Google ACE Practice Question: Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. An engineer runs this command and sees the output. The instance is unable to reach the internet. What is the most likely reason?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The instance does not have a public IP address.
The instance cannot reach the internet because it lacks a public IP address. In Google Cloud, an instance without an external IP address cannot initiate outbound connections to the internet unless a Cloud NAT or a VM with a public IP is used as a proxy. The command output likely shows that the instance only has an internal IP, confirming this as the root cause.
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.
✗
VPC firewall rules are blocking egress traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Firewall may block but the primary issue is no external connectivity path.
✗
The instance needs a Cloud NAT gateway for outbound connectivity.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud NAT is a solution, but the root cause is no external IP. Without it, Cloud NAT alone doesn't fix the path.
✓
The instance does not have a public IP address.
Why this is correct
The output shows no accessConfigs, confirming no external IP.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The subnetwork is misconfigured.
Why it's wrong here
Subnetwork configuration appears normal.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that Cloud NAT is always required for internet access, but the trap here is that an instance with a public IP can directly reach the internet without NAT, so the absence of a public IP is the primary issue.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Google Cloud, an instance without an external IP address uses only an internal RFC 1918 address and cannot directly reach the internet because the VPC does not perform source NAT for private IPs. To enable outbound internet access, you must either assign a public IP to the instance or configure Cloud NAT, which performs source network address translation (SNAT) using a set of ephemeral external IPs. This design ensures that instances without public IPs are isolated from the internet by default, enhancing security.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution — This question tests Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The instance does not have a public IP address. — The instance cannot reach the internet because it lacks a public IP address. In Google Cloud, an instance without an external IP address cannot initiate outbound connections to the internet unless a Cloud NAT or a VM with a public IP is used as a proxy. The command output likely shows that the instance only has an internal IP, confirming this as the root cause.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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