Custom domains in GCP - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding DNS Records for Custom Domains

You want to connect your custom domain to a Google Cloud service. Which DNS record type is typically required to point your domain to a Google-managed service IP address?

A MX record

B A record

C TXT record

D CNAME record

💡 Hint

Think about the record that maps a domain to an IP address.

An A record maps a domain name to an IPv4 address, which is necessary to point your custom domain to the IP address of a Google Cloud service.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Configuring a Custom Domain for App Engine

You want to configure a custom domain for your Google App Engine app. Which step is not required?

A Verify domain ownership in Google Search Console

B Create a DNS TXT record to prove ownership

C Add a DNS record pointing your domain to the App Engine service

D Set up a firewall rule to allow traffic from your domain

💡 Hint

Think about what is needed to connect a domain to a service versus network security settings.

Firewall rules control network traffic but are not required to configure a custom domain for App Engine. Domain verification and DNS records are required.

❓ Architecture

advanced

Designing a Secure Custom Domain Setup

You want to serve your website on a custom domain using Google Cloud Load Balancer with HTTPS. Which architecture ensures the best security and performance?

A Use a Google-managed SSL certificate on the load balancer and point your domain's A record to the load balancer IP

B Use a self-signed SSL certificate on backend instances and point your domain's CNAME to the backend IP

C Use HTTP only on the load balancer and redirect HTTPS traffic at the backend

D Use a third-party SSL certificate on backend instances and point your domain's MX record to the load balancer

💡 Hint

Consider where SSL termination should happen for best security and performance.

Google-managed SSL certificates on the load balancer provide automatic renewal and SSL termination at the edge, improving security and performance. The domain should point to the load balancer IP via an A record.

❓ service_behavior

advanced

Behavior of Custom Domain Mapping in Cloud Run

After mapping a custom domain to a Cloud Run service, what happens if you delete the DNS record pointing to the Cloud Run domain?

A Traffic is redirected to the default Cloud Run URL without interruption

B Cloud Run automatically updates DNS to restore the record

C The custom domain stops resolving to your Cloud Run service, causing downtime

D The service continues to respond on the custom domain without DNS

💡 Hint

Think about how DNS controls domain name resolution.

If the DNS record is deleted, the domain name no longer points to the Cloud Run service IP, so users cannot reach the service via the custom domain, causing downtime.

❓ security

expert

Preventing Domain Hijacking in Custom Domain Setup

Which practice best prevents unauthorized users from hijacking your custom domain when using Google Cloud services?

A Enable domain ownership verification and restrict DNS record changes to trusted users

B Use wildcard DNS records to cover all subdomains automatically

C Disable HTTPS to avoid certificate mismatches

D Share your Google Cloud credentials with your DNS provider

💡 Hint

Think about controlling who can prove ownership and change DNS settings.

Verifying domain ownership and restricting DNS changes to trusted users prevents attackers from redirecting your domain to malicious services.