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Professional Cloud Security Engineer Exam - Question 28


A company has redundant mail servers in different Google Cloud Platform regions and wants to route customers to the nearest mail server based on location.

How should the company accomplish this?

Show Answer
Correct Answer: A

To route customers to the nearest mail server based on location, the company should configure TCP Proxy Load Balancing as a global load balancing service listening on port 995. TCP Proxy Load Balancing allows for global load balancing in the Premium Tier, directing user traffic to the closest region with available capacity. This approach is appropriate for mail protocols such as SMTP, which use TCP.

Discussion

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ESP_SAP
Nov 26, 2020

Corrrect Answer is (A): TCP Proxy Load Balancing is implemented on GFEs that are distributed globally. If you choose the Premium Tier of Network Service Tiers, a TCP proxy load balancer is global. In Premium Tier, you can deploy backends in multiple regions, and the load balancer automatically directs user traffic to the closest region that has capacity. If you choose the Standard Tier, a TCP proxy load balancer can only direct traffic among backends in a single region. https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/load-balancing-overview#tcp-proxy-load-balancing

Warren2020
Jul 17, 2020

A is the correct answer. D is not correct. CDN works with HTTP(s) traffic and requires caching, which is not a valid feature used for mail server

[Removed]Option: A
Jul 21, 2023

"A" is the most suitable answer. Mail servers use SMTP which run on TCP. This excludes C, D which are HTTPs based. Option B is not global which excludes it as well. The following page elaborates on global external proxy load balancing under the premium tier which meets the needs for this question and aligns with option A https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/tcp#identify_the_mode

mozammil89
Mar 19, 2020

Answer should be, A https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/tcp

aashisshOption: B
Apr 15, 2023

The correct answer is B. To route customers to the nearest mail server based on location, the company can create a Network Load Balancer. The Network Load Balancer can listen on a specific TCP port (e.g., port 995 for mail traffic) and use a forwarding rule to forward traffic to the nearest mail server based on the client's location. This can be achieved by using a combination of the Load Balancing service and the Geo Map feature to route traffic based on the client's IP address. TCP Proxy Load Balancing (A) is not suitable for this scenario as it is designed for non-HTTP(S) traffic, and it does not use client location information for traffic routing. Cross-Region Load Balancing (C) is also not suitable as it is designed for HTTP(S) traffic and does not use client location information for traffic routing. Cloud CDN (D) is designed for caching content and delivering it from the nearest point of presence (POP) to the user, but it does not route traffic to different servers based on the client's location.

gcpengineer
May 22, 2023

TCP proxy LB is relevant in this case

AWSE
Feb 8, 2021

Ans should be A. TCP Proxy Load Balancing is intended for TCP traffic on specific well-known ports, such as port 25 for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

ErenYeagerOption: B
Feb 11, 2024

B) Create a Network Load Balancer to listen on TCP port 995 with a forwarding rule to forward traffic based on location. Explanation: Port 995 implies this is SSL/TLS encrypted mail traffic (IMAP). Network Load Balancing allows creating forwarding rules to route traffic based on IP location. This can send users to the closest backend mail server. TCP Proxy LB does not allow location-based routing. HTTP(S) LB is for HTTP only, not generic TCP traffic. Cloud CDN works at the HTTP level so cannot route TCP mail traffic. So a Network Load Balancer with IP based forwarding rules provides the capability to direct mail users to the closest regional mail server based on their location, meeting the requirement.

okhascorpio
Feb 18, 2024

There is no direct SMTP support in TCP proxy load balancer, hens it cannot be A. Google Cloud best practices recommend Network Load Balancing (NLB) for Layer 4 protocols like SMTP.

passtest100
Oct 2, 2020

should be C. the port 995 has nothing to do with email service . HTTP LB can work on TCP traffic while CDN does NOT support email so the better answer is C

giovy_82
Aug 23, 2022

not correct. Port 995 is TLS/SSL encryption for POP3 email server.

