Visit here for our full Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer exam dumps and practice test questions.
Question 46
An organization needs to connect their on-premises data center to Google Cloud with a dedicated, private connection. Which service should they use?
A) Cloud VPN
B) Cloud Interconnect
C) Cloud Router
D) VPC Peering
Answer: B
Explanation:
Cloud Interconnect provides dedicated, private connectivity between on-premises networks and Google Cloud, offering higher bandwidth, lower latency, and more reliable connections than internet-based alternatives. This service is ideal for enterprises requiring consistent network performance, large data transfers, hybrid cloud architectures, or regulatory compliance mandating private connectivity that does not traverse the public internet.
Cloud Interconnect offers two options: Dedicated Interconnect provides direct physical connections between on-premises networks and Google’s network through colocation facilities, supporting 10 Gbps or 100 Gbps circuits per connection with the ability to provision multiple connections for higher aggregate bandwidth. Partner Interconnect works through supported service providers, offering connections from 50 Mbps to 50 Gbps when direct colocation is impractical or smaller bandwidth is sufficient.
The service delivers several advantages including predictable network performance with consistent latency and throughput, reduced egress costs as data transferred through Interconnect has lower pricing than internet egress, enhanced security by avoiding public internet exposure, and SLA-backed availability guarantees. Connections terminate on VLAN attachments that bridge on-premises networks to VPC networks through Cloud Routers using BGP for dynamic routing.
Cloud VPN provides encrypted connectivity over the public internet rather than dedicated circuits. Cloud Router enables dynamic routing but requires an underlying connectivity service like Interconnect or VPN. VPC Peering connects VPC networks within Google Cloud rather than connecting to on-premises. Cloud Interconnect specifically delivers the dedicated private connectivity that enterprises need for hybrid cloud deployments.
Question 47
What is the primary purpose of Cloud NAT in Google Cloud?
A) To provide inbound internet access to private instances
B) To allow instances without external IP addresses to access the internet
C) To load balance traffic across regions
D) To encrypt traffic between VPCs
Answer: B
Explanation:
Cloud NAT enables instances without external IP addresses to access the internet for outbound connections while preventing unsolicited inbound connections from the internet, providing a managed network address translation service that enhances security by limiting internet exposure. This fully managed service eliminates the need to provision and manage NAT gateway instances, simplifying network architecture while providing automatic scaling and high availability.
The service operates at the regional level, translating private IP addresses of VM instances to public IP addresses for outbound traffic. Instances can download updates, access external APIs, retrieve data from internet services, or communicate with external systems without having public IP addresses directly assigned. This architecture reduces attack surface by preventing direct internet access to instances while maintaining necessary outbound connectivity.
Cloud NAT supports manual or automatic IP address allocation where administrators can specify particular external IP addresses for NAT or allow automatic allocation from available addresses. Logging capabilities track NAT translations and connection details for troubleshooting and auditing. Port allocation configurations control how many ports each VM receives, with dynamic allocation optimizing port usage across instances.
Inbound internet access requires external IP addresses or load balancers rather than Cloud NAT. Load balancing across regions uses Global Load Balancing services. Traffic encryption between VPCs uses VPN or private connectivity rather than NAT. Cloud NAT specifically provides managed outbound internet access for private instances, enabling secure internet connectivity without exposing instances to inbound threats.
Question 48
Which load balancer should be used for distributing HTTPS traffic across regions globally?
A) Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancer
B) Network Load Balancer
C) External HTTP(S) Load Balancer
D) Internal HTTP(S) Load Balancer
Answer: C
Explanation:
The External HTTP(S) Load Balancer distributes HTTP and HTTPS traffic globally across regions, providing a single anycast IP address that routes users to the nearest healthy backend based on proximity and capacity. This global load balancer operates at Layer 7, enabling advanced traffic management including URL-based routing, SSL termination, Cloud CDN integration, and Cloud Armor security, making it ideal for serving global web applications with high availability and low latency.
