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 run a containerized web application that experiences unpredictable traffic spikes. They want to pay only for resources used during request processing, with no idle cost. Which compute service should they choose?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Cloud Run
Cloud Run is a serverless container platform that scales to zero when not in use and charges per request. It eliminates idle costs. GKE Autopilot has a per-pod billing model but still incurs some cost for the cluster control plane. App Engine Standard supports scaling to zero but is limited to specific runtimes. Compute Engine VMs incur cost for running instances even if idle.
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.
✗
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Autopilot
Why it's wrong here
Autopilot still has a cluster management fee and pods incur cost even if idle, though it scales down aggressively.
✓
Cloud Run
Why this is correct
Cloud Run scales to zero and charges per request, ideal for unpredictable traffic with no idle cost.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
App Engine Standard
Why it's wrong here
App Engine Standard can scale to zero but requires using specific runtimes; Cloud Run is more flexible for containers.
✗
Compute Engine with managed instance groups
Why it's wrong here
VMs run continuously; you pay for uptime even when idle.
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: Cloud Run — Cloud Run is a serverless container platform that scales to zero when not in use and charges per request. It eliminates idle costs. GKE Autopilot has a per-pod billing model but still incurs some cost for the cluster control plane. App Engine Standard supports scaling to zero but is limited to specific runtimes. Compute Engine VMs incur cost for running instances even if idle.
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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