PCNE Practice Question: Designing, Planning, and Prototyping a GCP Network
A company wants to migrate an on-premises application that uses IPsec VPN tunnels to Google Cloud. They need to ensure encrypted connectivity between the on-premises network and a VPC. Which GCP service should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse Cloud Router (a routing protocol component) with the actual VPN connectivity service, or assume Cloud Interconnect is required for encryption, when in fact Cloud Interconnect offers no native encryption and relies on separate IPsec overlays.
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 VPN
Cloud VPN (D) is the correct service because it securely extends an on-premises network to a Google Cloud VPC over the public internet using IPsec VPN tunnels. It provides encrypted connectivity that matches the existing IPsec-based architecture, ensuring data confidentiality and integrity between the two sites.
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 Router
Why it's wrong here
Manages BGP routing, not a VPN service.
- ✗
Cloud Interconnect
Why it's wrong here
Dedicated connection, not IPsec VPN.
- ✗
VPC Network
Why it's wrong here
A VPC is a virtual network, not a connectivity service.
- ✓
Cloud VPN
Why this is correct
Provides IPsec VPN connectivity.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
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This PCNE question is part of Courseiva's 961-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 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.