The load balancer leverages Google’s global network infrastructure with points of presence worldwide, routing user requests to the closest available backend reducing latency significantly compared to regional solutions. Cross-region load balancing automatically fails over to healthy backends in other regions when failures occur, providing resilient architectures that tolerate regional outages without manual intervention or DNS changes.
Advanced features include URL maps that route requests to different backend services based on hostname or path, custom headers for request modification, connection draining for graceful backend removal, session affinity options for stateful applications, and integrated Cloud CDN for caching static content at edge locations. SSL policies control cipher suites and TLS versions. Cloud Armor provides DDoS protection and web application firewall capabilities at the load balancer edge.
Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancer handles private internal traffic. Network Load Balancer operates at Layer 4 for TCP/UDP without Layer 7 features. Internal HTTP(S) Load Balancer serves internal applications. The External HTTP(S) Load Balancer specifically provides global Layer 7 load balancing with advanced features for internet-facing applications requiring worldwide distribution and optimal user experience.
Question 49
What is the maximum number of routes that can be programmed in a VPC network?
A) 100 routes
B) 250 routes
C) 500 routes
D) Unlimited routes
Answer: B
Explanation:
Google Cloud VPC networks support a maximum of 250 dynamic routes and 250 static custom routes per VPC network, totaling 500 custom routes maximum when combining both types. This quota includes routes learned through Cloud Router BGP sessions and manually configured static routes, though it excludes system-generated subnet routes that are created automatically and do not count toward the limit.
The route limit becomes relevant in complex network architectures with numerous Cloud Router BGP sessions learning many routes from on-premises networks through Cloud Interconnect or Cloud VPN, scenarios with extensive static routing requirements, or hub-and-spoke topologies where central VPCs aggregate routes from many sources. Reaching the limit prevents learning additional dynamic routes or creating additional static routes.
When approaching route limits, solutions include route aggregation by summarizing multiple specific routes into fewer supernet routes, implementing multiple VPC networks with VPC Network Peering to distribute routes across networks, using route priorities to prefer certain paths while removing alternatives, or redesigning network topology to reduce routing complexity. Monitoring route quotas helps prevent hitting limits during network changes.
The 250 route per-type limit is a hard quota enforced by the VPC networking infrastructure. While subnet routes and default routes do not count toward this limit, custom static and dynamic routes do. Understanding and managing this limit is essential for designing scalable network architectures, particularly in hybrid cloud environments with extensive on-premises connectivity and dynamic routing requirements.
Question 50
Which feature allows resources in different VPC networks to communicate using internal IP addresses?
A) Cloud NAT
B) VPC Network Peering
C) Shared VPC
D) Cloud Interconnect
Answer: B
Explanation:
VPC Network Peering enables resources in different VPC networks to communicate using internal IP addresses, establishing private connectivity between VPCs without requiring external IP addresses, VPNs, or additional networking infrastructure. This feature provides low-latency, high-bandwidth connections between VPCs whether they belong to the same organization, different projects, or even different organizations, enabling flexible network architectures and resource sharing.
The peering relationship is established as a bilateral connection where both VPC network administrators must configure peering, though traffic flow configurations can be asymmetric. Once established, VM instances and internal load balancers in peered networks can communicate as if they were in the same VPC network using RFC 1918 private addressing. The connection is not transitive, meaning if VPC A peers with VPC B and VPC B peers with VPC C, VPC A and VPC C cannot communicate unless directly peered.
VPC Network Peering offers several advantages including eliminating egress charges as internal IP traffic does not incur egress costs, lower latency compared to internet-based or VPN connections, simplified network design by avoiding complex routing or overlaying networks, and maintained network isolation with firewall rules controlling inter-VPC traffic. Routes are automatically exchanged between peered networks for imported subnets.
