hardMultiple Choice
Google ACE Practice Question: Refer to the exhibit
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. An engineer runs this command and sees the output. The instance is unable to reach the internet. What is the most likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that Cloud NAT is always required for internet access, but the trap here is that an instance with a public IP can directly reach the internet without NAT, so the absence of a public IP is the primary issue.
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
✓
The instance does not have a public IP address.
The instance cannot reach the internet because it lacks a public IP address. In Google Cloud, an instance without an external IP address cannot initiate outbound connections to the internet unless a Cloud NAT or a VM with a public IP is used as a proxy. The command output likely shows that the instance only has an internal IP, confirming this as the root cause.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
VPC firewall rules are blocking egress traffic.
Why it's wrong here
VPC firewall rules blocking egress traffic would prevent all outbound packets from leaving the instance, but this instance has no external IP address assigned (no accessConfigs in the output). Even with permissive egress firewall rules, the instance cannot reach the internet because its packets lack a public source IP for return traffic. The output does not indicate any firewall deny logs; it simply shows an absent external connectivity path.
- ✗
The instance needs a Cloud NAT gateway for outbound connectivity.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud NAT is a managed service that enables outbound internet from instances without external IPs, but it is a solution, not the root cause of the connectivity failure. The command output shows the instance has no external IP, which is the immediate problem; Cloud NAT could be configured as a workaround, but the lack of a public IP is what the output reveals. Additionally, Cloud NAT would require proper routing and firewall rules, but the underlying missing component is the external IP assignment.
- ✓
The instance does not have a public IP address.
Why this is correct
The instance does not have a public IP address. The `gcloud compute instances describe` output displays the `networkInterfaces` section without any `accessConfigs`, which is where an external NAT IP would be defined. Without an entry such as `natIP: 34.123.45.67`, the instance has no public IPv4 address, and therefore no direct path for inbound or outbound internet traffic.
- ✗
The subnetwork is misconfigured.
Why it's wrong here
The subnetwork is misconfigured would affect settings like the IP address range, gateway, or route propagation, but the output shows a valid subnet with a proper internal IP assigned to the instance. A subnet misconfiguration typically impacts all instances in that subnet or causes IP address conflicts, not the absence of an external IP. The instance's interface has a private IP from a healthy subnet, so the issue lies solely in the missing public IP, not the subnet itself.
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Google Compute Engine
Key term
Public IP address
A globally unique IP address assigned to a device that allows it to communicate directly over the internet.
Key term
Cloud NAT
Cloud NAT is a managed network address translation service that allows private cloud resources to initiate outbound internet connections while keeping them unreachable from the internet.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This ACE 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 ACE exam.