34 Must Know GCP Interview Questions for 2024

Suppose you are appearing in an interview for the GCP beginner role. In that case, it’s important to have a basic understanding of the Google Cloud Platform. Also, it must have the quality to communicate with the team in deployment and communicate effectively with a technical and non-technical persons. So, in this article, you will learn interview questions related to GCP.

You can start by giving the introduction of GCP, like, “Google Cloud Platform is a cloud computing platform that offers a range of services, including computing, storage, networking, data analytics, machine learning, and more.”

Tips to Prepare for Technical Interview

To clear any company interview, you need to follow the right path; here are a few tips to prepare for the technical interview to increase your chances of success.

• Research about the company
• Review the job description
• Brush up on technical skills and projects
• Practice coding problems
• Be familiar with your resume
• Practice communicating technical concepts
• Prepare Frequently asked questions

Beginner-Level Interview Questions

Q1. What are the different services offered by GCP?

Here is the list of services which is offered by GCP:

• Storage
• Databases
• Networking
• Compute
• Operations
• Developer Tools
• Data Analytics
• AI and Machine Learning
• Vertex AI, AI Platform, and Accelerators.

It’s not limited; click here for detailed information.

Q2. What is Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)?

That’s a fancy name for a platform that allows us to manage and run your containerized applications on Google Cloud easily. Basically, GKE allows you to focus on developing your application and leave the infrastructure management to Google. It also provides a scalable, reliable, and highly available environment for your application to run on. Click here for detailed information.

Q3. What is Google BigQuery?

BigQuery can do all kinds of things, like help us to analyze large amounts of data and predict trends in our data, visualize it in cool ways, and even handle streaming data in real time. So basically, it’s a super handy way to manage all your big data needs!

Source: GCP Docs

Q4. What is Cloud SQL?

Google’s cloud-based solution for managing and storing data. This platform provides us with a secure, reliable database solution to store our data in an efficient way.

Q5. What is Cloud Pub/Sub?

Cloud Pub/Sub works on the principle of publish-subscribe, where publishers can send messages to a topic, and subscribers can receive those messages from the topic. This messaging service can handle a high volume of messages per second and provides various features such as message retention, ordering, and push or pull delivery modes.

Intermediate-Level GCP Interview Questions

Q6. What is the billing structure for GCP?

GCP charges customers based on the resources they consume, such as computing, storage, network, and other services. These resources are billed by the minute or by the hour, depending on the service. The new user will get $300 in free credits to run, test, and deploy workloads. Visit (Cloud Billing) for detailed information.

Q7. How do you secure a Google Cloud Platform project?

Securing a Google Cloud Platform project involves implementing a range of security best practices to protect your data and resources from unauthorised access, malicious attacks, and other security threats, like:

• Set up strong authentications, strong passwords, and access controls
• Encrypt your data implement firewalls and network security
• Regularly monitor and audit your project
• Implement security best practices

Q8. Describe Cloud IAM.

With Cloud IAM, administrators can grant or revoke access to individual users or groups of users. They can assign specific roles to those users, allowing them to perform specific actions on resources. For example, an administrator could grant a developer the ability to create and manage virtual machines while denying them access to the billing information for the project.

Source: GCP Docs

Q9. What is a load balancer in GCP?

A load balancer is a service that distributes incoming network traffic across multiple backend instances or services to ensure that the workload is evenly distributed and that the system remains highly available and responsive to user requests.

Following load balancers available in GCP,

• HTTP(S) Load Balancer
• Network Load Balancer
• Internal Load Balancer

Q10. What is a snapshot in GCP?

A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of a persistent disk. Snapshots are used for data backup, disaster recovery, and migrating data between regions.

Also Read: Top 100 Latest Data Science Interview Questions & Answers 2024

Advance-Level GCP Interview Questions

Q11. What is Google Cloud CDN?

Google Cloud CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a network of servers situated globally that provides the content to users according to their geographical location. It helps in delivering web content, video, and other data quickly and reliably, enhancing the user experience.

Source: GCP Docs

Q12. How can you use the GCP BigQuery API to run a SQL query and fetch the results?