Cloud NAT provides internet access for private instances rather than inter-VPC connectivity. Shared VPC allows multiple projects to share a single VPC rather than connecting separate VPCs. Cloud Interconnect connects on-premises networks to Google Cloud. VPC Network Peering specifically enables private internal IP communication between separate VPC networks within Google Cloud.
Question 51
An organization wants to implement a hub-and-spoke network topology in Google Cloud. Which approach is most appropriate?
A) Create multiple isolated VPCs with no connectivity
B) Use Shared VPC with a central host project and multiple service projects
C) Deploy Cloud NAT in each VPC
D) Use external IP addresses for all communications
Answer: B
Explanation:
Shared VPC implements hub-and-spoke network topology in Google Cloud by designating one project as the host project containing the central VPC network, with multiple service projects attached that consume network resources from the shared VPC. This architecture centralizes network administration, applies consistent security policies, enables efficient resource sharing, and simplifies hybrid cloud connectivity by concentrating network attachments like Interconnect or VPN in the hub.
The host project contains the VPC network, subnets, firewall rules, routes, and connectivity resources like Cloud Interconnect or Cloud VPN gateways. Network administrators in the host project maintain centralized control over network configuration and security policies. Service projects contain compute resources like VM instances, GKE clusters, or App Engine flexible environment applications that use subnets from the shared VPC.
IAM permissions control which service projects can use which subnets through subnet-level access grants. This granular control enables different application teams to use separate subnets while sharing the overall network infrastructure. Billing for network resources flows to the appropriate projects with network egress charged to service projects while network infrastructure costs remain in the host project.
Isolated VPCs without connectivity fail to create hub-and-spoke topology. Cloud NAT provides internet access rather than implementing network topology. External IP addresses for all communications creates security concerns and unnecessary costs. Shared VPC specifically implements the hub-and-spoke pattern with centralized network management and distributed workloads across service projects.
Question 52
What is the purpose of Private Google Access in a VPC network?
A) To allow external users to access private instances
B) To enable VM instances to reach Google APIs using internal IP addresses
C) To connect VPCs across regions
D) To provide VPN connectivity
Answer: B
Explanation:
Private Google Access enables VM instances that only have internal IP addresses to reach Google APIs and services including Cloud Storage, BigQuery, Cloud Pub/Sub, and other Google Cloud services using internal IP addressing without requiring external IP addresses or NAT. This feature enhances security by eliminating the need for internet connectivity to access Google services while maintaining full API functionality for private instances.
The feature is enabled per subnet, affecting all instances in that subnet. When enabled, traffic destined for Google APIs is routed through Google’s internal network using special reserved IP ranges rather than traversing the public internet. DNS resolution for googleapis.com domains returns restricted VIP addresses that are only routable within Google Cloud, directing traffic to Google APIs through internal paths.
Private Google Access is particularly valuable for security-sensitive workloads that cannot have internet connectivity, batch processing jobs that heavily use Cloud Storage or BigQuery, containerized applications accessing Google services, and compliance scenarios requiring that data never traverses public networks. It works in conjunction with VPC Service Controls to provide defense-in-depth security for sensitive data.
The feature does not allow external users to access private instances, which requires load balancers or external IPs. VPC Peering or Interconnect handles inter-VPC or hybrid connectivity. VPN services provide encrypted connectivity to on-premises. Private Google Access specifically enables private instances to access Google APIs without internet exposure or external IP requirements.
Question 53
Which Cloud DNS record type is used to map a hostname to an IPv4 address?
A) AAAA record
B) CNAME record
C) A record
D) MX record
Answer: C
Explanation:
The A record in Cloud DNS maps a hostname to an IPv4 address, providing the fundamental DNS function of translating human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses that computers use for network communication. A records are the most common DNS record type, essential for directing web traffic, email delivery, API endpoints, and any service requiring hostname resolution to IPv4 addresses.
When a DNS query for a hostname is received, the A record returns the associated IPv4 address allowing the client to establish a connection to the target server. Multiple A records can exist for the same hostname, enabling round-robin DNS load distribution or providing multiple IP addresses for redundancy. TTL values control how long resolvers cache the records, balancing between update propagation speed and query load reduction.
