Pull vs push subscriptions in GCP - Hands-On Comparison

Understanding Pull vs Push Subscriptions in Google Cloud Pub/Sub

📖 Scenario: You are working on a cloud messaging system using Google Cloud Pub/Sub. You want to understand how to create and configure pull and push subscriptions to receive messages from a topic.

🎯 Goal: Build two subscriptions for a Pub/Sub topic: one pull subscription and one push subscription with a specified endpoint.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a Pub/Sub topic named my-topic

Create a pull subscription named my-pull-subscription for my-topic

Create a push subscription named my-push-subscription for my-topic with push endpoint https://example.com/push

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Cloud Pub/Sub is used to decouple services by sending messages asynchronously. Pull and push subscriptions are two ways to receive these messages depending on your application's needs.

💼 Career

Understanding how to configure pull and push subscriptions is essential for cloud engineers and developers working with event-driven architectures on Google Cloud.

1

Create the Pub/Sub topic

Create a Pub/Sub topic named my-topic using the gcloud command.

GCP

# Use gcloud command to create the topic
# Your code here

Hint

Use gcloud pubsub topics create my-topic to create the topic.

2

Create a pull subscription

Create a pull subscription named my-pull-subscription for the topic my-topic using the gcloud command.

GCP

gcloud pubsub topics create my-topic
# Create a pull subscription named my-pull-subscription
# Your code here

Hint

Use gcloud pubsub subscriptions create my-pull-subscription --topic=my-topic to create the pull subscription.

3

Create a push subscription

Create a push subscription named my-push-subscription for the topic my-topic with the push endpoint https://example.com/push using the gcloud command.

GCP

gcloud pubsub topics create my-topic
gcloud pubsub subscriptions create my-pull-subscription --topic=my-topic
# Create a push subscription named my-push-subscription with push endpoint https://example.com/push
# Your code here

Hint

Use gcloud pubsub subscriptions create my-push-subscription --topic=my-topic --push-endpoint=https://example.com/push to create the push subscription.

4

Verify subscriptions

Use the gcloud command to list all subscriptions for the topic my-topic to verify both subscriptions exist.

GCP

gcloud pubsub topics create my-topic
gcloud pubsub subscriptions create my-pull-subscription --topic=my-topic
gcloud pubsub subscriptions create my-push-subscription --topic=my-topic --push-endpoint=https://example.com/push
# List subscriptions for my-topic
# Your code here

Hint

Use gcloud pubsub subscriptions list --topic=my-topic to see all subscriptions for the topic.

Practice

1. What is the main difference between a pull subscription and a push subscription in Google Cloud Pub/Sub?

easy

A. Pull subscriptions send messages automatically; push subscriptions require your app to request messages.

B. Pull subscriptions are faster than push subscriptions in all cases.

C. Pull subscriptions only work with HTTP; push subscriptions only work with gRPC.

D. Pull subscriptions require your app to request messages; push subscriptions send messages automatically.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand pull subscription behavior

   Pull subscriptions require the client application to ask for messages explicitly.

2. Step 2: Understand push subscription behavior

   Push subscriptions automatically send messages to the client via HTTP POST.

3. Final Answer:

   Pull subscriptions require your app to request messages; push subscriptions send messages automatically. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Pull = request, Push = automatic [OK]

Hint: Pull means ask; push means receive automatically [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing which subscription type initiates message delivery
• Thinking push requires app to poll for messages
• Assuming pull subscriptions send messages automatically

2. Which of the following is the correct way to configure a push subscription endpoint URL in Google Cloud Pub/Sub?

easy

A. Set the subscription's pushConfig with a valid HTTPS URL where messages will be sent.

B. Set the subscription's pullConfig with the endpoint URL to pull messages.

C. Configure the subscription with a TCP socket address for push delivery.

D. Use the subscription's pushConfig with an FTP URL for message delivery.

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct pushConfig usage

   Push subscriptions require setting pushConfig with a valid HTTPS URL for message delivery.

2. Step 2: Eliminate incorrect options

   PullConfig does not exist; TCP and FTP are not supported protocols for push endpoints.

3. Final Answer:

   Set the subscription's pushConfig with a valid HTTPS URL where messages will be sent. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   PushConfig needs HTTPS URL [OK]

Hint: Push subscriptions need HTTPS URL in pushConfig [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using pullConfig instead of pushConfig
• Setting non-HTTPS URLs for push endpoints
• Confusing pull and push subscription settings

3. Consider this code snippet for a pull subscription client in Python using Google Cloud Pub/Sub:

from google.cloud import pubsub_v1
subscriber = pubsub_v1.SubscriberClient()
subscription_path = subscriber.subscription_path('my-project', 'my-sub')
response = subscriber.pull(subscription=subscription_path, max_messages=1)
print(len(response.received_messages))

What will this code print if there is exactly one message available in the subscription?

medium

A. Error due to missing ack

B. 0

C. 1

D. None

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand pull method behavior

   The pull method requests messages; if one message is available, it returns it in received_messages.

2. Step 2: Check printed output

   len(response.received_messages) will be 1 because exactly one message is pulled.

3. Final Answer:

   1 -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   One message pulled means length is 1 [OK]

Hint: Pull returns messages list; length matches available messages [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming pull returns zero without ack
• Expecting error if ack is missing
• Confusing pull with push subscription behavior

4. You have a push subscription configured, but your app is not receiving any messages. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The push endpoint URL is incorrect or unreachable.

B. The subscription is set to pull instead of push.

C. The app forgot to call pull() method.

D. The topic has no messages published.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check push subscription delivery requirements

   Push subscriptions require a reachable, correct HTTPS endpoint to deliver messages.

2. Step 2: Analyze other options

   Pull vs push setting is fixed; pull() is not used in push; no messages means no delivery but question implies messages exist.

3. Final Answer:

   The push endpoint URL is incorrect or unreachable. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Push needs correct reachable URL [OK]

Hint: Push needs reachable endpoint URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing pull and push subscription methods
• Assuming pull() is needed for push subscriptions
• Ignoring network or URL errors

5. You want to design a system that processes messages only when your app is ready and can control the rate of message processing. Which subscription type should you choose and why?

hard

A. Push subscription, because it retries sending messages until acknowledged.

B. Pull subscription, because your app controls when to request messages.

C. Push subscription, because messages are sent automatically and fast.

D. Pull subscription, because it automatically scales message delivery.

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify control needs

   The app wants to control when and how fast messages are processed.

2. Step 2: Match subscription type to control

   Pull subscriptions let the app ask for messages when ready, controlling rate and timing.

3. Final Answer:

   Pull subscription, because your app controls when to request messages. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Pull = app controls message flow [OK]

Hint: Choose pull to control message processing timing [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing push for control over message rate
• Assuming push retries mean better control
• Thinking pull auto-scales delivery