How to prepare for GCP — Azure & AWS — Cloud Architect interviews with selective practice questions to crack interviews

Biswanath Giri

8 min readJul 22, 2024

1. Understand the Role and Requirements

Role Overview: Cloud Architects design, implement, and manage cloud solutions. They need to understand cloud infrastructure, security, networking, and application deployment.
Key Skills: Proficiency in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), understanding of cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), architectural best practices, security, and cost management.

2. Deep Dive into Cloud Platforms

AWS: Learn about EC2, S3, RDS, VPC, IAM, CloudFormation, CloudWatch, and other AWS services.
Azure: Understand Azure VMs, Blob Storage, Azure SQL Database, Virtual Networks, Azure AD, and Resource Manager.
GCP: Get familiar with Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, BigQuery, VPC, IAM, and Cloud Build.

3. Study Core Concepts

Cloud Service Models: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS.
Networking: VPC, subnets, security groups, load balancing.
Security: IAM, encryption, compliance, security best practices.
Storage: Object storage vs. block storage, data backup, and disaster recovery.
Compute: Scaling, instance types, serverless computing.

4. Hands-On Experience

Practice Labs: Use the free tiers of cloud platforms to gain hands-on experience.
Projects: Build and deploy sample applications, set up infrastructure, and manage resources.
Certifications: Consider obtaining certifications like AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or Google Professional Cloud Architect.

5. Prepare for Common Interview Questions

Technical Questions: Be ready to answer questions about specific services, design patterns, and best practices.
Scenario-Based Questions: Prepare to solve real-world problems, such as designing a scalable architecture or troubleshooting issues.
Behavioral Questions: Be prepared to discuss your previous experience, problem-solving skills, and how you handle challenges.

6. Study Best Practices and Design Patterns

Architecture Frameworks: Learn about well-architected frameworks and design patterns for cloud solutions.
Cost Optimization: Understand how to manage and optimize cloud costs effectively.
High Availability and Scalability: Know how to design systems that are resilient and can scale based on demand.

7. Review Documentation and Case Studies

Cloud Provider Documentation: Read the official documentation of AWS, Azure, and GCP to understand their services and features.
Case Studies: Study real-world case studies and examples of cloud implementations to understand practical applications.

8. Mock Interviews and Practice

Mock Interviews: Conduct mock interviews with peers or use platforms that offer cloud architect interview practice.
Review Feedback: Use feedback from mock interviews to identify areas for improvement.

9. Stay Updated

Industry Trends: Keep up with the latest developments in cloud technology and industry trends.
Community Involvement: Participate in cloud communities, forums, and webinars to stay informed and network with professionals.

10. Prepare Your Questions

For the Interviewer: Prepare thoughtful questions about the company’s cloud strategy, team structure, and challenges.

Interview Questions for Preparation

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Core GCP Knowledge

What is the cloud computing model and how does Google Cloud Platform (GCP) fit into it?
Explain the benefits and drawbacks of migrating to the cloud.
What are the different service models offered by GCP (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)?
What are some of the core functionalities of GCP?
What is Google Cloud IAM and how is it used for access control?

Networking

Describe the concept of Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) in GCP and its benefits.
How would you design a secure and scalable network architecture for a web application on GCP?
Explain the difference between Cloud Load Balancing and Cloud CDN and when to use each.
What are firewall rules and how do they help secure your GCP resources?
How can Cloud DNS be used to manage domain names within GCP?

DevOps & CI/CD

What are the advantages of using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform in GCP?
Explain the role of Cloud Build and Cloud Deploy in a GCP CI/CD pipeline.
How would you integrate version control systems like Git with your GCP projects?
What security best practices should be followed for a robust CI/CD pipeline in GCP?
How can Cloud Monitoring and Logging be used to track the health and performance of your GCP applications?

Serverless Computing

What are the benefits and use cases of serverless computing on GCP?
Differentiate between Cloud Functions and Cloud Run and choose the right option for a specific scenario.
How does Cloud Pub/Sub facilitate communication between serverless functions and other GCP services?
Explain how Cloud Armor can be used to enhance security for serverless applications.
Discuss best practices for managing costs associated with serverless functions.

Compute Engine & Kubernetes

Explain the different machine types available in Google Compute Engine (GCE) and their use cases.
How do you create and manage snapshots and custom images for VMs in GCE?
What are the advantages of using Kubernetes Engine (GKE) for container orchestration?
Describe the key components of a Kubernetes cluster and their functionalities.
How does autoscaling work in GKE and how can it be used to optimize resource utilization?

Storage & Databases

Compare and contrast Cloud Storage and Cloud SQL for different data storage needs.
What are the different storage classes available in Cloud Storage and how do they impact cost and performance?
Explain the benefits of using Cloud Spanner for globally distributed databases.
How can Cloud SQL backups be automated and managed for disaster recovery?
Discuss best practices for optimizing data transfer costs between on-premises and GCP storage.

Big Data & Analytics

What are the advantages of using BigQuery for large-scale data analytics?
How does Cloud Dataflow facilitate data processing pipelines in GCP?
Explain the role of Cloud Dataproc for running Apache Spark and Hadoop workloads on GCP.
How can Cloud Data Catalog be used to manage and discover data assets within your GCP environment?
Discuss security considerations for storing and processing sensitive data in BigQuery.