Cloud DNS supports programmatic management of A records through the Cloud Console, gcloud command-line tool, or REST API. Records can be organized in managed zones representing DNS namespaces. DNSSEC signing provides authentication and integrity protection for DNS responses. Cloud Logging integration tracks DNS queries for monitoring and troubleshooting.
AAAA records map hostnames to IPv6 addresses rather than IPv4. CNAME records create aliases pointing to other hostnames. MX records specify mail servers for email delivery. The A record specifically provides the essential IPv4 address resolution that forms the foundation of internet hostname to IP address translation.
Question 54
What is the recommended approach for securing access to internal services in Google Cloud?
A) Assign external IP addresses to all instances
B) Use Identity-Aware Proxy with IAM for authentication
C) Open all firewall ports
D) Disable encryption
Answer: B
Explanation:
Identity-Aware Proxy provides secure access to internal services in Google Cloud by authenticating users through IAM before allowing access to applications, eliminating the need for VPNs while enforcing granular access controls based on user identity and context. IAP establishes a central authorization layer that validates every request, ensuring only authenticated and authorized users can access protected resources regardless of network location.
IAP works by intercepting requests to protected applications, redirecting unauthenticated users to Google’s authentication service, verifying user credentials and IAM permissions, and only forwarding requests to backend services after successful authentication and authorization. The service adds signed headers containing user identity information allowing applications to implement additional authorization logic based on verified user identity.
The approach enables zero-trust security models where network location does not imply trust, supports remote workforce access without complex VPN configurations, provides audit trails through Cloud Logging showing who accessed which resources, and integrates with existing IAM policies enabling consistent access control across Google Cloud services. Context-aware access policies can enforce additional requirements based on device security status or geographic location.
External IP addresses increase attack surface without providing authentication. Opening all firewall ports violates security best practices. Disabling encryption exposes data to interception. Identity-Aware Proxy with IAM specifically provides the secure access model that protects internal services through identity verification and authorization rather than relying solely on network perimeter security.
Question 55
Which Google Cloud service provides DDoS protection and web application firewall capabilities?
A) Cloud Armor
B) Cloud NAT
C) VPC Service Controls
D) Packet Mirroring
Answer: A
Explanation:
Cloud Armor provides DDoS protection and web application firewall capabilities at the edge of Google’s network, defending applications against distributed denial of service attacks, OWASP Top 10 web vulnerabilities, and other internet-based threats. This service integrates with External HTTP(S) Load Balancer and External SSL Proxy Load Balancer, operating at Google’s global edge points of presence to block attacks before they reach application infrastructure.
The service offers multiple protection layers including always-on DDoS protection against network and transport layer attacks, customizable WAF rules using Google’s preconfigured WAF rule sets or custom rules based on request attributes, rate limiting to prevent abuse and application-layer DDoS, and geo-based access control restricting access by geographic location. Named IP lists enable allow-listing or deny-listing specific IP addresses or ranges.
Security policies define rules that match request characteristics including IP addresses, geographic origin, request headers, and Layer 7 attributes. Rules can allow, deny, rate-limit, or redirect traffic based on match conditions. Preview mode enables testing rules without enforcement, helping validate configurations before production deployment. Advanced features include adaptive protection that uses machine learning to detect and mitigate application-layer attacks automatically.
Cloud NAT provides outbound internet access. VPC Service Controls creates security perimeters around Google Cloud resources. Packet Mirroring captures network traffic for analysis. Cloud Armor specifically delivers edge security protecting internet-facing applications from DDoS attacks and web-based threats through globally distributed filtering and mitigation capabilities.
Question 56
What is the purpose of a Cloud Router in Google Cloud networking?
