Google PCA Design and plan a cloud solution architecture Practice Question
A financial services company is designing a hybrid cloud architecture. They have an on-premises data center and want to extend their VPC network to Google Cloud. They require a dedicated, high-bandwidth, low-latency connection with a SLA, and they need to encrypt traffic in transit. They also want to avoid using the public internet. Which connectivity option should they choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that HA VPN or Partner Interconnect can match Dedicated Interconnect's dedicated bandwidth and low latency, when they either use the public internet or involve third-party networks with less predictable performance.
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
✓
Cloud Interconnect - Dedicated Interconnect
Dedicated Interconnect is the correct choice because it offers a direct, dedicated physical connection with high bandwidth, low latency, and an SLA, and it does not use the public internet. It can be encrypted with MACsec or application-level encryption, satisfying the security requirement. Partner Interconnect and HA VPN do not provide the same dedicated, high-performance characteristics.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cloud Interconnect - Partner Interconnect
Why it's wrong here
Partner Interconnect provides connectivity through a supported service provider, which can be dedicated but may still involve third-party networks. It offers lower bandwidth options than Dedicated Interconnect and may not guarantee the same level of dedicated, low-latency performance. For a financial services company requiring the highest SLA and dedicated connection, Dedicated Interconnect is more appropriate.
- ✗
Cloud VPN with HA VPN
Why it's wrong here
HA VPN provides a secure connection over the public internet, which violates the requirement to avoid the public internet. While it offers an SLA and can be high-throughput, it is limited by internet variability and does not provide dedicated bandwidth. It is suitable for lower-cost or backup connectivity, but not for dedicated, low-latency, high-bandwidth needs.
- ✓
Cloud Interconnect - Dedicated Interconnect
Why this is correct
Dedicated Interconnect provides a direct physical connection between the on-premises network and Google Cloud, offering high bandwidth, low latency, and an SLA. It does not traverse the public internet, and traffic can be encrypted with application-level encryption or MACsec. This meets the requirements for a dedicated, high-bandwidth, low-latency connection with SLA and no public internet usage.
- ✗
Cloud CDN with Cloud VPN
Why it's wrong here
Cloud CDN is a content delivery network for caching web content, not a hybrid connectivity solution. Combining it with Cloud VPN still uses the public internet for the VPN tunnel, which fails the requirement to avoid the public internet. This option does not provide a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection and is not suitable for extending a VPC to on-premises.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Cloud SQL and Managed Data Stores
Key term
VPC
A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a logically isolated section of a cloud provider's network where you can launch and manage resources like servers and databases with complete control over IP addressing, subnets, route tables, and security.
Key term
SLA
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract between a service provider and a customer that defines the level of service expected, including metrics like uptime, response time, and penalties for non-compliance.
About these practice questions
This PCA question is part of Courseiva's 807-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
This PCA 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 PCA exam.