To use the GCP BigQuery API to run a SQL query and fetch the results, you can follow these steps:

from google.cloud import bigquery

# Set up the BigQuery client object
client = bigquery.Client(project='<project_id>', credentials='<path_to_credentials_file>')

# Build the query configuration
query = '''
    SELECT *
    FROM `bigquery-public-data.samples.natality`
    LIMIT 100
'''
query_config = bigquery.QueryJobConfig()
query_config.query = query

# Create and submit the query job
query_job = client.query(query, job_config=query_config)

# Wait for the job to complete
query_job.result()

# Retrieve the results and process them
results = query_job.result()
for row in results:
    print(row)

First, we need to create a client object using bigquery.Client() constructor. At that point we’ll characterize the SQL query which we need to execute. At that point, we’ll yield the query to the BigQuery benefit utilizing the client object’s query() method. This returns a query_job question that speaks to the job that was made to run the query. Able to at that point call the result() method on the query_job protest to get the comes about of the query.

Q13. Explain the use of VPC Peering in GCP.

VPC peering is a great networking tool that lets you link two virtual private clouds (VPCs) so they can chat with each other using private IP addresses. This can be super useful if you’ve got stuff spread out across different regions or want to keep certain resources isolated but still accessible.

By setting up a VPC peering connection between them, you can create a secure and private connection that doesn’t require any internet access. This way, your VPCs can share resources like databases, storage, or application services without exposing them to the public internet. Pretty nifty, huh?

Source: GCP Docs

Some use cases and benefits of VPC Peering in GCP:

• Shared Resources
• Cost Savings
• Improved Security
• High Availability

Also Read: 90+ Python Interview Questions to Ace Your Next Job Interview in 2024

Multiple Choice Question

Get GCP-ready with our MCQs! Test your knowledge and see how much you know about Google Cloud Platform.

Q14. Which of the following options lists the main features of cloud services?

(A). On-premises deployment, high upfront costs, limited scalability.

(B). Shared resources, pay-per-use billing, scalability.

(C). Dedicated infrastructure, resource pooling, limited availability.

Answer: B> Shared resources, pay-per-use billing, scalability.

Q15. Which of the following options best describes the advantage(s) of using cloud computing?

(A). Higher upfront costs, dedicated infrastructure, limited accessibility.

(B). Reduced capital expenditure, on-demand scalability, high availability.

(C). Limited flexibility, longer deployment times, reduced security.

Answer: B> Reduced capital expenditure, on-demand scalability, high availability.

Q16. Which of the following options lists the platforms commonly used for large-scale cloud computing?

(A). Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Oracle Database.

(B). Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure.

(C). Dropbox, iCloud, Box. WordPress, Shopify, Wix.

Answer: B> Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure.

Q17. Which of the following options lists the different deployment models in cloud computing?

(A). Public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud.

(B). Open-source cloud, closed-source cloud, hybrid cloud.

(C). Single-tenant cloud, multi-tenant cloud, community cloud.

Answer: A> Public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud.

Q18. Which of the following options best describes how a user can benefit from utility computing?

(A). By having complete control over the infrastructure and underlying hardware.

(B). By paying a fixed monthly fee for a set amount of resources, regardless of usage.

(C). Paying only for the number of computing resources used, resulting in cost savings.

Answer: C> Paying only for the number of computing resources used, resulting in cost savings.

Q19. Which of the following options describes how to ensure the security of data during transfer?

(A). By storing the data on a physical hard drive and shipping it to the recipient.

(B). By transmitting the data over a public network without any encryption.

(C). By transmitting the data over a private network with end-to-end encryption.

Answer: C> By transmitting the data over a private network with end-to-end encryption.

Q20. What is the purpose of Google Cloud Functions?

(A). To provide a fully managed, serverless compute service that can be used for event-driven, on-demand functions.

(B). To provide a managed platform for building and deploying containerized applications.

(C). To provide a managed, scalable NoSQL document database

Answer: A) To provide a fully managed, serverless compute service that can be used for event-driven, on-demand functions.

Important Questions

Here are a few more important questions that can be encountered during the interview.