A) To forward packets between instances
B) To dynamically exchange routes between VPC networks and on-premises networks using BGP
C) To load balance traffic
D) To provide NAT services
Answer: B
Explanation:
Cloud Router dynamically exchanges routes between VPC networks and on-premises networks using Border Gateway Protocol, enabling hybrid cloud architectures with automatic route propagation that adapts to network topology changes without manual intervention. This managed routing service is essential for Cloud VPN and Cloud Interconnect connections, establishing BGP sessions that advertise VPC subnet routes to on-premises networks and learn on-premises routes for programming into VPC routing tables.
The service operates regionally with Cloud Routers deployed in specific regions to manage routing for connections terminating in those regions. Each Cloud Router establishes BGP peering sessions with on-premises routers or provider edge devices, exchanging routing information bidirectionally. Route advertisements can be customized through filters and preferences, and route priorities influence path selection when multiple paths exist.
Cloud Router provides several benefits including automatic failover between redundant connections by withdrawing routes when tunnels or attachments fail, load distribution across multiple connections using BGP multipath, simplified operations by eliminating manual static route management, and graceful maintenance through route manipulation. BGP configurations include ASN assignment, IP address allocation, and MD5 authentication for session security.
Packet forwarding between instances uses VPC routing infrastructure rather than Cloud Router specifically. Load balancing uses dedicated load balancer services. NAT services use Cloud NAT. Cloud Router specifically enables dynamic routing through BGP protocol exchanges, providing the control plane that maintains current routing information between VPC networks and external networks.
Question 57
Which feature allows you to capture and analyze VPC network traffic for troubleshooting and monitoring?
A) Flow Logs
B) Packet Mirroring
C) Cloud NAT Logging
D) Firewall Rules Logging
Answer: B
Explanation:
Packet Mirroring captures and clones network traffic from specified VM instances, forwarding copies to collector destinations for analysis by network monitoring and security tools. This feature enables deep packet inspection, intrusion detection, application performance monitoring, forensic analysis, and troubleshooting of complex network issues by providing complete packet payloads rather than just metadata.
The service operates by mirroring traffic from source VM instances that can be specified individually or through subnet or tag-based selection. Mirrored traffic copies are encapsulated and forwarded to collector destinations typically running packet analysis tools like Wireshark, Snort, or commercial network monitoring appliances. Both ingress and egress traffic can be mirrored with filters limiting capture to specific protocols, IP ranges, or directions.
Packet Mirroring supports use cases including security monitoring where IDS/IPS systems analyze traffic for threats, application troubleshooting requiring full packet capture to diagnose protocol issues, compliance monitoring for regulatory requirements, and network performance analysis examining actual packet timing and contents. The mirrored traffic does not impact original traffic flow or application performance significantly.
Flow Logs provide metadata about connections without packet payloads. Cloud NAT Logging tracks NAT translations rather than capturing full packets. Firewall Rules Logging records allowed and denied connections based on firewall rules. Packet Mirroring specifically delivers complete packet capture capabilities enabling comprehensive traffic analysis for security, monitoring, and troubleshooting purposes.
Question 58
What is the maximum bandwidth supported by a single Dedicated Interconnect connection?
A) 10 Gbps
B) 50 Gbps
C) 100 Gbps
D) 200 Gbps
Answer: C
Explanation:
A single Dedicated Interconnect connection supports a maximum bandwidth of 100 Gbps, providing high-capacity private connectivity between on-premises networks and Google Cloud. Dedicated Interconnect offers two capacity options: 10 Gbps connections using 10GBASE-LR optics and 100 Gbps connections using 100GBASE-LR4 optics, enabling enterprises to choose appropriate bandwidth based on traffic requirements and cost considerations.
Organizations requiring aggregate bandwidth exceeding 100 Gbps can provision multiple Dedicated Interconnect connections, with up to eight connections per Interconnect location per project. These connections can be distributed across multiple colocation facilities for redundancy, combined into link aggregation groups for increased throughput, or associated with different VLANs serving separate purposes. Total aggregate bandwidth can reach 800 Gbps when using eight 100 Gbps connections.