Security & Identity

How does GCP IAM control access to resources and services?
Explain the role of Service Accounts and how they are used for application authentication.
How can Cloud Identity and Access Management (IAM) be integrated with Active Directory or other identity providers?
Discuss best practices for securing Cloud Storage buckets and controlling access permissions.
What are Cloud Key Management Service (KMS) and Cloud Security Command Center (SCC) and how do they enhance security?

Microsoft Azure

Conceptual Questions:

What are the different cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)?
What are the benefits and drawbacks of migrating to the cloud?
Explain the concept of cloud security and how Azure ensures it.

Azure Services:

Describe the core Azure services (Compute, Storage, Networking, etc.).
What are the different types of Azure virtual machines?
Explain the difference between Azure Resource Manager (ARM) and classic deployment models.
Compare and contrast Azure Blob Storage, Azure Files, and Azure Disks.
What are virtual networks and subnets in Azure, and how do they work?
Explain Azure Active Directory (AAD) and its role in identity and access management.
What are Azure Functions and when would you use them?

Design and Architecture:

How would you design a highly available and scalable web application on Azure?
Explain your approach to disaster recovery for a critical application in Azure.
Discuss the considerations for migrating a complex on-premises application to Azure.
How would you leverage Azure services to implement a serverless architecture?
Describe your strategy for cost optimization in an Azure environment.

Security and Management:

How would you secure access to Azure resources using Azure AD and RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)?
Explain Azure Monitor and how it helps with performance management and troubleshooting.
Discuss best practices for logging and auditing activities in Azure.
What are Azure Security Center features and how can they be used to improve cloud security posture?

Scenario-Based Questions:

You are managing a critical Azure application experiencing high traffic spikes. How would you scale the application to handle these spikes?
A virtual machine in your Azure environment fails. Explain the steps you would take to ensure application availability.
A customer wants to migrate their on-premises database to Azure. How would you approach this migration?
Your company is experiencing high egress costs from Azure storage. What solutions would you explore to optimize costs?
Design a secure and scalable data analytics platform using Azure services.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Core AWS Services:

What is the difference between on-premises, cloud computing, and edge computing?
What are the benefits and drawbacks of using AWS?
Explain the concept of the shared responsibility model in AWS.

Compute:

Describe the different EC2 instance types and their use cases.
What are the advantages of using Auto Scaling groups?
How would you choose between EC2 instances and AWS Lambda for a specific task?

Storage:

Differentiate between S3 object storage and EBS block storage.
Explain the various S3 storage classes and their cost implications.
How would you design a disaster recovery plan for your S3 buckets?

Networking:

Describe Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and its benefits.
Explain how security groups and access control lists (ACLs) work together in AWS.
How can you implement a highly available architecture using Route 53?

Database:

Compare and contrast Amazon RDS and DynamoDB.
How would you migrate an on-premises database to AWS RDS?
Describe the scaling options available for Aurora databases.

Security:

Explain the concept of Identity and Access Management (IAM) in AWS.
How can you use IAM roles for secure access to AWS resources?
Describe best practices for securing S3 buckets.

Design and Architecture:

How would you design a highly available and scalable web application on AWS?
Discuss your approach to building a fault-tolerant architecture for a critical business application.
Explain the cost optimization strategies you would employ for an AWS environment.
How can you leverage AWS services to implement a serverless architecture?

AWS Tools and Services:

Explain the functionalities of CloudWatch for monitoring AWS resources.
How can you use CloudFormation for infrastructure as code (IaC) management?
Describe the use cases for AWS CloudTrail and AWS Config.
Explain the benefits of using AWS CloudFront for content delivery.

Scenario-Based Questions:

You are managing a website that experiences traffic spikes during weekends. How would you design the architecture to handle these spikes?
An EC2 instance in your production environment fails. How would you ensure that your application remains available?
Your company is planning to migrate its on-premises data center to AWS. What are the key considerations for this migration?
How would you troubleshoot a performance issue with an S3 bucket?

About Me

As businesses move towards cloud-based solutions, I provide my expertise to support them in their journey to the cloud. With over 15 years of experience in the industry, I am currently working as a Google Cloud Principal Architect. My specialization is in assisting customers to build highly scalable and efficient solutions on Google Cloud Platform. I am well-versed in infrastructure and zero-trust security, Google Cloud networking, and cloud infrastructure building using Terraform. I hold several certifications such as Google Cloud Certified, HashiCorp Certified, Microsoft Azure Certified, and Amazon AWS Certified.

Multi-Cloud Certified :

1. Google Cloud Certified — Cloud Digital Leader.
2. Google Cloud Certified — Associate Cloud Engineer.
3. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Cloud Architect.
4. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Data Engineer.
5. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Cloud Network Engineer.
6. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Cloud Developer Engineer.
7. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer.
8. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Security Engineer.
9. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Database Engineer.
10. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Workspace Administrator.
11. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Machine Learning.
12. HashiCorp Certified — Terraform Associate
13. Microsoft Azure AZ-900 Certified
14. Amazon AWS-Practitioner Certified

I assist professionals and students in building their careers in the cloud. My responsibility is to provide easily understandable content related to Google Cloud and Google Workspace,aws .azure. If you find the content helpful, please like, share and subscribe for more amazing updates. If you require any guidance or assistance, feel free to connect with me.

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