Google PCA Practice Question: Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of designing and planning a cloud solution architecture. Compare every option against the stated constraints before choosing — the best answer satisfies all requirements, not just the most obvious one. 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 company has a legacy monolithic application running on-premises that must be migrated to Google Cloud with minimal changes. The application uses a SQL Server database and has strict licensing constraints. Which migration approach and storage service is most appropriate?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Lift-and-shift onto Compute Engine with Cloud SQL for SQL Server
Lift-and-shift involves moving the application as-is, with minimal changes. Cloud SQL for SQL Server provides a managed SQL Server instance compatible with the on-premises database, reducing operational overhead. Re-platforming would require code changes (e.g., to PostgreSQL). Compute Engine with self-managed SQL Server adds licensing and management burden. Cloud Spanner is globally distributed and not a direct lift-and-shift for SQL Server.
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.
✗
Re-architect to microservices on GKE with AlloyDB
Why it's wrong here
Re-architecting contradicts 'minimal changes'. AlloyDB is PostgreSQL-compatible, not SQL Server.
✗
Lift-and-shift onto Compute Engine with SQL Server on the same VM
Why it's wrong here
This increases licensing costs and management overhead. Not the most appropriate for minimal changes.
✗
Re-platform to Cloud Spanner
Why it's wrong here
Re-platforming to Spanner requires significant application changes and does not support SQL Server compatibility.
✓
Lift-and-shift onto Compute Engine with Cloud SQL for SQL Server
Why this is correct
Lift-and-shift moves the app as-is; Cloud SQL for SQL Server provides a fully managed, compatible database, meeting licensing constraints.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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 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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PCA 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 PCA NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture — This question tests Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Lift-and-shift onto Compute Engine with Cloud SQL for SQL Server — Lift-and-shift involves moving the application as-is, with minimal changes. Cloud SQL for SQL Server provides a managed SQL Server instance compatible with the on-premises database, reducing operational overhead. Re-platforming would require code changes (e.g., to PostgreSQL). Compute Engine with self-managed SQL Server adds licensing and management burden. Cloud Spanner is globally distributed and not a direct lift-and-shift for SQL Server.
What should I do if I get this PCA 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 PCA 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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