PCNE Configuring Network Services Practice Question
A network engineer notices unusual traffic patterns from a VM. They want to capture detailed information about each packet sent and received by the VM, including source and destination IPs, protocols, and ports. Which feature should they enable?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between metadata logging (VPC Flow Logs) and full packet capture (Packet Mirroring), leading candidates to choose Packet Mirroring when only summary traffic information is needed.
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
✓
VPC Flow Logs
VPC Flow Logs capture metadata about IP traffic flowing to and from network interfaces in a VPC, including source/destination IPs, protocols, and ports. This feature is designed specifically for analyzing traffic patterns and troubleshooting connectivity issues at the network layer, making it the correct choice for the described requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Packet Mirroring
Why it's wrong here
Packet Mirroring copies traffic from a VM’s virtual switch port to a monitoring appliance, but it does not capture per-packet details such as source/destination IPs, protocols, and ports in a structured, queryable format; the correct feature must log each packet’s header fields into a flow log. It is tempting because mirroring provides a full packet-level view for deep forensic analysis, which would be the correct choice if the engineer needed to inspect payload contents or reconstruct entire sessions rather than summarising header metadata.
- ✓
VPC Flow Logs
Why this is correct
VPC Flow Logs sample and log network flows with metadata.
- ✗
Cloud Audit Logs
Why it's wrong here
Audit logs capture API calls, not network traffic.
- ✗
Firewall Rules Logging
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules logging only logs packets that are allowed or denied by firewall rules, not all traffic.
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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.