Google ACE Planning and configuring a cloud solution Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of planning and configuring a cloud solution. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A company has a VPC with several Compute Engine instances that only have internal IPs. These instances need to download updates from the internet. What is the recommended method to provide internet access without assigning external IPs to each instance?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure Cloud NAT in the same region and subnet.
Cloud NAT (Network Address Translation) allows instances with only internal IPs to initiate outbound connections to the internet, while preventing inbound connections from the internet. It translates the internal IPs to a shared external IP address, enabling secure internet access without assigning external IPs to each instance. This is the recommended method for providing internet access to private instances in Google Cloud.
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.
✗
Use VPC Network Peering with a public network.
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering does not provide internet access.
✗
Set up a Cloud VPN gateway to route traffic to on-premises.
Why it's wrong here
VPN is for hybrid connectivity, not general internet access.
✗
Place the instances behind an external HTTP(S) load balancer.
Why it's wrong here
A load balancer distributes incoming traffic, not outbound internet access.
✓
Configure Cloud NAT in the same region and subnet.
Why this is correct
Cloud NAT provides outbound internet access for private instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that an external load balancer can provide outbound internet access, but it only handles inbound traffic; candidates confuse inbound load balancing with outbound NAT.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud NAT uses Andromeda, Google's network virtualization stack, to perform source network address translation (SNAT) for outbound packets. It supports both static and dynamic port allocation, and can be configured with manual or automatic NAT IP addresses. A subtle behavior is that Cloud NAT only works for traffic that matches a route with a next hop of the default internet gateway (0.0.0.0/0), and it does not support IP masquerading for traffic destined to VPC internal IPs or on-premises networks via Cloud VPN or Interconnect.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
Planning and configuring a cloud solution — This question tests Planning and configuring a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure Cloud NAT in the same region and subnet. — Cloud NAT (Network Address Translation) allows instances with only internal IPs to initiate outbound connections to the internet, while preventing inbound connections from the internet. It translates the internal IPs to a shared external IP address, enabling secure internet access without assigning external IPs to each instance. This is the recommended method for providing internet access to private instances in Google Cloud.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This ACE 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 ACE exam.
Question Discussion
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