Hi everyone, this an updated version of the previous Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect post from 2022 to include the updated material, tips, resources to pass the exam in 2024! The below guide is related to the new version of the Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect certification in 2024.

It's really amazing how fast time goes and this will now be my third renewal of this certification and am really excited to share my study guide, advice, hints and helpful information on the latest version of the exam. This exam guide is based on the Cloud Architect exam written and passed in 2024.

As of 2022, Google made a complete revision of the Cloud Architect exam which was really needed in order to keep up with the pace of innovation being displayed on the Google Cloud Platform over the last few years. This exam has changed dramatically but still followed the same underlying architecture principals that we have grown accustomed to over the last four years. The version of the exam being offered in 2024 is still using the same base content as the 2022 exam with some revisions and updates.

As previously, the exam is based on 50 questions, which are displayed across four separate case studies as well as additional questions. You have two hours to complete the exam and the cost is $200. The exam is able to be taken at a testing center or remotely through https://webassessor.com/googlecloud. The exam is an advanced level certification so it is recommended to have some extensive real life experience hands on working with Google Cloud. The Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer (ACE) exam would be a good starting point if just entering the world of Google Cloud: https://cloud.google.com/certification/cloud-engineer

The latest 2024 exam is still using the same four case studies, namely EHR Healthcare, Helicopter Racing League Mountkirk Games and Terram Earth. These case studies are really vital to the exam and are the core focus that you need to spend your time on. When spending time studying these case studies you will be introduced or updated on various new products and skills that are vital in order to cover off the exam guide requirements.

For further updates exam details and the latest requirements please check the official Google Cloud material: https://cloud.google.com/certification/cloud-architect https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/professional-cloud-architect/

Please see below link to all four case studies that can be downloaded and reviewed from Google:

https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/master_case_study_ehr_healthcare.pdf

https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/master_case_study_helicopter_racing_league.pdf

https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/master_case_study_mountkirk_games.pdf

https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/master_case_study_terramearth.pdf

For the study material I highly recommend the following books which can assist with the full content on the study material in detail as well as some really useful helpful information on understanding the case studies:

https://www.amazon.com/Google-Professional-Cloud-Architect-Study/dp/1119602440

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Cloud-Architect-Google-Certification/dp/1801812292

It's sometimes a lot easier to be able to visually see diagrams and watch videos on advice around the various solutions to solve the case study problems. These can be a great backup to using and actually writing your own solutions on the case studies. All areas and solutions that are mentioned need further research and reading to understand. The best place to go is always the Google Cloud documentation: https://cloud.google.com/docs and https://www.youtube.com/@googlecloudtech

Exam hint: You will not have enough time to read and learn the case studies prior to taking the exam, so please take advantage of the fact that you can download and work through these in your preparation.

I'm going to also link below further resources that are really helpful in the study process for this exam and I can recommend spending time going through all of these in detail before attempting your exam:

https://cloud.google.com/architecture - Architecture designs and guides from Google.

https://cloud.google.com/architecture/framework - More architecture information

https://www.cloudskillsboost.google/paths/12- Qwiklabs hands on labs *** highly recommended

https://www.googlecloudcommunity.com/gc/Community-Blogs/Guide-to-Preparing-for-the-Professional-Cloud-Architect/ba-p/496772 - Guide to preparing for the Professional Cloud Architect exam from the Google Cloud Community.

Overall the exam is not easy and there is a huge volume of knowledge areas that can be asked in the exam. Its really helpful in focusing on different formats during this study process. Watch video courses, YouTube, reading official Google Cloud architecture frameworks, reading documentation and understanding concepts that you are not familiar with. Hands on labs and/or experience are essential!

The only official practice test is the Google version which you can use to judge your skill set:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf54f7FbtSJcXUY6-DUHfBG31jZ3pujgb8-a5io_9biJsNpqg/viewform?usp=sf_link

With the above information you will also be ready to certify Cloud Architect in 2024!

 

Hello everyone, once again its that time of the year for certification renewals! The below guide is related to the new version of the Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect certification in 2022.

It's really amazing how fast time goes and this will now be my second renewal of this certification and am really excited to share my study guide, advice, hints and helpful information on the latest version of the exam. This exam guide is based on the Cloud Architect exam written in March 2022.

As of last year, 2021, Google made a complete revision of the Cloud Architect exam which was really needed in order to keep up with the pace of innovation being displayed on the Google Cloud Platform over the last few years. This exam has changed dramatically but still follows the same underlying architecture principals that we have grown accustomed to over the last four years.

