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. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 media streaming company wants to serve video content globally with low latency. They plan to cache static objects (thumbnails, manifest files) at edge locations, while dynamic API requests are handled by a backend in a single region. Which combination 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
✓
Cloud CDN with an external HTTP(S) load balancer
Cloud CDN caches static content at Google's edge locations, reducing latency for global users. An external HTTP(S) Load Balancer routes traffic, terminates SSL, and directs dynamic API requests to the backend. Cloud CDN is enabled on the backend bucket or backend service. Internal LB is for internal traffic only. Cloud NAT is for outbound traffic. VPC peering does not cache.
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.
✓
Cloud CDN with an external HTTP(S) load balancer
Why this is correct
Cloud CDN integrates with external HTTP(S) Load Balancer to cache content at edge locations.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Cloud CDN with an internal TCP/UDP load balancer
Why it's wrong here
Internal load balancers are for private traffic; Cloud CDN requires an external load balancer.
✗
Cloud Armor with a TCP/SSL proxy load balancer
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Armor is a security policy; TCP/SSL proxy does not integrate with Cloud CDN for caching.
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.
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 CDN with an external HTTP(S) load balancer — Cloud CDN caches static content at Google's edge locations, reducing latency for global users. An external HTTP(S) Load Balancer routes traffic, terminates SSL, and directs dynamic API requests to the backend. Cloud CDN is enabled on the backend bucket or backend service. Internal LB is for internal traffic only. Cloud NAT is for outbound traffic. VPC peering does not cache.
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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