- A
Lift and Shift: Moving applications to the cloud without modification
Lift and Shift, also known as rehosting, involves moving apps as-is with minimal changes.
- B
Replatform: Moving to the cloud with some optimization
Replatforming (or 'lift and shift and improve') often involves moving from VMs to containers or managed services.
- C
Refactor: Re-architecting applications to be cloud-native
Refactoring (or re-architecting) involves redesigning applications to fully leverage cloud features like microservices.
- D
Migrate for Compute Engine: Tool for migrating VMs to GCP
Migrate for Compute Engine (formerly Velostrata) is a GCP tool that migrates virtual machines with minimal downtime.
- E
Lift and Shift: Tool for migrating VMs to GCP
Why wrong: Incorrect — this describes Migrate for Compute Engine, not Lift and Shift.
- F
Replatform: Re-architecting applications to be cloud-native
Why wrong: Incorrect — this describes Refactor, not Replatform.
Google Cloud Migration Approaches: Lift & Shift, Replatform, Refactor
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of google cloud products, services, and solutions. 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.
Match each Google Cloud migration term to its description.
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
Lift and Shift: Moving applications to the cloud without modification
Correct matches: Lift and Shift moves apps without changes; Replatform optimizes; Refactor re-architects; Migrate for Compute Engine is the VM migration tool. Common confusions include mixing tool names and migration strategies.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Lift and Shift: Moving applications to the cloud without modification
Why this is correct
Lift and Shift, also known as rehosting, involves moving apps as-is with minimal changes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Replatform: Moving to the cloud with some optimization
Why this is correct
Replatforming (or 'lift and shift and improve') often involves moving from VMs to containers or managed services.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Refactor: Re-architecting applications to be cloud-native
Why this is correct
Refactoring (or re-architecting) involves redesigning applications to fully leverage cloud features like microservices.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Migrate for Compute Engine: Tool for migrating VMs to GCP
Why this is correct
Migrate for Compute Engine (formerly Velostrata) is a GCP tool that migrates virtual machines with minimal downtime.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Lift and Shift: Tool for migrating VMs to GCP
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect — this describes Migrate for Compute Engine, not Lift and Shift.
- ✗
Replatform: Re-architecting applications to be cloud-native
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect — this describes Refactor, not Replatform.
Common exam traps
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.
Detailed technical explanation
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.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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.
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Google Cloud products, services, and solutions — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this GCDL question test?
Google Cloud products, services, and solutions — This question tests Google Cloud products, services, and solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Lift and Shift: Moving applications to the cloud without modification — Correct matches: Lift and Shift moves apps without changes; Replatform optimizes; Refactor re-architects; Migrate for Compute Engine is the VM migration tool. Common confusions include mixing tool names and migration strategies.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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