As previously, the exam is based on 50 questions, which are displayed across four separate case studies as well as additional questions. You have two hours to complete the exam and the cost is $200. The exam is able to be taken at a testing center or remotely through https://webassessor.com/googlecloud. The exam is an advanced level certification so it is recommended to have some extensive real life experience hands on working with Google Cloud. The Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer (ACE) exam would be a good starting point if just entering the world of Google Cloud: https://cloud.google.com/certification/cloud-engineer

The biggest change in the new exam is the introduction of two brand new case studies, namely EHR Healthcare and Helicopter Racing League and the complete update of two previous case studies, Mountkirk Games and Terram Earth. These case studies are really vital to the exam and are the core focus that you need to spend your time on. When spending time studying these case studies you will be introduced or updated on various new products and skills that are vital in order to cover off the exam guide requirements.

For further exam details and requirements please check the official Google Cloud material: https://cloud.google.com/certification/cloud-architect https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/professional-cloud-architect/

Please see below link to all four case studies that can be downloaded and reviewed from Google:

https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/master_case_study_ehr_healthcare.pdf

https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/master_case_study_helicopter_racing_league.pdf

https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/master_case_study_mountkirk_games.pdf

https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/master_case_study_terramearth.pdf

Please note: These case studies are at a high level and can be difficult to understand and digest. I will link some really great YouTube playlists that can assist you to study these in a practical way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSTDaMV8ZFc&list=PLiGDmIpNsrc3tOl-95mzKqXaHc3KoMblW&index=6&t=5s - All case studies explained with diagrams and hints

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJqmcacktOE - All case studies explained with solutions

It's sometimes a lot easier to be able to visually see diagrams and watch videos on advice around the various solutions to solve the case study problems. These can be a great backup to using and actually writing your own solutions on the case studies. All areas and solutions that are mentioned need further research and reading to understand. The best place to go is always the Google Cloud documentation: https://cloud.google.com/docs

Exam hint: You will not have enough time to read and learn the case studies prior to taking the exam, so please take advantage of the fact that you can download and work through these in your preparation.

I'm going to also link below further resources that are really helpful in the study process for this exam and I can recommend spending time going through all of these in detail before attempting your exam:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LUtqhOEjUMySCfn3zj8Arhzcmazr3vrPzy7VzJwIshE/edit#gid=0 - Google Sheet with direct links to reading areas inside Google Cloud documentation. Time saver!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/preparing-google-cloud-certification-professional-architect-mohan?trk=articles_directory - Nice sum up of study resources.

https://cloud.google.com/architecture - Architecture designs and guides from Google.

https://cloud.google.com/architecture/framework - More architecture information

https://www.pluralsight.com/paths/cloud-architecture-with-google-cloud - Official on demand courses

https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/preparing-professional-cloud-architect-exam-1- More courses

https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/gcp-cloud-architect - More courses

https://www.cloudskillsboost.google/course_templates/78?utm_source=gcp_training&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=cgc - Qwiklabs hands on labs

I also really recommend watching all of the Next 21 YouTube playlist, as this is really great content that provides you with the updates and information across all of the Google Cloud services and products:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIivdWyY5sqK5sIM83V8rOHWMoXaA2m4H

Overall the exam is not easy and there is a huge volume of knowledge areas that can be asked in the exam. Its really helpful in focusing on different formats during this study process. Watch video courses, YouTube, reading official Google Cloud architecture frameworks, reading documentation and understanding concepts that you are not familiar with. Hands on labs and/or experience are essential!

The only official practice test is the Google version which you can use to judge your skill set:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvf8Xq6m0kvyIoysdr8WZYCG32WHENStftiHTSdtW4ad2-0w/viewform

With the above information you will also be ready to certify Cloud Architect in 2022!

https://www.credential.net/2cfdbb42-e43e-433c-a898-b475740f356d

Once again its that time to recertify, 2022 is going to be the year of renewal and recertification!

After holding the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification since 2018, I noticed that Microsoft have changed the process in which renewal takes place on this and other Azure certifications.

In place of just writing another exam based on the syllabus you have already studied and been tested on, Microsoft have implemented a renewal process focused on studying Microsoft Learn modules and then writing an online assessment annually to regain and renew your certification. This is a really a great approach as it gets you to keep learning constantly as well as forces you to recertify annually to keep current.

