- A
Implement a custom health check on TCP port 8080 in Cloud Run to ensure only healthy instances receive traffic.
Why wrong: Cloud Run health checks are HTTP-based, not TCP.
- B
Increase the container concurrency setting to 1 to force each container to handle one request at a time.
Why wrong: Concurrency does not affect request routing stickiness.
- C
Use Cloud Run with an HTTP(S) External Load Balancer and enable session affinity on the backend service.
External load balancer provides session affinity; Cloud Run itself does not.
- D
Deploy the application on Cloud Run and configure an Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancer in front of it with session affinity.
Why wrong: Cloud Run does not support internal TCP load balancing with session affinity; it requires an external HTTP(S) LB.
Quick Answer
The answer is to use Cloud Run with an external HTTP(S) load balancer and enable session affinity on the backend service. This is correct because Cloud Run does not natively support session affinity; to achieve stickiness for stateful applications that still hold in-memory state, you must front Cloud Run with an external load balancer that provides this feature at the backend service level. On the Google Professional Cloud Developer exam, this scenario tests your understanding that Cloud Run’s stateless architecture requires an external load balancer for session affinity, and that internal load balancers or concurrency settings cannot provide this stickiness. A common trap is assuming Cloud Run can handle stickiness internally or that an internal load balancer suffices, but the exam emphasizes that only an external HTTP(S) load balancer with session affinity enabled will route requests from the same client to the same revision. Memory tip: “External for stickiness, internal for statelessness.”
PCD Integrating Google Cloud services Practice Question
This PCD practice question tests your understanding of integrating google cloud services. 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.
You are a developer at a company that runs a critical pricing engine on Compute Engine instances in a managed instance group (MIG) behind an internal TCP load balancer. The pricing engine is a stateful application that stores state in memory and also writes to a Cloud Bigtable instance for persistence. The application uses a custom port 8080. You need to migrate this application to Cloud Run for better scalability and reduced operational overhead. The application must maintain session affinity so that requests from the same client are routed to the same instance (since the in-memory state is not yet fully externalized). The application currently uses a health check on /healthz that returns 200 OK. You have containerized the application. When you deploy to Cloud Run, you notice that traffic is not sticky; every request might go to a different revision. You also need to ensure that Bigtable writes are performed asynchronously to avoid slowing down the pricing calculations. What should you do?
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
Use Cloud Run with an HTTP(S) External Load Balancer and enable session affinity on the backend service.
Option B is correct because Cloud Run does not support session affinity natively; to achieve stickiness, you need to set the session affinity feature on the external HTTP(S) load balancer and place Cloud Run behind it. Option A is wrong because increasing concurrency does not affect stickiness. Option C is wrong because even with an internal load balancer, Cloud Run does not support session affinity directly; you need an external load balancer with session affinity. Option D is wrong because Cloud Run does not support custom health checks with TCP; it only supports HTTP health checks.
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.
- ✗
Implement a custom health check on TCP port 8080 in Cloud Run to ensure only healthy instances receive traffic.
- ✗
Increase the container concurrency setting to 1 to force each container to handle one request at a time.
Why it's wrong here
Concurrency does not affect request routing stickiness.
- ✓
Use Cloud Run with an HTTP(S) External Load Balancer and enable session affinity on the backend service.
Why this is correct
External load balancer provides session affinity; Cloud Run itself does not.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- ✗
Deploy the application on Cloud Run and configure an Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancer in front of it with session affinity.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Run does not support internal TCP load balancing with session affinity; it requires an external HTTP(S) LB.
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.
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 PCD NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
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Integrating Google Cloud services — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCD question test?
Integrating Google Cloud services — This question tests Integrating Google Cloud services — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Cloud Run with an HTTP(S) External Load Balancer and enable session affinity on the backend service. — Option B is correct because Cloud Run does not support session affinity natively; to achieve stickiness, you need to set the session affinity feature on the external HTTP(S) load balancer and place Cloud Run behind it. Option A is wrong because increasing concurrency does not affect stickiness. Option C is wrong because even with an internal load balancer, Cloud Run does not support session affinity directly; you need an external load balancer with session affinity. Option D is wrong because Cloud Run does not support custom health checks with TCP; it only supports HTTP health checks.
What should I do if I get this PCD 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 PCD 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: Jun 24, 2026
This PCD 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 PCD exam.
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