a web server that needs to access Cloud Storage buckets using its service account. However, the web server fails to read from a storage bucket. What is the most likely cause?
Explanation: The web server fails to read from Cloud Storage because the service account attached to the Compute Engine instance lacks the necessary IAM permissions (e.g., roles/storage.objectViewer) on the storage bucket. Although the command includes --scopes=cloud-platform, which grants broad API access, IAM permissions are distinct from OAuth scopes. The service account must be granted explicit IAM roles to access Cloud Storage resources. Option A is incorrect because a service account is specified and attached via --service-account. Option B is incorrect because the boot disk type (pd-ssd) is compatible and does not affect storage access. Option C is incorrect because the tags http-server and https-server are used for firewall rules and do not impact outbound traffic to Cloud Storage.
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Practice all Design and plan a cloud solution architecture questions1. Baseline your knowledge
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2. Review every explanation
For each question — right or wrong — read the full explanation. Understanding why an answer is correct is more valuable than knowing the answer itself.
3. Focus on exam traps
Design and plan a cloud solution architecture questions on the PCA frequently use trap wording. Look for subtle differences in answers that test your precision, not just general knowledge.
4. Reach 80% consistently
Do repeated sessions until you score 80%+ three times in a row. Then move to mixed-mode practice to test cross-topic recall under realistic conditions.
The exact number varies per candidate. Design and plan a cloud solution architecture is tested as part of the Google Professional Cloud Architect blueprint. Practicing with targeted Design and plan a cloud solution architecture questions ensures you can handle any format or difficulty that appears.
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