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How to become a Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer?

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How to become a Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer?

Passing any certification exam is difficult, but it adds a significant amount of weight to your resume. Gathering the right set of resources and preparing with the help of a proper planning strategy is the most viable way of passing any exam. A Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer is responsible for the implementation and management of network architectures in the Google Cloud Platform. Since the last decade, the cloud industry has been booming. The demand for cloud computing skills is increasing as more businesses adopt cloud services.

Let us know How to become a Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer!

About Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer

A Professional Cloud Network Engineer is responsible for the implementation and management of network architectures in the Google Cloud Platform. This person has at least one year of hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform and may work on networking or cloud teams with architects who design infrastructure. This individual ensures successful cloud implementations using the command line interface or the Google Cloud Platform Console by leveraging experience implementing VPCs, hybrid connectivity, network services, and security for established network architectures.

Exam Requirements

A Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer is someone who understands and can execute network architectures in the Google Cloud Platform. This certification exam is primarily concerned with recognizing and validating a candidate’s abilities to perform the role of a reputable Professional Cloud Network Engineer. However, the recommended exam experience is as follows:

  • To begin, you must have at least one year of hands-on experience with the Google Cloud Platform.
  • Second, practical work experience in networking or cloud teams with architects involved in infrastructure creation is required.
  • Finally, experience in the implementation of hybrid connectivity, VPCs, network services, and network architecture security is required.
  • Finally, familiarity with cloud implementations via the command-line interface or the GCP Console is required.

Let us now move on to the main point of the article –

How to become a Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer?

Selecting the best exam preparation strategy is critical for passing any certification exam. When it comes to the Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer Certification, you must make the right decision so that you can embark on a successful and rewarding career in the Google cloud platform. Let us begin with the planning –

Step 1 – Know in-depth about the exam syllabus

Below mentioned is the detailed course outline for the exam along with the documentation and whitepapers offered by Microsoft –

Topic 1: Designing, planning, and prototyping a Google Cloud network

1.1 Designing the overall network architecture. Considerations include:

1.2 Designing a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) instances. Considerations include:

1.3 Designing a hybrid and multi-cloud network. Considerations include:

  • Dedicated Interconnect vs. Partner Interconnect
  • Multi-cloud connectivity
  • Direct Peering (Google Documentation: Carrier Peering overview, Direct Peering overview)
  • IPsec VPN (Google Documentation: Cloud VPN overview)
  • Failover and disaster recovery strategy (Google Documentation: Disaster recovery scenarios for applications, Best practices for Cloud Router)
  • Regional vs. global VPC routing mode
  • Accessing multiple VPCs from on-premises locations (e.g., Shared VPC, multi-VPC peering topologies)
  • Bandwidth and constraints provided by hybrid connectivity solutions
  • Accessing Google Services/APIs privately from on-premises locations
  • IP address management across on-premises locations and cloud
  • DNS peering and forwarding

1.4 Designing a container IP addressing plan for Google Kubernetes Engine (Google Documentation: Network overview)

  • Public and private cluster nodes
  • Control plane public vs. private endpoints
  • Subnets and alias IPs
  • RFC 1918, non-RFC 1918, and privately used public IP (PUPI) address options
Topic 2: Implementing a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Instances

2.1 Configuring VPCs. Considerations include:

2.2 Configuring routing. Tasks include:

  • Static vs. dynamic routing
  • Global vs. regional dynamic routing
  • Routing policies using tags and priority
  • Internal load balancer as a next hop
  • Custom route import/export over VPC Network Peering
2.3 Configuring and maintaining Google Kubernetes Engine clusters. Considerations include:
  • VPC-native clusters using alias IPs (Google Documentation: Creating a VPC-native cluster)
  • Clusters with shared VPC (Google Documentation: Setting up clusters with Shared VPC)
  • Creating Kubernetes Network Policies
  • Private clusters and private control plane endpoints
  • Adding authorized networks for cluster control plane endpoints

2.4 Configuring and managing firewall rules. Considerations include:

2.5 Implementing VPC Service Controls. Considerations include:

  • Creating and configuring access levels and service perimeters
  • VPC accessible services
  • Perimeter bridges
  • Audit logging
  • Dry run mode
Topic 3: Configuring network services

3.1 Configuring load balancing. Considerations include:

  • Backend services and network endpoint groups (NEGs)
  • Firewall rules to allow traffic and health checks to backend services
  • Health checks for backend services and target instance groups
  • Configuring backends and backend services with balancing method (e.g., RPS, CPU, Custom), session affinity, and capacity scaling/scaler
  • TCP and SSL proxy load balancers (Google Documentation: TCP Proxy Load Balancing overview, SSL Proxy Load Balancing overview)
  • Load balancers (e.g., External TCP/UDP Network Load Balancing, Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancing, External HTTP(S) Load Balancing, Internal HTTP(S) Load Balancing)
  • Protocol forwarding
  • Accommodating workload increases using autoscaling vs. manual scaling

3.2 Configuring Google Cloud Armor policies. Considerations include:

  • Security policies
  • Web application firewall (WAF) rules (e.g., SQL injection, cross-site scripting, remote file inclusion)
  • Attaching security policies to load balancer backends

3.3 Configuring Cloud CDN. Considerations include:

3.4 Configuring and maintaining Cloud DNS. Considerations include:

3.5 Enabling other network services. Considerations include:

  • Addressing
  • Port allocations
  • Customizing timeouts
  • Logging and monitoring
  • Restrictions per organization policy constraints

