Google PCA Practice Question: Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of managing and provisioning a solution infrastructure. 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 uses Terraform to manage infrastructure. They want to store the Terraform state file remotely and enable state locking to prevent concurrent modifications. Which three Google Cloud services or features should they use? (Choose three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Object versioning on the state bucket
Cloud Storage is used as a backend for Terraform state. Object versioning provides history and locking via the storage object's generation number. Cloud KMS can encrypt the state file. Cloud NAT is for outbound connectivity. Cloud Shell is not required for state management. Secret Manager is for secrets, not state.
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.
✓
Object versioning on the state bucket
Why this is correct
Versioning enables state history and helps prevent conflicts through generation locking.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✓
Cloud Storage
Why this is correct
Cloud Storage is the recommended backend for Terraform state.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Cloud NAT
Why it's wrong here
Cloud NAT is for outbound connectivity, not for state management.
✗
Cloud Shell
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Shell provides a command-line environment but is not required for remote state.
✓
Cloud KMS
Why this is correct
Cloud KMS can be used to encrypt the state file for security.
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.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Cloud Shell provides a command-line environment but is not required for remote state.
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.
Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure — This question tests Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Object versioning on the state bucket — Cloud Storage is used as a backend for Terraform state. Object versioning provides history and locking via the storage object's generation number. Cloud KMS can encrypt the state file. Cloud NAT is for outbound connectivity. Cloud Shell is not required for state management. Secret Manager is for secrets, not state.
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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