PCNE Implementing hybrid interconnectivity Practice Question
This PCNE practice question tests your understanding of implementing hybrid interconnectivity. 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 customer has established a Dedicated Interconnect, but traffic from on-premises to Google Cloud is still using the internet path instead of the interconnect. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The BGP routes from on-premises have a lower priority than the default route via internet.
Option D is correct because when both an internet default route and more specific BGP routes from the Dedicated Interconnect exist, the route with the highest administrative distance (lowest priority) wins. By default, static routes or internet-learned routes often have a lower administrative distance (e.g., 1 for static) compared to eBGP routes (AD 20). If the on-premises router is sending BGP routes with a higher AD or the cloud router prefers the internet default route due to route priority, traffic will not use the interconnect.
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.
✗
The on-premises firewall blocks BGP traffic.
Why it's wrong here
If BGP were blocked, the interconnect would not work at all.
✗
The Google Cloud Router has not learned any routes.
Why it's wrong here
If no routes were learned, traffic would not flow at all.
✗
The VLAN attachment is in a different region.
Why it's wrong here
Region difference does not prevent connectivity; routes can be advertised across regions.
✓
The BGP routes from on-premises have a lower priority than the default route via internet.
Why this is correct
Route priority (e.g., weight, MED) determines which path is used; lower priority routes are less preferred.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that BGP routes are always preferred over static routes, but the trap here is that administrative distance (or route priority in Google Cloud) can cause the internet default route to take precedence over BGP-learned routes from the interconnect.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Google Cloud uses dynamic routing with BGP over the Dedicated Interconnect, and route priority is determined by the route's administrative distance and specific prefix length. In hybrid scenarios, on-premises routers often advertise specific subnets (e.g., /24) via BGP, but if the on-premises router also injects a default route (0.0.0.0/0) with a lower AD (e.g., via static routing), the internet path will be preferred for general traffic. This is a common misconfiguration where the BGP-learned routes have a higher AD (e.g., 20 for eBGP) than the static default route (AD 1), causing asymmetric routing.
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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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.
Implementing hybrid interconnectivity — This question tests Implementing hybrid interconnectivity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The BGP routes from on-premises have a lower priority than the default route via internet. — Option D is correct because when both an internet default route and more specific BGP routes from the Dedicated Interconnect exist, the route with the highest administrative distance (lowest priority) wins. By default, static routes or internet-learned routes often have a lower administrative distance (e.g., 1 for static) compared to eBGP routes (AD 20). If the on-premises router is sending BGP routes with a higher AD or the cloud router prefers the internet default route due to route priority, traffic will not use the interconnect.
What should I do if I get this PCNE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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