Courseiva
← PCA
Full test
Question 858 of 1,000
Design and plan a cloud solution architecture →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Google PCA Design and plan a cloud solution architecture Practice Question

This PCA practice question tests your understanding of design and plan a cloud solution architecture. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.

Exhibit

resource "google_compute_instance" "vm" {
  name         = "example-vm"
  machine_type = "e2-medium"
  zone         = "us-central1-a"

  boot_disk {
    initialize_params {
      image = "debian-cloud/debian-11"
      size  = 50
    }
  }

  network_interface {
    network    = "default"
    subnetwork = "default"

    access_config {
      // Ephemeral public IP
    }
  }

  metadata = {
    enable-oslogin = "TRUE"
  }
}

# Output after 'terraform apply'
Apply complete! Resources: 1 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.
Outputs:
instance_ip = "34.123.45.67"

Refer to the exhibit. An engineer deployed this Terraform configuration and can SSH to the instance using the external IP. However, they notice that the instance has a public IP address even though they intended to have no public IP. What change should be made to the configuration to ensure the instance does not get a public IP?

Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →

Exhibit

resource "google_compute_instance" "vm" {
  name         = "example-vm"
  machine_type = "e2-medium"
  zone         = "us-central1-a"

  boot_disk {
    initialize_params {
      image = "debian-cloud/debian-11"
      size  = 50
    }
  }

  network_interface {
    network    = "default"
    subnetwork = "default"

    access_config {
      // Ephemeral public IP
    }
  }

  metadata = {
    enable-oslogin = "TRUE"
  }
}

# Output after 'terraform apply'
Apply complete! Resources: 1 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.
Outputs:
instance_ip = "34.123.45.67"

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

✓

Remove the entire access_config block from the network_interface configuration.

The access_config block with an empty block (no nat_ip specified) still creates an ephemeral external IP. To disable public IP, the entire access_config block must be removed.

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.

  • ✗

    Change the metadata key enable-oslogin to FALSE.

    Why it's wrong here

    This controls OS Login, not public IP assignment.

  • ✓

    Remove the entire access_config block from the network_interface configuration.

    Why this is correct

    Removing the access_config block prevents Terraform from assigning a public IP.

    Related concept

    Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

  • ✗

    Set access_config = [] instead of leaving it empty.

    Why it's wrong here

    This would still create an access config because the block is present.

  • ✗

    Set the network to a custom VPC that does not have external internet access.

    Why it's wrong here

    This does not directly prevent the instance from getting a public IP; it still could if access_config is present.

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 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.

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.

Related practice questions

Related PCA practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

Managing Implementation and Ensuring Solution and Operations Reliability practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Managing Implementation and Ensuring Solution and Operations Reliability.

Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Designing and Planning a Cloud Solution Architecture.

Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Managing and Provisioning a Solution Infrastructure.

Designing for Security and Compliance practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Designing for Security and Compliance.

Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes.

Design and plan a cloud solution architecture practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Design and plan a cloud solution architecture.

Manage and provision cloud infrastructure practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Manage and provision cloud infrastructure.

Design for security and compliance practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Design for security and compliance.

Analyze and optimize technical and business processes practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Analyze and optimize technical and business processes.

Manage implementation of cloud architecture practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Manage implementation of cloud architecture.

Ensure solution and operations reliability practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to Ensure solution and operations reliability.

PCA fundamentals practice questions

Practise PCA questions linked to PCA fundamentals.

Practice this exam

Start a free PCA practice session

Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.

10 questions20 questions30 questions50 questionsTimed 30
PCA practice-test guide →Study guide →Browse all practice tests

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this PCA question test?

Design and plan a cloud solution architecture — This question tests Design and plan 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: Remove the entire access_config block from the network_interface configuration. — The access_config block with an empty block (no nat_ip specified) still creates an ephemeral external IP. To disable public IP, the entire access_config block must be removed.

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

Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

Question Discussion

Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.

Loading comments…

Sign in to join the discussion.

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.