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. 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.
Which TWO actions should a DevOps engineer take to reduce egress costs when transferring large amounts of data from Compute Engine to Cloud Storage in the same region?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use internal IP addresses for the Compute Engine instances.
Option A is correct because using internal IP addresses for Compute Engine instances ensures that traffic to Cloud Storage stays within Google's internal network, avoiding internet egress charges. When instances communicate with Cloud Storage using external IPs, the traffic is routed over the public internet, incurring egress costs. Internal IPs keep the data transfer on Google's backbone, which is free for same-region transfers.
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 internal IP addresses for the Compute Engine instances.
Why this is correct
Internal IP traffic within the same region is free.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Use a regional Cloud Storage bucket in the same region as the instances.
Why this is correct
Regional buckets prevent cross-region egress.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Set up a VPN between the instances and Cloud Storage.
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that using a multi-regional bucket in the same region reduces costs, but the trap here is that multi-regional buckets incur higher egress charges due to replication across zones, and candidates may overlook that internal IPs are the key to avoiding internet egress fees.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Google Cloud's network uses a single global backbone, and traffic between Compute Engine and Cloud Storage in the same region using internal IPs is routed via RFC 1918 addresses, which are not metered for egress. This is because the data never leaves Google's network boundary, as defined by the Google Cloud Platform's internal routing policies. In a real-world scenario, a DevOps engineer migrating terabytes of log data from Compute Engine to Cloud Storage for archival would save significant costs by ensuring all instances use internal IPs and the bucket is regional, as egress charges can be as high as $0.12 per GB for internet transfers.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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: Use internal IP addresses for the Compute Engine instances. — Option A is correct because using internal IP addresses for Compute Engine instances ensures that traffic to Cloud Storage stays within Google's internal network, avoiding internet egress charges. When instances communicate with Cloud Storage using external IPs, the traffic is routed over the public internet, incurring egress costs. Internal IPs keep the data transfer on Google's backbone, which is free for same-region transfers.
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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Question Discussion
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