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GCDL Practice Question: An operations team has been asked to estimate the…
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of an operations team has been asked to estimate the…. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An operations team has been asked to estimate the annual cost impact of a proposed new cloud architecture. The architecture would replace 50 on-demand n2-standard-4 VMs (running 24/7) with an autoscaling group that averages 10 VMs under normal load but scales to 50 during peak hours (approximately 8 hours per day). Which analytical approach best estimates the cost impact?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Assume the autoscaling group always runs at average load (10 VMs) and multiply by the annual hours to get the new cost
Using only the average ignores peak hours when 50 VMs run. This underestimates cost. The model must account for both normal-load hours (16 hours/day × 10 VMs) and peak hours (8 hours/day × 50 VMs) separately.
B
Best answer
Model the actual usage pattern: calculate cost for (16 normal hours × 10 VMs) + (8 peak hours × 50 VMs) per day, compare to fixed cost of 50 VMs × 24 hours, and use Google Cloud Pricing Calculator to price the VM type
This is the correct approach. Per day: 16 × 10 = 160 VM-hours (normal) + 8 × 50 = 400 VM-hours (peak) = 560 VM-hours. Fixed: 50 × 24 = 1,200 VM-hours. Autoscaling uses 53% fewer VM-hours. Pricing Calculator gives the $/VM-hour to calculate actual dollar savings.
C
Distractor review
Request a custom quote from Google Cloud sales since pricing for autoscaling groups is negotiated individually
Autoscaling VMs are billed at the same published per-VM-hour rates as on-demand VMs. No custom quote is needed — the pricing calculator handles this calculation directly.
D
Distractor review
The cost will be identical since autoscaling groups use the same VM type as the fixed fleet
The VM type is the same, but the number of VMs running at any given time is different. Autoscaling reduces average running instances significantly compared to a fixed fleet, directly reducing costs.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Related practice questions
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A traditional retailer currently maintains its own data centers, purchasing servers every 3–5 years and paying for facilities, power, and staff regardless of demand. When it migrates its workloads to the public cloud, which change in cost model does it experience?
Question 2
An e-commerce company plans its infrastructure for peak shopping events (e.g., Black Friday) which drive 50× normal traffic. On-premises, they must maintain 50× capacity year-round. In the cloud, they provision 50× capacity only during peak periods. Which cloud characteristic enables this cost optimization?
Question 3
Which term describes the process by which organizations integrate digital technology into all areas of their business, fundamentally changing how they operate and deliver value to customers?
Question 4
When a company moves from maintaining its own data center to using Google Cloud, which operational responsibility does Google assume that the company previously managed?
Question 5
A hospital runs a patient records system that must remain on-premises due to strict regulatory data residency requirements. However, they also want to use cloud-based AI for diagnostic imaging analysis. Which cloud deployment model best describes their architecture?
Question 6
What is virtualization in the context of cloud computing, and why is it fundamental to how cloud providers deliver services?
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this GCDL question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Model the actual usage pattern: calculate cost for (16 normal hours × 10 VMs) + (8 peak hours × 50 VMs) per day, compare to fixed cost of 50 VMs × 24 hours, and use Google Cloud Pricing Calculator to price the VM type — Estimating the autoscaling cost requires modeling the actual usage pattern: normal-load hours × average VM count × hourly rate + peak hours × peak VM count × hourly rate. Comparing this to the fixed cost of 50 VMs × 24/7 × hourly rate quantifies the savings. The Google Cloud Pricing Calculator is the appropriate tool for this structured cost modeling exercise.
What should I do if I get this GCDL question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related GCDL NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
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