Google Cloud: Associate Cloud Engineer FAQ

To become a Google Certified Associate Cloud Engineer, a candidate should be able to demonstrate the following skills:

• Understand and use core GCP services and tools.
• Design and develop cloud-based solutions using GCP.
• Deploy and manage applications on GCP.
• Maintain and monitor cloud-based solutions.
• Manage and analyze data on GCP.
• Understand and use GCP networking, security, and compliance features.
• Understand and use API's to manage GCP resources.
• Understand the economic and financial aspects of GCP.

The exam covers a wide range of topics, including Google Cloud Platform fundamentals, application development, application deployment and management, and data management and analysis. To prepare for the exam, you can study the official exam guide and take online courses or practice exams. You may also want to gain practical experience by working with Google Cloud Platform on a personal project or through your job.

In a two-part crash course, we covered a variety of topics, including cloud storage in GCP. Here are a few questions we answered.

What is most important to know about Cloud Storage?

Here are some key points to know about Cloud Storage on Google Cloud:

1. Cloud Storage is a fully-managed, scalable, and highly available object storage service on Google Cloud.
2. It allows you to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web.
3. Cloud Storage is designed to be highly durable, with a data durability of 99.999999999% (eleven 9's).
4. It offers a range of storage classes to meet different performance, availability, and durability needs, including Coldline, Nearline, Standard, and Regional.
5. You can access Cloud Storage using a variety of methods, including a RESTful API, client libraries, and a console.
6. Cloud Storage integrates with a number of other Google Cloud services, such as BigQuery, Cloud Functions, and Cloud Pub/Sub, to enable data analysis, real-time processing, and event-driven workflows.
7. Cloud Storage is secure, with features such as encryption at rest and in transit, access control, and auditing to help protect your data.
8. It is also cost-effective, with a pay-as-you-go pricing model and a number of discounts and promotions available.

How do I determine which storage type to use in Google Cloud platform?

To determine which storage type to use in Google Cloud, you should consider the following factors:

1. Performance: Different storage classes offer different performance levels. For example, Standard storage provides higher performance than Coldline or Nearline storage, but also costs more.
2. Availability: Consider the availability requirements of your data. Some storage classes, such as Standard, offer higher availability than others, but at a higher cost.
3. Durability: Consider the durability requirements of your data. All Cloud Storage classes offer high durability, but some offer higher durability than others.
4. Cost: Determine your budget and choose the storage class that meets your performance, availability, and durability requirements at the lowest cost.
5. Access patterns: Consider how you will be accessing your data. Some storage classes, such as Standard and Nearline, are optimized for frequent access, while others, such as Coldline and Archive, are optimized for infrequent access.
6. Data retention: Consider how long you need to retain your data. Some storage classes, such as Coldline and Archive, offer lower costs for storing data for a longer period of time.
7. Compliance requirements: If you have specific compliance requirements, such as HIPAA or GDPR, consider whether a particular storage class meets those requirements.

By considering these factors, you can choose the storage class that best meets the needs of your use case. You can also use the Cloud Storage Pricing Calculator to estimate the cost of different storage classes for your data.

What is Cloud SQL?

Cloud SQL is a fully-managed database service on Google Cloud Platform that makes it easy to set up, maintain, manage, and administer your relational databases on the cloud. It is a fully-managed service, which means that Google Cloud Platform takes care of all the underlying infrastructure and maintenance tasks, such as patching, backups, and replication.

Cloud SQL supports a number of popular database engines, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server, so you can choose the one that best fits your needs. It also offers high availability, scalability, and security features, such as automatic replicas, encryption at rest, and network isolation, to help you protect your data and keep your databases running smoothly.

You can use Cloud SQL to store and retrieve structured data from your applications, such as customer information, sales data, and product catalogs. You can connect to Cloud SQL from your applications using standard database APIs, such as JDBC and ODBC, and use a variety of tools, such as the Cloud SQL Admin API, the Cloud SQL Proxy, and the Cloud Console, to manage your databases.

Watch the crash course replays to dive deeper on this and other topics related to this Google Cloud certification. 

GCP Crash Course: Part 1

GCP Crash Course: Part 2

At Cloud Institute, we want to make sure you pass your exam the first time and will guarantee it. Schedule a call to learn more about our Google Cloud coaching and lab training and exam-pass guarantee.