This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of optimizing service performance. 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 web application serves static assets (images, CSS, JavaScript) from Compute Engine instances. Users in different geographic regions report slow page loads. Which Google Cloud service can be used to improve performance for these users?
VPC Network Peering
Why wrong: Peering connects networks but does not provide edge caching.
Cloud Load Balancing
Why wrong: Load balancing distributes traffic but does not cache content by itself.
Cloud CDN
Cloud CDN uses Google's global edge network to cache static content closer to users.
Cloud NAT
Why wrong: Cloud NAT enables outbound internet from private instances, not content caching.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Cloud CDN
Cloud CDN (Content Delivery Network) caches static assets at Google's globally distributed edge points of presence (PoPs). When users request images, CSS, or JavaScript, the content is served from the nearest edge cache rather than the origin Compute Engine instances, reducing latency and improving page load times for geographically distributed users.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
VPC Network Peering
Why it's wrong here
Peering connects networks but does not provide edge caching.
Cloud Load Balancing
Why it's wrong here
Load balancing distributes traffic but does not cache content by itself.
Cloud CDN
Why this is correct
Cloud CDN uses Google's global edge network to cache static content closer to users.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Cloud NAT
Why it's wrong here
Cloud NAT enables outbound internet from private instances, not content caching.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse Cloud Load Balancing (which only distributes traffic) with Cloud CDN (which caches at edge locations), assuming load balancing alone solves geographic latency issues.
Detailed technical explanation
Cloud CDN leverages Google's global edge cache network, which uses HTTP/2 and QUIC protocols for efficient content delivery. Cache hits serve content directly from the edge, while cache misses forward requests to the origin load balancer; the TTL for cached objects is controlled by Cache-Control headers. In a real-world scenario, a user in Australia fetching a 1 MB JavaScript file from a US-based origin would see latency drop from ~200 ms to under 20 ms with a cache hit from a Sydney edge PoP.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Optimizing service performance — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Optimizing service performance practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All PCDOE questions
500 questions across all exam domains
Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
PCDOE practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Managing service incidents.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Managing Google Cloud costs.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Building and implementing CI/CD pipelines.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Implementing service monitoring strategies.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Optimizing service performance.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to PCDOE fundamentals.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to PCDOE scenario.
Practise PCDOE questions linked to PCDOE troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Optimizing service performance — This question tests Optimizing service performance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Cloud CDN — Cloud CDN (Content Delivery Network) caches static assets at Google's globally distributed edge points of presence (PoPs). When users request images, CSS, or JavaScript, the content is served from the nearest edge cache rather than the origin Compute Engine instances, reducing latency and improving page load times for geographically distributed users.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 →
Keep practising
Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This PCDOE 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 PCDOE exam.
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.
Sign in to join the discussion.