- A
Persistent disk snapshots copied to a secondary region every 15 minutes
Why wrong: Snapshots are not frequent enough; 15-minute snapshots may not meet RPO consistently and restore time may exceed RTO.
- B
Multi-region Cloud Storage bucket with object versioning
Multi-region bucket provides automatic geo-redundancy for backups and static data.
- C
Managed Instance Groups in the secondary region with a global load balancer
MIGs in the secondary region can be scaled up quickly; global load balancer routes traffic to the healthy region.
- D
Cloud CDN to cache content and reduce latency
Why wrong: Cloud CDN improves performance but does not provide disaster recovery.
- E
Cloud SQL with cross-region replication enabled
Cross-region replication for Cloud SQL provides near real-time data replication with RPO in seconds.
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 wants to implement a disaster recovery strategy for their critical workloads on GCP. They require an RPO of 15 minutes and an RTO of 1 hour. Which THREE components should they include in their architecture? (Choose 3)
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Multi-region Cloud Storage bucket with object versioning
Multi-region Cloud Storage for backups or data replication, Cloud SQL cross-region replication for databases, and MIGs in a secondary region with a global load balancer for compute failover meet the RPO/RTO. Persistent disk snapshots copied across regions are too slow for 15-minute RPO. Cloud Spanner multi-region is possible but not listed; the combination of these three services provides the required RPO/RTO.
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.
- ✗
Persistent disk snapshots copied to a secondary region every 15 minutes
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots are not frequent enough; 15-minute snapshots may not meet RPO consistently and restore time may exceed RTO.
- ✓
Multi-region Cloud Storage bucket with object versioning
Why this is correct
Multi-region bucket provides automatic geo-redundancy for backups and static data.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- ✓
Managed Instance Groups in the secondary region with a global load balancer
Why this is correct
MIGs in the secondary region can be scaled up quickly; global load balancer routes traffic to the healthy region.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- ✗
Cloud CDN to cache content and reduce latency
Why it's wrong here
Cloud CDN improves performance but does not provide disaster recovery.
- ✓
Cloud SQL with cross-region replication enabled
Why this is correct
Cross-region replication for Cloud SQL provides near real-time data replication with RPO in seconds.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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.
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Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCA question test?
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: Multi-region Cloud Storage bucket with object versioning — Multi-region Cloud Storage for backups or data replication, Cloud SQL cross-region replication for databases, and MIGs in a secondary region with a global load balancer for compute failover meet the RPO/RTO. Persistent disk snapshots copied across regions are too slow for 15-minute RPO. Cloud Spanner multi-region is possible but not listed; the combination of these three services provides the required RPO/RTO.
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.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This PCA 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 PCA exam.
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