Storage commands (gsutil) in GCP - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ service_behavior

intermediate

Understanding gsutil cp behavior with directories

You run the command gsutil cp -r ./localdir gs://my-bucket/backup/. What will be the result in the bucket?

A Only the files in the root of <code>localdir</code> will be copied, subfolders will be ignored.

B All files inside <code>localdir</code> will be copied directly into <code>backup/</code> without creating a <code>localdir</code> folder.

C A new folder named <code>localdir</code> will be created inside <code>backup/</code> with all files copied inside it.

D The command will fail because <code>gsutil cp</code> does not support recursive copying.

💡 Hint

Think about how gsutil cp -r handles directory structures when copying.

The -r flag copies directories recursively, preserving the directory name. So localdir becomes a folder inside backup/.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Setting ACLs with gsutil

You want to make all objects in gs://my-bucket/data/ publicly readable using gsutil. Which command achieves this?

A gsutil acl set public-read gs://my-bucket/data/**

B gsutil iam ch allUsers:objectViewer gs://my-bucket/data

C gsutil set-acl public-read gs://my-bucket/data

D gsutil acl ch -u AllUsers:R gs://my-bucket/data/**

💡 Hint

Consider the difference between ACLs and IAM policies in gsutil.

gsutil acl ch -u AllUsers:R gs://my-bucket/data/** uses the ** wildcard to recursively add read permission for all users on all objects matching the data/ prefix. The acl set public-read command replaces the ACL and is not recursive by default. IAM policies apply at the bucket level to all objects.

❓ Architecture

advanced

Optimizing gsutil for large data transfers

You need to upload 10 TB of data to a bucket quickly. Which gsutil option helps maximize upload speed?

A Use <code>gsutil cp -m</code> to enable multi-threaded uploads.

B Use <code>gsutil cp --quiet</code> to reduce output and speed up uploads.

C Use <code>gsutil rsync</code> without any flags for faster transfer.

D Use <code>gsutil cp -r</code> to recursively upload files in parallel.

💡 Hint

Think about how gsutil can upload multiple files at once.

The -m flag enables parallel (multi-threaded/multi-processing) uploads, which speeds up large data transfers significantly.

❓ security

advanced

Preventing accidental deletion with gsutil

You want to prevent accidental deletion of objects in your bucket using gsutil. Which feature should you enable?

A Enable Object Versioning on the bucket.

B Use <code>gsutil rm -n</code> to simulate deletions.

C Set bucket IAM policy to deny delete permissions.

D Use <code>gsutil cp -n</code> to prevent overwriting.

💡 Hint

Think about how to recover deleted objects.

Object Versioning keeps old versions of objects, so if deleted accidentally, you can restore them.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Efficiently syncing local and cloud storage with gsutil

You want to keep a local directory and a bucket folder in sync, copying only changed files and deleting removed files in the bucket. Which gsutil command and flags achieve this?

A gsutil cp -m -r ./localdir gs://my-bucket/folder

B gsutil rsync -d -r ./localdir gs://my-bucket/folder

C gsutil rsync -r ./localdir gs://my-bucket/folder

D gsutil cp -n -r ./localdir gs://my-bucket/folder

💡 Hint

Consider how to delete files in the destination that no longer exist in the source.

The gsutil rsync command with -d deletes extra files in the destination, and -r syncs recursively.