The high bandwidth makes Dedicated Interconnect suitable for several scenarios including large-scale data migrations transferring petabytes to cloud storage, real-time data replication between on-premises databases and cloud instances, media workflows moving large video files, scientific computing requiring high-throughput access to cloud compute and storage, and enterprise hybrid cloud deployments with substantial traffic between environments.
Lower bandwidth requirements can use Partner Interconnect starting at 50 Mbps or Cloud VPN for smaller connections. The 100 Gbps maximum per connection combined with the ability to provision multiple connections provides the scalability needed for bandwidth-intensive enterprise hybrid cloud deployments while maintaining private connectivity and consistent network performance.
Question 59
Which load balancing option provides SSL offloading at the load balancer?
A) Network Load Balancer
B) Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancer
C) External HTTP(S) Load Balancer
D) External TCP/UDP Network Load Balancer
Answer: C
Explanation:
The External HTTP(S) Load Balancer provides SSL offloading capabilities, terminating SSL/TLS connections at the load balancer and forwarding unencrypted traffic to backend instances. This offloading reduces computational overhead on backend servers by centralizing encryption/decryption operations at the load balancer, simplifying certificate management through centralized SSL certificate storage, and enabling Layer 7 features that require visibility into unencrypted traffic content.
SSL termination occurs at Google’s global load balancing infrastructure with SSL certificates managed through Certificate Manager or uploaded directly. The load balancer supports modern TLS versions and cipher suites configured through SSL policies, automatic certificate renewal for Google-managed certificates, and multiple certificates per load balancer for serving different hostnames. SNI enables serving multiple domains from a single load balancer IP address.
After SSL termination, traffic can be forwarded to backends using HTTP (unencrypted) or HTTPS (re-encrypted) based on configuration. Forwarding unencrypted traffic to backends simplifies backend configuration and improves performance, appropriate when backend communication occurs within trusted VPC networks. Re-encryption provides end-to-end encryption when required by security policies or compliance requirements.
Network Load Balancer and External TCP/UDP Network Load Balancer operate at Layer 4 passing encrypted traffic directly to backends without SSL termination. Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancer handles internal traffic. The External HTTP(S) Load Balancer specifically provides Layer 7 capabilities including SSL offloading, enabling centralized certificate management and backend processing efficiency.
Question 60
What is the purpose of VPC Service Controls in Google Cloud?
A) To manage VM instance lifecycle
B) To create security perimeters around Google Cloud resources protecting against data exfiltration
C) To load balance traffic
D) To provide DNS resolution
Answer: B
Explanation:
VPC Service Controls creates security perimeters around Google Cloud resources, protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access and preventing data exfiltration by controlling access to managed services based on context including identity, IP address, device status, and resource location. This security feature implements defense-in-depth by adding an additional layer beyond IAM, protecting against compromised credentials and insider threats attempting to export data outside authorized perimeters.
Service perimeters define boundaries around projects containing sensitive resources, controlling which services can be accessed from within or outside the perimeter. Perimeter bridge configurations enable controlled access between separate perimeters for authorized cross-perimeter communication. Access levels define conditions for access based on IP addresses, device attributes, geographic location, or user identity attributes, implementing context-aware access control.
VPC Service Controls protects various Google Cloud services including Cloud Storage, BigQuery, Cloud Bigtable, Cloud Spanner, and others from unauthorized data access and exfiltration attempts. The service prevents data copying to unauthorized locations, blocks API access from untrusted networks or devices, and generates audit logs for security monitoring. Dry run mode enables testing policies before enforcement, preventing accidental service disruption.
VM lifecycle management uses Compute Engine controls. Load balancing uses dedicated load balancer services. DNS resolution uses Cloud DNS. VPC Service Controls specifically provides the security perimeter capabilities that protect sensitive data in Google Cloud services from exfiltration and unauthorized access through context-aware access policies and boundary enforcement.