- A
Configure Private Service Connect to expose the Cloud SQL instance from us-central1 and access it via a service attachment from europe-west1.
Private Service Connect provides low-latency, private cross-region access to Cloud SQL without traversing the internet or on-premises.
- B
Configure a global external HTTP(S) load balancer in front of the Cloud SQL instance.
Why wrong: An external load balancer would use public IP, increasing latency and security risk, and does not leverage private connectivity.
- C
Create a Cloud Interconnect connection from europe-west1 to the on-premises data center and route traffic through the on-premises network to reach us-central1.
Why wrong: This would force traffic through the on-premises network, likely increasing latency due to extra hops.
- D
Enable Cloud SQL public IP and allow the GKE nodes in europe-west1 to connect over the internet using Cloud NAT.
Why wrong: Using public IP over the internet adds latency and security concerns, and Cloud NAT does not improve cross-region performance.
Quick Answer
The answer is to configure Private Service Connect to expose the Cloud SQL instance from us-central1 and access it via a service attachment from europe-west1. This is correct because Private Service Connect allows traffic between the GKE cluster in europe-west1 and the Cloud SQL instance in us-central1 to stay entirely on Google’s internal backbone, bypassing the longer path through the Cloud VPN and on-premises network that causes high latency. On the Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how PSC enables low-latency cross-region private connectivity without migrating databases, and it often appears as a trap where candidates mistakenly choose VPC peering or Cloud VPN, which would not avoid the on-premises backhaul. The key insight is that PSC creates a direct, private endpoint in the consumer region, eliminating the need for traffic to traverse the VPN. Remember the mnemonic: “PSC for cross-region SQL, no VPN backhaul at all.”
PCNE Configuring network services Practice Question
This PCNE practice question tests your understanding of configuring network services. 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.
A multinational corporation has deployed a multi-region application on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) clusters in us-central1 and europe-west1. The application serves global users and requires low-latency access to a shared database hosted on Cloud SQL in us-central1. The network team has configured Cloud VPN tunnels between each region and the on-premises data center for administrative access. The application instances in europe-west1 are experiencing high latency when connecting to the Cloud SQL instance in us-central1. The team wants to reduce latency without migrating the database. The team has already verified that the Cloud SQL instance has private IP enabled and is peered to a shared VPC that spans both regions. The GKE clusters are in the same shared VPC. What should the team 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
Configure Private Service Connect to expose the Cloud SQL instance from us-central1 and access it via a service attachment from europe-west1.
Option A is correct because Private Service Connect (PSC) allows the Cloud SQL instance in us-central1 to be accessed from europe-west1 via a service attachment and a private endpoint, enabling traffic to traverse Google's internal network without backhauling through the on-premises data center. This reduces latency by keeping the traffic within Google's backbone, avoiding the longer path through the Cloud VPN and on-premises network. PSC supports cross-region connectivity with private IP, which aligns with the requirement to not migrate the database.
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.
- ✓
Configure Private Service Connect to expose the Cloud SQL instance from us-central1 and access it via a service attachment from europe-west1.
Why this is correct
Private Service Connect provides low-latency, private cross-region access to Cloud SQL without traversing the internet or on-premises.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Configure a global external HTTP(S) load balancer in front of the Cloud SQL instance.
Why it's wrong here
An external load balancer would use public IP, increasing latency and security risk, and does not leverage private connectivity.
- ✗
Create a Cloud Interconnect connection from europe-west1 to the on-premises data center and route traffic through the on-premises network to reach us-central1.
Why it's wrong here
This would force traffic through the on-premises network, likely increasing latency due to extra hops.
- ✗
Enable Cloud SQL public IP and allow the GKE nodes in europe-west1 to connect over the internet using Cloud NAT.
Why it's wrong here
Using public IP over the internet adds latency and security concerns, and Cloud NAT does not improve cross-region performance.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that cross-region private connectivity must go through a VPN or on-premises network, when in fact Private Service Connect can provide direct, low-latency access within Google's network without additional infrastructure.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Private Service Connect uses a service attachment on the producer side (Cloud SQL) and a private endpoint on the consumer side (europe-west1 VPC), leveraging Google's internal backbone for cross-region connectivity. This avoids the hair-pinning effect of routing through a VPN or on-premises network, as traffic flows directly between VPCs using RFC 1918 addresses. Under the hood, PSC uses a combination of internal load balancers and Network Endpoint Groups (NEGs) to forward traffic, ensuring low-latency and high-throughput connections.
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
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCNE question test?
Configuring network services — This question tests Configuring network services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure Private Service Connect to expose the Cloud SQL instance from us-central1 and access it via a service attachment from europe-west1. — Option A is correct because Private Service Connect (PSC) allows the Cloud SQL instance in us-central1 to be accessed from europe-west1 via a service attachment and a private endpoint, enabling traffic to traverse Google's internal network without backhauling through the on-premises data center. This reduces latency by keeping the traffic within Google's backbone, avoiding the longer path through the Cloud VPN and on-premises network. PSC supports cross-region connectivity with private IP, which aligns with the requirement to not migrate the database.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This PCNE 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 PCNE exam.
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