GKE vs Cloud Run decision in GCP - Practice Questions

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

When to choose GKE over Cloud Run?

You have a containerized application that requires fine-grained control over networking, persistent storage, and custom scheduling. Which platform is the best choice?

A Use GKE because it allows detailed control over networking, storage, and scheduling of containers.

B Use Cloud Run because it automatically scales and manages infrastructure without user control.

C Use Cloud Run because it supports stateful applications with persistent disks natively.

D Use GKE only if you want serverless deployment without managing clusters.

💡 Hint

Think about which platform gives you more control over infrastructure details.

GKE provides Kubernetes clusters where you can configure networking, storage, and scheduling. Cloud Run abstracts infrastructure and is best for stateless apps.

❓ service_behavior

intermediate

How does Cloud Run scale compared to GKE?

Consider a web service deployed on both Cloud Run and GKE. Which statement correctly describes their scaling behavior?

A GKE scales automatically without any configuration, Cloud Run requires manual scaling settings.

B Both Cloud Run and GKE scale only when manually triggered by the user.

C Cloud Run scales automatically based on incoming requests, while GKE requires manual or configured autoscaling.

D Cloud Run cannot scale beyond one instance, GKE can scale to many nodes automatically.

💡 Hint

Think about which platform is fully managed and serverless.

Cloud Run automatically scales container instances based on request load. GKE requires setting up autoscaling policies or manual scaling.

❓ Architecture

advanced

Designing a hybrid app with GKE and Cloud Run

You want to build an app where the backend API needs custom networking and persistent storage, but the frontend is a stateless service with unpredictable traffic. Which architecture is best?

A Deploy both backend and frontend on Cloud Run for simplicity and automatic scaling.

B Deploy backend on Cloud Run with persistent disks, frontend on GKE for better traffic handling.

C Deploy both backend and frontend on GKE to keep all services in one cluster.

D Deploy backend on GKE for control and persistent storage, frontend on Cloud Run for serverless scaling.

💡 Hint

Consider which platform supports persistent storage and which supports serverless scaling best.

GKE supports persistent storage and custom networking needed by backend. Cloud Run is ideal for frontend with unpredictable traffic due to automatic scaling.

❓ security

advanced

Security differences between GKE and Cloud Run

Which statement correctly describes a key security difference between GKE and Cloud Run?

A GKE automatically isolates containers with sandboxing, Cloud Run runs containers directly on host OS.

B Cloud Run runs containers in isolated sandboxes managed by Google, reducing attack surface compared to GKE nodes.

C Both GKE and Cloud Run require manual patching of the underlying OS for security updates.

D Cloud Run requires users to manage Kubernetes RBAC policies, GKE does not.

💡 Hint

Think about who manages the infrastructure and isolation in each platform.

Cloud Run runs containers in Google-managed sandboxes, enhancing security by isolating workloads. GKE nodes are managed by users and require patching and configuration.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Cost optimization when choosing between GKE and Cloud Run

Your team wants to minimize costs for a microservices app with variable traffic and some stateful components. Which approach best optimizes cost?

A Run stateless microservices on Cloud Run to pay per use, and stateful components on GKE with autoscaling.

B Run all microservices on GKE with a large cluster to handle peak load at all times.

C Run all microservices on Cloud Run to avoid cluster management and fixed costs.

D Run stateful components on Cloud Run with persistent disks and stateless on GKE for better control.

💡 Hint

Consider which platform charges you only when used and which is better for stateful workloads.

Cloud Run charges per request and scales to zero, reducing cost for variable traffic stateless services. GKE is better for stateful components with autoscaling to optimize resource use.