PCNE Configuring Network Services Practice Question
A company is using Cloud DNS for private zone resolution within their VPC. They have a private zone for 'example.internal' and have attached it to the VPC. When they create a new Compute Engine VM and try to resolve 'myapp.example.internal', it fails. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that DNS failures in a private zone are due to firewall rules or resolver configuration, when in fact the metadata server handles DNS transparently and the most common cause is a missing DNS record.
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
✓
The record 'myapp.example.internal' does not exist in the zone
The most likely cause of a resolution failure for a specific record is that the record does not exist in the private zone. The question states the zone is attached to the VPC, so the zone itself is accessible; the failure is specific to the record name. Cloud DNS will return an NXDOMAIN response if the record is not defined, even if the zone is properly configured.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The private zone is not attached to the VPC
Why it's wrong here
The stem says it is attached.
- ✗
The VM's /etc/resolv.conf does not point to Cloud DNS
Why it's wrong here
VMs in a VPC automatically use the internal DNS resolver.
- ✗
Firewall rule blocking DNS traffic (UDP 53) to the metadata server
Why it's wrong here
DNS queries go to metadata server (169.254.169.254) which is not blocked by default.
- ✓
The record 'myapp.example.internal' does not exist in the zone
Why this is correct
Private zone is authoritative; records must be added explicitly.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCNE 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 PCNE exam.