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. 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 company runs a batch processing job every night that takes 4 hours on a single n2-standard-8 VM. They are willing to accept up to 2 minutes of additional completion time in exchange for significant cost savings. The job is fault-tolerant and can be restarted if interrupted. Which compute option should they use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a spot VM (preemptible) with a custom machine type n2-standard-8
Preemptible VMs offer up to 80% discount but can be terminated at any time. Since the job is fault-tolerant and can handle interruptions, this is the best cost-saving option with minimal impact on completion time.
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.
✗
Reserve an n2-standard-8 with a 1-year committed use discount
Why it's wrong here
Provides cost savings but requires a 1-year commitment; job may complete faster but at higher cost than preemptible.
✓
Use a spot VM (preemptible) with a custom machine type n2-standard-8
Why this is correct
Spot VMs offer the same discount as preemptible and are ideal for fault-tolerant batch jobs like this one.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Deploy on Cloud Run with 8 vCPUs
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Run supports containerized apps but has a 4 vCPU per container limit.
✗
Use a sole-tenant node with the n2-standard-8 machine type
Why it's wrong here
Sole-tenant nodes provide isolation but no cost savings; actually more expensive.
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 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: Use a spot VM (preemptible) with a custom machine type n2-standard-8 — Preemptible VMs offer up to 80% discount but can be terminated at any time. Since the job is fault-tolerant and can handle interruptions, this is the best cost-saving option with minimal impact on completion time.
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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