Google PCA Manage and provision cloud infrastructure Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of manage and provision cloud infrastructure. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 service on Cloud Run that needs to access a Cloud SQL instance via private IP. Both are in the same VPC network. The service cannot connect to the database. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Cloud Run needs a Serverless VPC Access connector.
Cloud Run services run in a Google-managed environment and cannot directly reach resources on a VPC network via private IP. A Serverless VPC Access connector is required to bridge the serverless environment to the VPC, enabling private IP connectivity to Cloud SQL. Without this connector, the Cloud Run service cannot route traffic to the Cloud SQL private IP, even if both are in the same VPC network.
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.
✗
Cloud Run must be deployed in the same zone as Cloud SQL.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Run is serverless and zone-independent.
✗
The IAM permissions for Cloud Run to access Cloud SQL are missing.
Why it's wrong here
IAM permissions are necessary but not sufficient; connectivity requires networking setup.
✗
A firewall rule is blocking traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules apply to VMs, but Cloud Run traffic goes through the serverless connector.
✓
Cloud Run needs a Serverless VPC Access connector.
Why this is correct
Correct. Serverless VPC Access enables Cloud Run to reach VPC resources.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The Cloud SQL instance needs a public IP assigned.
Why it's wrong here
The requirement is private IP, so public IP is not needed.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that being in the same VPC network automatically grants connectivity, but serverless services like Cloud Run require an explicit Serverless VPC Access connector to route traffic into the VPC.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Serverless VPC Access connector creates a bridge using a VPC peering-like mechanism with a dedicated subnet, allowing Cloud Run to send traffic to internal IPs via the connector's internal IP address. Under the hood, the connector uses a set of managed instances that act as a proxy, enabling traffic to flow from the serverless environment to the VPC without requiring a public IP or NATgateway. In real-world scenarios, forgetting to configure the connector is a common oversight when migrating from Compute Engine (which is natively on the VPC) to Cloud Run.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PCA question in full detail.
Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — This question tests Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Cloud Run needs a Serverless VPC Access connector. — Cloud Run services run in a Google-managed environment and cannot directly reach resources on a VPC network via private IP. A Serverless VPC Access connector is required to bridge the serverless environment to the VPC, enabling private IP connectivity to Cloud SQL. Without this connector, the Cloud Run service cannot route traffic to the Cloud SQL private IP, even if both are in the same VPC network.
What should I do if I get this PCA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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