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GCDL Practice Question: Migrate its existing on-premises virtual machines…
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of migrate its existing on-premises virtual machines…. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A company wants to migrate its existing on-premises virtual machines (VMware VMs) to Google Cloud with minimal changes to the operating system and applications. Which Google Cloud product is specifically designed for migrating on-premises VMs to Google Cloud with minimal modification?
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
Best answer
Migrate to Virtual Machines (formerly Velostrata), which migrates on-premises VMware VMs to Compute Engine with minimal modification and downtime
Migrate to Virtual Machines is the purpose-built service for this. It performs VM migrations from VMware (and other sources) to Compute Engine, handling the OS and application translation automatically. The 'minimal changes' requirement is the defining characteristic — it's a lift-and-shift migration tool.
B
Distractor review
Cloud Dataflow, by streaming data from on-premises VMs to Google Cloud storage
Cloud Dataflow is a data processing pipeline service. It processes data streams and batch data — it doesn't migrate VM workloads or application instances.
C
Distractor review
Anthos, by registering on-premises Kubernetes clusters with Google Cloud's management plane
Anthos manages hybrid Kubernetes environments across on-premises and cloud. It doesn't migrate non-containerized VMware VMs — it's for organizations already running containers on Kubernetes.
D
Distractor review
Cloud Storage Transfer Service, by copying VM disk images from on-premises storage to Cloud Storage
Storage Transfer Service moves data (files, objects) from storage systems. While VM disk images are files, the Transfer Service doesn't handle VM migration — it would just copy the image, not handle the conversion and boot configuration needed to run it in Compute Engine.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Related practice questions
Related GCDL practice-question pages
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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?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Migrate to Virtual Machines (formerly Velostrata), which migrates on-premises VMware VMs to Compute Engine with minimal modification and downtime — Migrate to Virtual Machines (formerly Velostrata) is Google Cloud's managed migration service for lifting and shifting VMs from on-premises VMware, AWS, and Azure into Google Compute Engine VMs. It migrates the full VM state (OS, applications, data) with minimal downtime and without requiring application changes.
What should I do if I get this GCDL question wrong?
Identify which GCDL exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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This GCDL 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 GCDL exam.