gcpengineerOption: B
May 22, 2023

B is the ans

gcpengineer
May 26, 2023

A is the ans. https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/tcp

gcpengineerOption: A
May 26, 2023

https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/tcp

dija123Option: B
Mar 3, 2024

The company can achieve location-based routing of customers to the nearest mail server in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using a Network Load Balancer (NLB)

eeghai7thioyaiR4
Apr 26, 2024

This is probably an old question 2-3 years ago, GCP introduces a "proxy network load balancer" So, in 2024, we have: - application load balancer, global, external-only, multi-region backends, only for HTTP and HTTPS, do not preserve clients' IP - "legacy" network load balancer (aka "passthrough"), external or internal, single-region, tcp or udp, preserve clients' IP - "new" network load balancer (aka "proxy"), global, external or internal, multi-region backends, tcp or udp, do not preserve clients' IP Here, we want: - global - external - multi-region - non-http => proxy network load balancer is the solution This maps to A (generic answer) or B (but only in proxy mode: passthrough won't work)

eeghai7thioyaiR4
May 5, 2024

On the other hand, B says "with forwarding rule". So this implies passthrough mode This left only A as a solution

Zol
Mar 25, 2020

Answer A is correct

ArizonaClassics
Aug 2, 2020

A: https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/tcp

CHECK666
Sep 29, 2020

A is the answer.

[Removed]
Oct 29, 2020

Ans - A

jonclem
Nov 13, 2020

I'd agree with option A as it covers location based traffic plus the mail port 993.

AwesomeGCPOption: A
Oct 6, 2022

Corrrect Answer is (A): TCP Proxy Load Balancing is implemented on GFEs that are distributed globally. If you choose the Premium Tier of Network Service Tiers, a TCP proxy load balancer is global. In Premium Tier, you can deploy backends in multiple regions, and the load balancer automatically directs user traffic to the closest region that has capacity. If you choose the Standard Tier, a TCP proxy load balancer can only direct traffic among backends in a single region. https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/load-balancing-overview#tcp-proxy-load-balancing

huntergameOption: A
Nov 6, 2022

A is correct answer

MeyuchoOption: A
Nov 16, 2022

At a glance, A seems wrong because it's a proxy solution and the question ask to route the traffic. But, in Premium Tier its possible to have a global forwarding rule and the backends in any region so it's the only solution for this. the other options are HTTP or Regional so they are wrong

mahi9Option: A
Feb 26, 2023

TCP Proxy Load Balancing is implemented on GFEs that are distributed globally. If you choose the Premium Tier of Network Service Tiers, a TCP proxy load balancer is global. In Premium Tier, you can deploy backends in multiple regions, and the load balancer automatically directs user traffic to the closest region that has capacity. If you choose the Standard Tier, a TCP proxy load balancer can only direct traffic among backends in a single region.

Roro_BrotherOption: B
Apr 22, 2024

The company can achieve location-based routing of customers to the nearest mail server in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using a Network Load Balancer (NLB)

JOKERO
Sep 22, 2024

NLB is not global

shanwfordOption: A
Apr 26, 2024

I go for (A) because Network Load Balancers are Layer 4 regional, passthrough load balancers: so it didnt work as global LB ("different GCP regions")

picoOption: B
May 19, 2024

why the other options are not the best fit: A. TCP Proxy Load Balancing: This is a global load balancing solution, but it might not be the most efficient for routing mail traffic based on proximity. C. Cross-Region Load Balancing with HTTP(S): This is designed for HTTP/HTTPS traffic, not mail protocols like POP3, SMTP, or IMAP. D. Cloud CDN: While Cloud CDN can cache content for faster delivery, it's not designed to handle real-time mail traffic routing.

3d9563bOption: A
Jul 23, 2024

TCP Proxy Load Balancing is the appropriate choice for globally routing TCP traffic, such as mail services, to the nearest server based on client location. It provides the necessary global load balancing capabilities to achieve this requirement.

usercism007
Aug 15, 2024

Select Answer: A

Mr_MIXER007Option: A
Aug 28, 2024

Corrrect Answer is (A)

SQLbox
Sep 14, 2024

TCP Proxy Load Balancing is a global load balancing service that works at Layer 4 (TCP/SSL) and is ideal for services like mail servers that use non-HTTP protocols, such as IMAP (port 993) or POP3 (port 995). • TCP Proxy Load Balancing supports global load balancing, meaning it can route traffic to the nearest backend based on the geographic location of the user. This ensures that customers are routed to the nearest mail server, optimizing performance and latency.

lolanczosOption: A
Feb 28, 2025

It's A. TCP is the only one that is global (multiple regions). A Network Load Balancer is regional. The HTTP(S) LB is only for http/https traffic and would not be suitable. Cloud CDN doesn't even make sense as an option.