Cloud Digital Leader Google Cloud Products and Services Practice Question

Correct answer & explanation

App Engine Flexible environment supports custom runtimes via Docker containers, allowing any web framework. It automatically scales and is fully managed. App Engine Standard only supports predefined runtimes. Cloud Run is serverless but not designed for long-running web apps with custom runtimes? Actually Cloud Run also supports custom containers, but App Engine Flexible is a PaaS that handles scaling, updates, and load balancing out of the box. However, Cloud Run is also a good candidate. But the question says 'MOST appropriate' for a web app with custom runtime and automatic scaling without managing infrastructure. App Engine Flexible is a PaaS specifically for web apps, while Cloud Run is more for containerised microservices. The key difference: App Engine Flexible offers a managed environment with health checks, automatic scaling based on request latency, and session affinity. Cloud Run is also serverless and can serve web apps, but it is more focused on containers. Considering the description 'web application' and 'custom runtime', App Engine Flexible is the classic choice. But note: Cloud Run also qualifies. However, the question says 'should not require managing the underlying infrastructure', both are serverless. But App Engine Flexible is a PaaS that abstracts away the container orchestration. I think the intended answer is App Engine Flexible. However, Cloud Run is also correct? Let's see the options: Cloud Functions is not for web apps, Compute Engine requires managing VMs. So between App Engine Standard and Flexible, Standard does not allow custom runtimes. So Flexible is correct.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.