Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →Question 16 of 300
mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
GCDL Practice Question: A startup is building an application that sends…
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of a startup is building an application that sends…. 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 startup is building an application that sends daily promotional push notifications to millions of mobile users on both iOS and Android devices. Which Google Cloud or Google service most directly provides the infrastructure for sending these mobile push notifications?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Cloud Storage, by writing notification content to buckets that mobile applications poll for new messages
Polling Cloud Storage for notifications would require mobile apps to make constant API requests, draining battery and creating high latency. Push notifications are delivered to devices by the platform (FCM/APNs), not pulled by apps.
B
Distractor review
Cloud Run, by exposing an API that mobile applications call to retrieve their pending notifications
Pull-based notification APIs require mobile apps to poll for messages, which is inefficient. FCM's push model delivers notifications to devices without the app needing to poll — even when the app is not active in the foreground.
C
Distractor review
Cloud Pub/Sub, which delivers messages to subscribed mobile application instances
Cloud Pub/Sub is a server-to-server messaging system. Mobile devices are not Pub/Sub subscribers — they use platform-specific push notification infrastructure (FCM, APNs). Pub/Sub could trigger a backend service that then sends via FCM, but Pub/Sub alone doesn't deliver to mobile devices.
D
Best answer
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), which delivers push notifications to iOS and Android devices through Google's mobile notification infrastructure
FCM is the correct service. It provides the complete push notification pipeline: device token management, message composition, cross-platform delivery (Android via FCM protocol, iOS via APNs), delivery analytics, and topic-based message broadcasting for millions of subscribers. It's the standard Google/Firebase solution for mobile push notifications.
Common exam trap
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.
Technical deep dive
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.
Related practice questions
Related GCDL practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A traditional retailer currently maintains its own data centers, purchasing servers every 3–5 years and paying for facilities, power, and staff regardless of demand. When it migrates its workloads to the public cloud, which change in cost model does it experience?
Question 2
An e-commerce company plans its infrastructure for peak shopping events (e.g., Black Friday) which drive 50× normal traffic. On-premises, they must maintain 50× capacity year-round. In the cloud, they provision 50× capacity only during peak periods. Which cloud characteristic enables this cost optimization?
Question 3
Which term describes the process by which organizations integrate digital technology into all areas of their business, fundamentally changing how they operate and deliver value to customers?
Question 4
When a company moves from maintaining its own data center to using Google Cloud, which operational responsibility does Google assume that the company previously managed?
Question 5
A hospital runs a patient records system that must remain on-premises due to strict regulatory data residency requirements. However, they also want to use cloud-based AI for diagnostic imaging analysis. Which cloud deployment model best describes their architecture?
Question 6
What is virtualization in the context of cloud computing, and why is it fundamental to how cloud providers deliver services?
Practice this exam
Start a free GCDL practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this GCDL question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), which delivers push notifications to iOS and Android devices through Google's mobile notification infrastructure — Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) is Google's free service for sending push notifications and messages to iOS and Android devices (and web applications). It handles the complexity of device token management, platform-specific delivery (APNs for iOS, FCM protocol for Android), message routing, and delivery confirmation. It integrates natively with Firebase and can be called from any Google Cloud backend service.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.
This GCDL 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 GCDL exam.