This effectively replaces the previous method of recertifying every two years with a recertification exam. This process has been seamlessly implemented and really gets you to focus in on key study areas that you may or may not have had recent experience in. This is a great way to get you to use Microsoft Learn modules to increase your skills, get exposure to new concepts and recertify your existing certification that you have already had to write numerous official exams in order to gain. This online assessment is completed annually in order to keep your certification and automatically extends the expiration date on the certificate based on your existing transcript.

Please take note: Microsoft will send you reminders on a monthly basis from three months before the expiration of the certificate which gives you ample time to study the Learn modules and complete the assessment before expiration. The certification will renew for a year from the expiration date. The online assessment can also be written at any time during the renewal period. You will get multiple attempts to write if you do not pass the first time, but there are some waiting periods between attempts.

I really think that this is a great innovation from Microsoft Azure and think it would be great if other public cloud platforms could also look into implementing a similar renewal process in order to assist students. There is also, of course, the fact that there is no cost involved in this renewal process which is really a game changer for people who have invested so much time and costs in achieving these certifications.

Azure Solutions Architect Expert: Microsoft Learn Modules

The below list of Microsoft Learn modules can be studied prior to the online assessment. Please note: This is not compulsory in order to complete the assessment but they are really good if you are trying to brush up on or have not been exposed to these concepts since writing your last exam. The Learn modules focus in on a few of the Well-Architected Framework pillars: performance efficiency, security, Cost and also focus in on designing monitoring on Azure. Further reading on the Well-Architected Framework: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/framework/

They then move into Azure Site Recovery (ASR) and Azure backups. There are also some practical labs on Azure SQL DB's. Overall, its around six and half hours on Learn modules before going ahead to take your assessment.

• Design a holistic monitoring strategy on Azure
• Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework - Performance efficiency
• Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework - Security
• Protect your Azure infrastructure with Azure Site Recovery
• Protect your virtual machines by using Azure Backup
• Back up and restore your Azure SQL database
• Use monitoring and analytics to gain cost insights
• Analyze your Azure infrastructure by using Azure Monitor logs

Please see the below link to the official Microsoft Learn modules required for study: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/azure-solutions-architect/renew

By using the above link you are also able to check whether you are eligible for renewal. 

Quick tip: Make sure you sign into the above portal using your existing MCP login details. You are also able to add additional Learn profiles within your account if these are separate.

Please find the below link for further reading on the renewal process: https://aka.ms/CertRenewalOverview

I have found the overall renewal process simple, well implemented and innovative!

Good luck on completing your Azure Solutions Architect renewal in 2022!

I have just recently completed the Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect exam for the renewal. It's crazy that the two years is already up and time to re certify! Please find some below information on this exam as well as study resources and a guide on being able to tackle this certification.

Firstly, I have to say that after completing the exam two years ago in 2018 a lot has changed in the Google Cloud landscape in 2020. It's absolutely vital to update these exams every two years in order to keep up with the rapid innovation and release of new features and products by Google Cloud!

About the exam

Two years ago there were only two Google Cloud certifications available, the Professional Cloud Architect and the Data Engineer. Now with the release of numerous new role based certifications it has become a bit easier to certify on the track that represents your job role a bit better. However the Professional Cloud Architect still represents the high level solutions architect approach to GCP.

I suggest you have a look at all the various Google Cloud exams as it may be best suited to start with the Cloud Engineer if you are looking at beginning or starting on the cloud infrastructure track.
https://cloud.google.com/certification

In my personal opinion this is still the most vital and valuable cloud solutions architect exam available in the market currently, and will continue to be so for quite some time. The reason? It's really due to the innovation that Google is investing in their cloud platform. The growth in the platform in just two years has been impressive and many enterprises are investigating migration or are in the process of migrating into the platform. The Professional Cloud Architect is also still rated as the highest paid certification in the market currently. Please view the link below:

https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/resources/resource-library/articles/top-paying-certifications/

Study Resources

The exam itself is not an easy one unfortunately and Google does strive to keep a very high standard on the certifications on the exam. It encompasses both the design and implementation of cloud architecture. The Professional Cloud Architect exam assesses your ability to:

- Design and plan a cloud solution architecture
- Manage and provision the cloud solution infrastructure
- Design for security and compliance
- Analyze and optimize technical and business processes
- Manage implementations of cloud architecture
- Ensure solution and operations reliability

The exam is delivered on a high level knowledge of solution architecture, for example in trying to identify the best solutions and services to map to organisation requirements and migrations.  By going through and reading the official exam guide it will give you a good idea of the scope that the exam encompasses which is really large. https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/cloud-architect

However this exam also deep dives into technical skills across the products and tests your knowledge of actually understanding the integration of the services as well as infrastructure management.