3.6  Configuring network packet inspection. Considerations include: 

  • Packet Mirroring in single and multi-VPC topologies
  • Capturing relevant traffic using Packet Mirroring source and traffic filters
  • Routing and inspecting inter-VPC traffic using multi-NIC VMs (e.g., next-generation firewall appliances)
  • Configuring an internal load balancer as a next hop for highly available multi-NIC VM routing
Topic: 4 Implementing hybrid Interconnectivity

4.1 Configuring Cloud interconnect. Considerations include:

  • Dedicated Interconnect connections and VLAN attachments
  • Partner Interconnect connections and VLAN attachments

4.2 Configuring a site-to-site IPsec VPN. Considerations include:

  • High availability VPN (dynamic routing)
  • Classic VPN (e.g., route-based routing, policy-based routing)

4.3 Configuring Cloud Router:

  • Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) attributes (e.g., ASN, route priority/MED, link-local addresses)
  • Custom route advertisements via BGP
  • Deploying reliable and redundant Cloud Routers

Section 5: Managing, monitoring, and optimizing network operations

5.1 Logging and monitoring with Google Cloud’s operations suite. Considerations include:

  • Reviewing logs for networking components (e.g., VPN, Cloud Router, VPC Service Controls)
  • Monitoring networking components (e.g., VPN, Cloud Interconnect connections and interconnect attachments, Cloud Router, load balancers, Google Cloud Armor, Cloud NAT)

5.2 Managing and maintaining security. Considerations include:

  • Firewalls (e.g., cloud-based, private)
  • Diagnosing and resolving IAM issues (e.g., Shared VPC, security/network admin)

5.3 Maintaining and troubleshooting connectivity issues. Considerations include:

  • Draining and redirecting traffic flows with HTTP(S) Load Balancing
  • Monitoring ingress and egress traffic using VPC Flow Logs
  • Monitoring firewall logs and Firewall Insights
  • Managing and troubleshooting VPNs
  • Troubleshooting Cloud Router BGP peering issues

5.4 Monitoring, maintaining, and troubleshooting latency and traffic flow. Considerations include:

  • Testing network throughput and latency
  • Diagnosing routing issues
  • Using Network Intelligence Center to visualize topology, test connectivity, and monitor performance
Step 2 – Know about the Exam Format

Another thing that the candidate should be aware of is the exam’s fundamentals. These are some important details that an individual should be aware of before taking the exam –

  • 2 hours are allotted.
  • The registration fee is $200. (plus tax where applicable)
  • Languages: English
  • Exam format: Multiple choice and multiple select, administered in person at a testing facility.
  • None are required.
  • 3+ years of industry experience, including 1+ years designing and managing solutions using GCP, is preferred.
Step 3 – Gather all other important details about the exam

These are some policies of which you should be aware of when you will be taking this exam –

Certification Renewal / Recertification

For the sake of maintaining your certification status, you must be recertified. Unless otherwise stated in the exam descriptions, Google Cloud certifications are only valid for two years. Recertification attempts are permitted up to 60 days before the expiration date of your certification.

Failing and Retaking the Exam

If you fail the exam, you can retake it whenever it is convenient for you. However, a fourteen (14)-day waiting period is required before retaking the exam. If you fail the second attempt as well, you may retake the exam after a waiting period of at least sixty (60) days. You will only be allowed three retakes, with the third one requiring a one-year wait.

Step 4 – Refer to the best Resources

Different resources have distinct knowledge and comprehension sets. In academic life, however, revision should be done on a case-by-case basis. As a result, it is critical to match the type of revision you do on your source material.

The official site visit

The exam’s official website contains information about the exam’s various technical aspects. The official website also mentions several resources, including the Professional Collaboration Engineer Practice Exam and the G Suite Administration Specialization. Google also provides a platform for hands-on exam practice. This exam is intended to assess technical skills relevant to the job role. In addition to being familiar with the day-to-day tasks performed by the G Suite administrator, use Qwiklabs’ hands-on labs to learn about G Suite integrations to advance your knowledge and skills.

The books club

You can use any book that you are familiar with and that is appropriate for your level of understanding. You can also refer to the Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer Books that Google has recommended. Visiting libraries and conducting research on the best books on the market will help you improve the quality of your preparation to a greater extent. You can also consult Google’s documentation. You can even try out Testpreptraining.com’s online learning tutorials!

Practice papers and test series

Practice papers and test series are used to assess your level of preparation. They will assist you in identifying weak points in your preparation and will reduce the number of silly mistakes. Practicing for the exam in this manner will help you identify your flaws and reduce the likelihood of making mistakes on exam day. Many trustworthy sources, such as online educational sites, provide high-quality content. Now you can take a free Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer Practice Exam!

Online trainings and instructor led courses

For preparation, you can choose between Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer Trainings and instructor-led courses. They are sufficiently interactive and provide a forum for proper discussion. They also provide relevant study material such as notes and recorded lectures to help make things clear.

Step 5 – Take the exam in accordance with the Expert’s Advice

A practice run or two, regardless of how you prepare for the Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer Exam, can help you in more ways than you might think. Taking a practice test is an excellent way to diversify your study strategy and ensure the best results possible for the real thing. GCP provides the Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer Practice Exam to candidates for them to gain an understanding of the pattern of questions asked. Analyzing your answers will help you identify areas where you need to focus more attention, as well as your alignment with the exam objectives.

When a larger number of people are involved, the chances of resolving an issue improve dramatically. Furthermore, multiple points of view make the material more dynamic. These discussions broaden the scope of the studies. Introverts, who might otherwise prefer to avoid discussions, are allowed to express themselves. Forums are excellent for fostering a sense of community, which is essential for understanding others.

Anandita Doda
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