Cloud Digital Leader Fundamental cloud concepts Practice Question
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of fundamental cloud concepts. 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.
A small business runs a single Linux server on-premises for file storage and a simple static website. They experience frequent power outages causing server downtime, and they want to improve availability with minimal cost and management overhead. They have limited IT staff. What should they do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Cloud Storage for the static website and Cloud Filestore for file storage
Option B is correct because Cloud Storage provides highly available static website hosting with automatic replication, and Cloud Filestore offers managed file storage, both requiring minimal management. Option A still has a single point of failure. Option C requires additional hardware and doesn't eliminate power issues. Option D adds cost without reducing management overhead.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Implement a load balancer across two on-premises servers
Why it's wrong here
This still requires on-premises hardware and does not address power outage vulnerability.
✓
Use Cloud Storage for the static website and Cloud Filestore for file storage
Why this is correct
Cloud Storage offers automatic replication and high availability for static content; Cloud Filestore provides managed NFS storage with redundancy, reducing downtime risk.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Migrate to a single Compute Engine VM in Google Cloud
Why it's wrong here
A single VM still has a single point of failure; unless configured with high availability, it does not fully address downtime.
✗
Use a third-party colocation facility
Why it's wrong here
Colocation adds monthly costs and still requires management of physical hardware, not minimizing overhead.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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 GCDL question in full detail.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related GCDL NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Fundamental cloud concepts — This question tests Fundamental cloud concepts — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Cloud Storage for the static website and Cloud Filestore for file storage — Option B is correct because Cloud Storage provides highly available static website hosting with automatic replication, and Cloud Filestore offers managed file storage, both requiring minimal management. Option A still has a single point of failure. Option C requires additional hardware and doesn't eliminate power issues. Option D adds cost without reducing management overhead.
What should I do if I get this GCDL question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related GCDL NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Question Discussion
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