I have outlined some study resources below that I have used personally for this exam. My advice is to read through the official guides first in order to get an understanding of the requirements. The second step is to hit the labs really hard. Unless you have a great deal of experience using GCP you are really going to need to do the labs as it's absolutely vital to get the hand on experience of GCP. Qwiklabs is the best place to do this and please find some links below to some relevant Qwiklabs content.

https://google.qwiklabs.com/courses/1070?utm_source=gcp&utm_medium=site&utm_campaign=certification

https://google.qwiklabs.com/courses/879&utm_source=cloud-dot-google&utm_medium=website

I also find that a really good training resource is using Youtube and watching all the past Google Cloud Next 19 sessions on the various GCP products and resources. This can give you some really useful information and help you prepare on areas you are unsure of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGrlWVWlpgE&list=PLIivdWyY5sqIXvUGVrFuZibCUdKVzEoUw

Please find some links to official study guides and further information:

Study links:
https://cloud.google.com/certification/cloud-architect

Exam Guide:
https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/cloud-architect

Google also offers a free practise test on their website which is really helpful to judge your study progress and whether you are ready to take the exam or should spend some more time preparing:

Practise Exam:
https://cloud.google.com/certification/practice-exam/cloud-architect

One nice thing about the exam is that Google gives you all the applicable case studies on their website which really helps you to plan and map out the various GCP service requirements:

The case studies for the exam are available online:
https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/cloud-architect/casestudy-mountkirkgames-rev2
https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/cloud-architect/casestudy-dress4win-rev2
https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/cloud-architect/casestudy-terramearth-rev2

Another great resource for learning on GCP is the Google Cloud documentation, this is a really great place to read up on services and gain more understanding on specific technical requirements.

https://cloud.google.com/docs

Google Cloud also offers classroom training sessions which are a great way to introduce you to the platform at any level and have an instructor guide you through GCP by using a delivery of slides as well as hands on labs in order build of your real world skills on the platform.
https://cloud.google.com/training/courses

This exam will take a lot of time to prepare for, but this time is really a great investment and it will be a really great learning experience in order to further your career and cloud skill development.

Good luck!

I had the opportunity last week to write the new beta Microsoft AZ-302 transition exam for the new role based Azure Solutions Architect qualification being provided by Microsoft on their Azure Cloud Platform. This exam is only available if you have completed the 70-535 exam for Architecting Azure Solutions which I have previously written about.

This is a new exam that was released at the end of September 2018 and is still currently in beta meaning that you do not receive any results immediately after writing this exam. Microsoft confirms that you should receive transcript entry two weeks later if you pass.

As this is a new exam in beta there is currently very limited available study materials. In fact Microsoft have not released any practise tests or courses on this exam as of October 2018.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-az-302.aspx

The best pace to start preparing for this exam is by viewing the official exam page listed above. On this page you will find the exam section breakdown on the AZ-302:

Determine Workload Requirements (15-20%)
Design for Identity and Security (5-10%)
Design a Business Continuity Strategy (15-20%)
Implement Workloads and Security (5-10%)
Implement Authentication and Secure Data (5-10%)

Develop for the Cloud (45-50%)

As you can see from the breakdown the last section is Develop for the Cloud (45-50%) this section is very important and something that was not tested at this level in the 70-535. If you do not have extensive Cloud development background its best to start doing so now.

I used the following sources for studying for this exam including hands on labs and practising within an Azure subscription. The best place to find these is in the new Microsoft Learning portal within the Azure website. This is a great place to run through study courses and labs without having to create an Azure trial. Experience and skills are really key here.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/learn/azure

I also used the following free resource on Microsoft Azure courses which is great!

https://www.getazureready.com/

The Microsft Azure documentation is another great place to read up and study, here are some sample links to read that are related to this exam and that I read before writing:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/develop/v1-protocols-openid-connect-code
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/develop/v1-protocols-oauth-code
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/site-recovery/vmware-azure-set-up-replication
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-redundancy
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/site-recovery/site-recovery-test-failover-to-azure
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/site-recovery/site-recovery-network-design
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/site-recovery/site-recovery-failover
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/site-recovery/site-recovery-workload
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/site-recovery/concepts-traffic-manager-with-site-recovery
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/guide/design-principles/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/guide/design-principles/redundancy
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/guide/design-principles/self-healing
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/security-azure-encryption-overview
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/solutions/confidential-compute/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-functions/durable-functions-overview

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/sql-database/sql-database-elastic-transactions-overview 

I would go through all the documentation related to the exam sections above and constantly keep reading through the relevant documentation on the study section that you are focusing on as this gives you some good perspective and a high level understanding on solutions.

