Google Cloud Interview Questions and Answers for 5 years experience

1. What are the core services offered by Google Cloud Platform (GCP)?

   • Answer: GCP offers a wide range of services, including Compute Engine (virtual machines), App Engine (PaaS), Kubernetes Engine (managed Kubernetes), Cloud Storage (object storage), Cloud SQL (managed databases), Cloud Spanner (globally-distributed database), BigQuery (data warehouse), Dataflow (stream and batch data processing), Dataproc (managed Hadoop/Spark), Cloud Functions (serverless functions), Cloud Run (serverless containers), and many more specialized services for AI/ML, networking, security, and management.

2. Explain the difference between Compute Engine and App Engine.

   • Answer: Compute Engine provides virtual machines (VMs) giving you complete control over the underlying infrastructure. App Engine is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) that handles much of the infrastructure management, allowing you to focus on your application code. App Engine is better suited for applications that don't require fine-grained control over the server environment, while Compute Engine offers greater flexibility and customization.

3. Describe your experience with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).

   • Answer: [This answer should be personalized to your experience. Example: "I have extensive experience managing and deploying applications on GKE. I've worked with various configurations, including setting up node pools, managing deployments using YAML manifests, utilizing horizontal pod autoscaling, and implementing robust monitoring and logging using tools like Prometheus and Grafana. I'm familiar with concepts like pods, deployments, services, and namespaces, and have experience troubleshooting common Kubernetes issues."]

4. How do you handle scaling in GCP?

   • Answer: GCP offers various scaling mechanisms depending on the service used. For Compute Engine, I would use managed instance groups with autoscaling based on metrics like CPU utilization or custom metrics. For App Engine, automatic scaling is readily available, adjusting instances based on request traffic. For GKE, I would leverage Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) to automatically scale the number of pods based on resource utilization or custom metrics. I'd also consider using vertical pod autoscaling to adjust resources allocated to individual pods.

5. Explain Cloud Storage buckets and their access control.

   • Answer: Cloud Storage buckets are containers for storing objects (files) in Google Cloud Storage. Access control is managed using IAM (Identity and Access Management), allowing granular control over who can read, write, and list objects within a bucket. This involves assigning roles (e.g., Storage Object Admin, Storage Object Viewer) to users, service accounts, or groups, with fine-grained control via bucket-level and object-level access control lists.

6. What are different types of Cloud Storage classes and when would you use them?

   • Answer: Google Cloud Storage offers various storage classes optimized for different use cases and price points. These include Standard (high availability and performance), Nearline (cost-effective for data accessed less frequently), Coldline (for archival data), and Archive (for long-term, infrequent access). The choice depends on the data's access frequency, retrieval time requirements, and cost considerations.

7. How would you design a highly available and scalable architecture on GCP?

   • Answer: A highly available and scalable architecture on GCP would leverage multiple availability zones, load balancing (using Cloud Load Balancing), redundant storage (using Cloud Storage with multiple regions), and autoscaling features for Compute Engine, App Engine, or GKE. Database choices would depend on the application's needs, potentially using Cloud Spanner for global distribution and high availability or Cloud SQL with read replicas for regional redundancy. A well-defined disaster recovery plan would also be crucial.

8. Discuss your experience with Google Cloud SQL.

   • Answer: [This answer needs to be personalized. Example: "I've worked extensively with Cloud SQL, primarily using MySQL and PostgreSQL instances. I've configured high availability using read replicas and managed backups. I understand the importance of performance tuning and have experience optimizing query performance using appropriate indexing and query optimization techniques. I'm also familiar with setting up and managing Cloud SQL connections securely."]

Thank you for reading our blog post on 'Google Cloud Interview Questions and Answers for 5 years experience'.We hope you found it informative and useful.Stay tuned for more insightful content!