Machine types and families (E2, N2, C2) in GCP - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to specify an E2 machine type in a GCP VM instance configuration.

GCP

machine_type = "zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/[1]"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ae2-medium

Bc2-standard-8

Cn2-standard-4

Dcustom-2-4096

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Choosing a machine type from a different family like N2 or C2.

Using a custom machine type string incorrectly.

The E2 machine family offers cost-effective general purpose VMs. Here, e2-medium is a valid E2 machine type.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to select a high-performance N2 machine type for a VM instance.

GCP

machine_type = "zones/us-west1-b/machineTypes/[1]"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ae2-small

Bc2-standard-4

Cn2-standard-8

De2-micro

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Selecting an E2 or C2 machine type instead of N2.

Choosing a smaller machine type than requested.

The N2 family provides balanced performance and is suitable for many workloads. n2-standard-8 is a valid N2 machine type with 8 vCPUs.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the machine type string to correctly specify a C2 machine type.

GCP

machine_type = "zones/europe-west1-c/machineTypes/[1]"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ac2-standard-4

Be2-standard-2

Cn2-standard-16

Dcustom-4-8192

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using machine types from other families like N2 or E2.

Using a custom machine type string incorrectly.

The C2 family is optimized for compute-intensive workloads. The correct machine type string for C2 is c2-standard-4.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a VM instance configuration with an N2 machine type and a zone in us-east1.

GCP

instance_config = {
  "zone": "[1]",
  "machine_type": "zones/[2]/machineTypes/n2-standard-4"
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aus-east1-b

Bus-central1-a

Cus-east1-c

Dus-west1-a

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using different zones in the two fields.

Choosing a zone outside the us-east1 region.

The zone must be consistent in both the zone field and the machine type path. Here, us-east1-b is used for both.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to define a VM instance with a C2 machine type, in europe-west1-b zone, and with a custom machine type suffix.

GCP

instance = {
  "zone": "[1]",
  "machine_type": "zones/[2]/machineTypes/c2-[3]"
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aeurope-west1-b

Beurope-west1-c

Cstandard-8

Dstandard-4

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing zones between europe-west1-b and europe-west1-c.

Using an incorrect machine type suffix.

The zone is europe-west1-b for both fields, and the machine type suffix standard-4 completes the C2 machine type.

Practice

1. Which Google Cloud machine family is best suited for cost-effective general use workloads?

easy

A. E2 family

B. N2 family

C. C2 family

D. M1 family

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of each machine family

   The E2 family is designed for cost-effective general use, N2 balances power and memory, and C2 is optimized for CPU-heavy tasks.

2. Step 2: Match the workload type to the machine family

   Since the question asks for cost-effective general use, E2 is the best fit.

3. Final Answer:

   E2 family -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Cost-effective general use = E2 [OK]

Hint: E2 means economical general use machines [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing C2 as cost-effective instead of CPU-optimized
• Choosing N2 for cost savings instead of balance
• Selecting a non-existent machine family like M1

2. Which of the following is the correct way to specify a C2 machine type in a Google Cloud VM instance configuration?

easy

A. machineType: 'zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/m1-standard-4'

B. machineType: 'zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/e2-standard-4'

C. machineType: 'zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/n2-standard-4'

D. machineType: 'zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/c2-standard-4'

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the correct machine family prefix for C2

   C2 machine types start with 'c2-', so the machine type string must include 'c2-standard-4'.

2. Step 2: Verify the full machineType format

   The format is 'zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machineType}', so 'zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/c2-standard-4' is correct.

3. Final Answer:

   machineType: 'zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/c2-standard-4' -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   C2 machine type string includes 'c2-' prefix [OK]

Hint: C2 machine types start with 'c2-' in the path [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'e2-' or 'n2-' prefix for C2 machines
• Incorrect zone or path format
• Using a non-existent machine family like 'm1-'

3. You launch a VM with machine type n2-standard-8. Which statement best describes this VM's characteristics?

medium

A. It is optimized for CPU-heavy workloads with 8 vCPUs.

B. It balances CPU and memory with 8 vCPUs and moderate RAM.

C. It is a cost-effective VM with limited CPU power.

D. It is a high-memory VM with 8 vCPUs and extra RAM.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the N2 machine family purpose

   N2 machines balance CPU power and memory, suitable for general workloads needing moderate resources.

2. Step 2: Analyze the machine type suffix

   'standard-8' means 8 virtual CPUs with balanced memory, not specialized for CPU-only or high-memory.

3. Final Answer:

   It balances CPU and memory with 8 vCPUs and moderate RAM. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   N2 = balanced CPU and memory [OK]

Hint: N2 means balanced CPU and memory machines [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing N2 with C2 which is CPU-optimized
• Thinking N2 is cost-effective like E2
• Assuming N2 is high-memory only

4. A user tries to create a VM with machine type c2-standard-16 but gets an error. Which is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The zone does not support C2 machine types with 16 vCPUs.

B. The machine type name is misspelled; it should be c2-standrd-16.

C. C2 machines cannot have more than 8 vCPUs.

D. The user must specify the machine type without the zone prefix.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check machine type naming and limits

   'c2-standard-16' is a valid machine type with 16 vCPUs; spelling is correct and allowed size.

2. Step 2: Consider zone availability

   Some zones do not support all machine types or sizes, so the error likely comes from zone limitations.

3. Final Answer:

   The zone does not support C2 machine types with 16 vCPUs. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Zone support limits cause machine type errors [OK]

Hint: Check zone supports machine type size before creating VM [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming spelling error when name is correct
• Believing C2 max vCPUs is 8 (it's higher)
• Ignoring zone prefix requirement in machineType

5. You need to run a CPU-intensive data processing job that requires maximum CPU power but moderate memory. Which machine type should you choose to optimize performance and cost?

hard

A. e2-standard-16

B. n2-highmem-16

C. c2-standard-16

D. e2-highcpu-16

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify workload requirements

   The job is CPU-intensive needing maximum CPU power with moderate memory.

2. Step 2: Match machine family to workload

   C2 family is optimized for CPU-heavy workloads, while E2 is cost-effective general use and N2-highmem is for memory-heavy tasks.

3. Step 3: Choose the best machine type

   Among options, 'c2-standard-16' provides high CPU power with balanced memory, fitting the requirement best.

4. Final Answer:

   c2-standard-16 -> Option C

5. Quick Check:

   CPU-heavy job = C2 machines [OK]

Hint: Use C2 for CPU-heavy jobs, not E2 or N2-highmem [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing E2 for CPU-heavy instead of cost-effective use
• Picking N2-highmem which wastes cost on extra memory
• Selecting E2-highcpu which is less powerful than C2