PCD Building and testing applications Practice Question
This PCD practice question tests your understanding of building and testing applications. 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.
Which TWO actions should a developer take to ensure that a Cloud Run service can access a Cloud SQL instance securely?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy as a sidecar container in the same pod.
Option C is correct because the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy, when deployed as a sidecar container in the same pod, provides encrypted connections and IAM-based authentication to Cloud SQL without requiring a public IP or complex network configuration. It automatically handles TLS 1.3 encryption and uses the service account's IAM permissions to authorize connections, ensuring secure access from Cloud Run.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Use a Cloud NAT to provide outbound internet access for the service.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; Cloud NAT is for outbound access, not for connecting to Cloud SQL.
✗
Assign a public IP to the Cloud SQL instance and allow all traffic from Cloud Run.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; public IP with all traffic is not secure.
✓
Use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy as a sidecar container in the same pod.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a service account with the cloudsql.instances.connect permission.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; necessary but not sufficient for connectivity.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that a service account permission alone (Option E) is sufficient for secure access, when in reality the permission must be paired with a connectivity method like the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy or a VPC connector to actually establish the encrypted channel.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Cloud SQL Auth Proxy works by opening a local TCP socket on the sidecar container (typically on 127.0.0.1:3306 for MySQL or 5432 for PostgreSQL) and proxying all traffic to the Cloud SQL instance over a mutually authenticated TLS tunnel. It uses IAM-based authorization, meaning the proxy verifies the caller's service account has the cloudsql.instances.connect permission before allowing the connection, and it automatically handles certificate rotation and connection pooling. In contrast, a VPC connector (Option D) enables private IP access by routing traffic through a VPC network, which is also secure but requires the Cloud SQL instance to have a private IP and the connector to be in the same region and VPC network.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Building and testing applications — This question tests Building and testing applications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy as a sidecar container in the same pod. — Option C is correct because the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy, when deployed as a sidecar container in the same pod, provides encrypted connections and IAM-based authentication to Cloud SQL without requiring a public IP or complex network configuration. It automatically handles TLS 1.3 encryption and uses the service account's IAM permissions to authorize connections, ensuring secure access from Cloud Run.
What should I do if I get this PCD question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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