Q21. Have you ever worked with GCP’s Cloud Functions? If so, can you give me an example of how you used them in a project and how they helped streamline your application’s architecture?

A. Yes, I utilized GCP’s Cloud Functions in a project for real-time event processing. For example, I implemented a function to resize images dynamically upon upload, reducing latency and operational complexities in the application’s architecture.

Q22. How does cloud computing provide on-demand functionality?

A. Cloud computing provides on-demand functionality by offering scalable and accessible computing resources over the internet. Users can request and use resources like servers, storage, and services as needed, paying only for what they consume.

Q23. What are the various layers in the cloud architecture?

A. Cloud architecture consists of infrastructure (hardware and software), platform (development and runtime environments), and application (software applications over the internet) layers.

Q24. What are the libraries and tools for cloud storage on GCP?

A. Libraries and tools for GCP cloud storage include Google Cloud Storage Client Libraries, gsutil, Cloud Storage JSON API, and Cloud Storage XML API.

Q25. What are some of the popular open-source cloud computing platforms?

A. OpenStack, Cloud Foundry, and Kubernetes are popular open-source cloud computing platforms.

Q26. Explain what the different modes of software are as a service (SaaS)?

A6. SaaS modes include Single-Tenant SaaS (dedicated instance per customer), Multi-Tenant SaaS (shared infrastructure among customers), and Common SaaS (shared codebase with customization options).

Q27. How do you handle infrastructure as code in GCP?

A. Infrastructure as code in GCP is managed using tools like Terraform or Deployment Manager, enabling declarative and version-controlled infrastructure definitions.

Q28. What is the benefit of API in the cloud domain?

A. APIs in the cloud facilitate seamless integration, allowing different services to communicate, exchange data, and access functionalities across diverse cloud environments.

Q29. What is your experience with GCP networking, including VPNs, subnets, firewall rules, and load balancing?

A. I have experience configuring GCP networking components, including VPNs, subnets, firewall rules, and load balancing, to ensure secure, scalable, and high-performance network infrastructure.

Q30. What is the Function of a Bucket in Google Cloud Storage?

A. In Google Cloud Storage, a bucket acts as a container for storing objects, organizing data, setting permissions, and facilitating storage and retrieval.

Q31. What is eucalyptus?

A11. Eucalyptus is an open-source software framework enabling the creation of private and hybrid clouds, compatible with the AWS API.

Q32. Explain “Google Cloud Machine Images”?

Google Cloud Machine Images (GCMI) are pre-configured virtual machine images, providing a consistent deployment method for applications across different environments.

Q33. Can you walk me through a project you worked on that involved using GCP’s Pub/Sub service for real-time data streaming? What was your role in the project, and what challenges did you face?

A. Certainly, I integrated GCP’s Pub/Sub for real-time data streaming in a project. My role included designing and implementing the messaging architecture. Challenges included ensuring low-latency and handling varying data volumes.

Q34. Describe the security aspects that the cloud offers.

A. The cloud offers security through features like identity and access management, encryption, secure networking, and tools such as Cloud Security Scanner and Security Command Center for monitoring and enhancing security.

Also Read: Step-by-Step Roadmap to Become a Data Engineer in 2024

Conclusion

I trust that you comprehended today’s reading material. If you were able to answer all the questions, I applaud you! You are making excellent progress in your preparation. However, if you weren’t able to answer them all, there’s no cause for alarm. The true benefit of today’s blog will arise when you can assimilate these ideas and use them to tackle the interview questions that lie ahead.

To summarize for you, the key takeaways from this article would be:

• Cloud IAM is used to grant or revoke access to users or groups and assign specific roles to those users.
• GCP charges customers based on the resources they consume, and new users can receive $300 in free credits.
• Securing a GCP project involves implementing security best practices, such as setting up strong authentication, encrypting data, implementing firewalls, and monitoring the project regularly.

If you go through these thoroughly and understand the concepts in this blog, you’ll have a solid foundation in GCP. You can feel confident in your ability to answer related questions in the future. I’m glad this blog was helpful, and I hope it added value to your knowledge.

Best of luck with your GCP interview preparation and future endeavors!

Abhishek Pratap Singh 30 Jan 2024