To sum up the above resources are a good place to start for this exam but this exam is not  at all easy especially if you don't have strong cloud development background. Developing for the Cloud would be a great place to start learning or brushing up before tackling this exam. The key take away is that you really need strong Azure experience and high level understanding. This is not a standard architect level exam and will really take you into a technical deep dive so practise, skills and deep knowledge are really important.

What are containers? How do containers work? Can I use containers? These are some common questions being asked about this application "virtualisation" technology. In this post we will be trying to simplify the basics of containers and answer some of these questions.

One of the most popular reasons for businesses moving to the cloud is for the use of compute power. This can be for migrating existing on premise workloads or transitioning to a cloud based virtualisation platform. Another reason with be the use of high performance computing. We will discuss some of the various compute options in this blog post.

While discussing the implementation of cloud infrastructure we touched on the base of core infrastructure that will need to be provisioned in the cloud in order to begin your migration or greenfield cloud deployment. The core infrastructure required is cloud storage, compute resource and virtual networks. Today we will be going into virtual networks in more depth.

Virtual Networks

As previously discussed virtual networks are absolutely vital to understand in order to correctly provision and deploy cloud resources. These virtual networks are used to connect, segment and link your cloud based resources as well as on premises networks.

Virtual network segmentation is completed with the use of subnets. These subnets are used to seperate various cloud based networks using different IP ranges. These are seperate networks that can be used for different functions, for example the front end and back end tier of an application.

Another aspect to understand is the use of firewalls within these virtual networks. Traditionally a firewall is used on premises between the internal network and external network (internet). In cloud services a firewall is used in the same way but also internally, so you are able to secure internal as well as external networks and applications.

As mentioned above another incredibly important aspect of cloud based virtual networks is the ability to connect to your on premises environment. This is valuable in order to build and architect hybrid cloud solutions. This can be achieved by using direct ISP based links that bypass the public internet to keep things internally secure and fast or via VPN tunnels.

These VPN tunnels are encrypted but do run over the public internet so may not be as secure as your policies allow. Also, you may need a higher speed redundant link.

Cloud Platforms

There are some differences between the different cloud providers but basically cloud based virtual networks are quite similar and perform reasonably the same function. In Azure you get Virtual Networks which are the base of your cloud based network infrastructure and in Google Cloud Platform you get Virtual Private Cloud Networks (VPC's) both offer a few different features so its always important to read the relevant documentation and use a trial account to test for your specific requirements. 


To  sum up though you need to brush up on your general network skills (get out the Network+ manual) before planning your cloud based networks and I highly recommend some courses in the cloud platform you are looking into going with. There are literally loads of in depth free video courses available on any platform to learn the necessary skills.

Training

Please see below Coursera GCP and Pluralsight Azure on demand courses:

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/gcp-architecture

https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/planning-designing-microsoft-azure-network-solutions?twoid=e7d045ab-0691-4def-896a-8db6cb74790b&aid=7010a000001xDURAA2

One of the most important concepts to think about when implementing cloud solutions is your core infrastructure. This will be your base when building infrastructure in the cloud. This will comprise of virtual networks, cloud storage and compute at the base layer order to build upon in IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

What are Azure managed disks? Why are these the best practise to roll out on new virtual machine builds? What are the advantages of using managed disks? Today we will be discussing these questions in more detail and providing useful information about managed disks.

Yes. Cloud Certification is rapidly becoming one of the most sought after IT qualifications to have. As Cloud is growing massively in popularity and business workloads are being migrated at a high pace these skills are in great demand and just growing everyday!

This is a really good question for anybody starting to think about the Cloud and starting their journey towards migrating their workloads. It seems like a very simple question but sometimes the answer is not as simple as may be expected. Cloud storage is the key aspect in cloud migration as this is where and how all of your data will be stored.