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Planning and configuring a cloud solution →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is Cloud Filestore, which is the correct choice because it delivers a fully managed NFS server that provides POSIX-compliant shared file storage for Compute Engine VMs, meeting the legacy application’s requirement for NFS-based access. This service is engineered for I/O-intensive workloads and can handle large files up to 100 GB by offering high throughput and low-latency concurrent access from multiple VMs. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this question tests your ability to differentiate between block, object, and file storage services—a common trap is choosing Persistent Disk (block storage) or Cloud Storage (object storage), which lack native POSIX file-sharing semantics. Remember the key distinction: if the scenario explicitly mentions NFS, POSIX compliance, or shared file access across multiple VMs, your answer is always Cloud Filestore. A helpful memory tip is to think of “Filestore” as “File-Store” for shared files, while “Persistent Disk” is for single-VM block storage.

Google ACE Planning and configuring a cloud solution Practice Question

This ACE practice question tests your understanding of planning and configuring a cloud solution. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.

You need persistent shared file storage for a legacy application running on multiple Compute Engine VMs that requires POSIX-compliant file system access (NFS). The workload is I/O intensive with files up to 100 GB. Which GCP storage service should you use?

Question 1mediummultiple choice
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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 Filestore (NFS)

Cloud Filestore provides a fully managed NFS server that supports POSIX-compliant file access, making it the correct choice for a legacy application requiring NFS. It can handle I/O-intensive workloads with large files (up to 100 GB) by offering high throughput and low-latency access from multiple Compute Engine VMs simultaneously.

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.

  • ✗

    Cloud Storage FUSE mounted on each VM

    Why it's wrong here

    Cloud Storage FUSE provides file-system-like access but is not POSIX-compliant — it doesn't support file locking, accurate directory metadata, or consistent latency required by many legacy applications.

  • ✓

    Cloud Filestore (NFS)

    Why this is correct

    Filestore is a fully managed NFS service with POSIX compliance. Multiple VMs can mount the same Filestore instance simultaneously, providing true shared read/write file access with high performance.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • ✗

    Persistent Disk attached in ReadWriteMany mode to all VMs

    Why it's wrong here

    Standard Persistent Disks are ReadWriteOnce. Multi-writer PDs exist but have significant restrictions (no ext4, Linux filesystem only, limited to 2 VMs). Filestore is the appropriate shared POSIX storage solution.

  • ✗

    Local SSD on each VM with rsync synchronization between VMs

    Why it's wrong here

    Local SSDs are VM-local, not shared. rsync synchronization is asynchronous and doesn't provide the consistent shared view of a real NFS mount.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse Cloud Storage FUSE with a true POSIX file system, overlooking its lack of native NFS support and performance limitations for I/O-intensive workloads, while also mistakenly thinking Persistent Disk can be attached in ReadWriteMany mode to multiple VMs.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Cloud Filestore implements the NFSv3 protocol, which is widely supported by legacy applications and provides file-level locking and consistent metadata. Under the hood, Filestore uses Google's distributed file system architecture with SSD-backed storage tiers, enabling high IOPS and throughput for large files; however, it has a maximum file size limit of 100 TB per share, which easily accommodates the 100 GB files in this scenario. A real-world consideration is that Filestore's performance can be tuned by choosing the appropriate tier (e.g., High Scale SSD for I/O-intensive workloads) and by using the correct mount options (e.g., `hard,intr`) to avoid application hangs during network interruptions.

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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this ACE question test?

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: Cloud Filestore (NFS) — Cloud Filestore provides a fully managed NFS server that supports POSIX-compliant file access, making it the correct choice for a legacy application requiring NFS. It can handle I/O-intensive workloads with large files (up to 100 GB) by offering high throughput and low-latency access from multiple Compute Engine VMs simultaneously.

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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026

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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.