The Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect exam requires extensive study of various Google cloud offerings. So I thought of preparing study guide which helps all the exam aspirants to prepare for the exam.

Before you start, just go to this link and have a look at the topics covered by Google in the exam.

 

 

If you prefer video courses for learning, I’ll suggest following courses.

Video Courses and Labs

In Qwiklabs.com or Coursera.com, you can go for following courses.

In acloud.guru, you can go for following courses.

  • GCP Certified Professional Cloud Architect

In pluralsight.com, you can go for its roleIQ quiz.

 

 

If you prefer the reading way, you can go through following links.

Reading

The most useful guide is the Google Cloud documentation itself, which is enough reading for most of the topics covered in the syllabus of Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect exam.

I’ve gathered few links for ready reference.

GENERAL https://cloud.google.com/docs/overview/ Overview about GCP
GENERAL http://gcp.solutions/ Cloud Solutions Architecture Reference
GENERAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trJaoEtBh6w&t=15s GCP Overview
GENERAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2OG1w6bGFo GCP Overview with Shoestring budget
GENERAL https://cloud.google.com/terms/services Services Summary
GENERAL https://medium.com/google-cloud/a-gcp-flowchart-a-day-2d57cc109401 A GCP flowchart a day
GENERAL https://medium.com/@hello_92179 GCP cheat sheets by Yaron Hollander
CASE STUDY https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/cloud-architect/ Sample Cases Study
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/ Compute Engine – Scalable, High-Performance Virtual Machines
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/preemptible Preemptible VM Instances
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/creating-instance-with-custom-machine-type Creating a VM Instance with a Custom Machine Type
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/faq Google Compute Engine FAQ
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/tutorials/robustsystems Designing Robust Systems
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks/ Storage Options
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instance-groups/ Instance Groups
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/startupscript Running Startup Scripts
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/shutdownscript Running Shutdown Scripts
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/sustained-use-discounts Sustained Use Discounts
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instance-groups/creating-groups-of-managed-instances Creating Groups of Managed Instances
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instance-groups/updating-managed-instance-groups#starting_a_canary_update Updating Managed Instance Groups
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/vm-migration/ Migrating VMs to Compute Engine
GCE https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/containers/ Containers on Compute Engine
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/overview Overview of Virtual Private Cloud
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/vpc Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Network Overview
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/firewalls Firewall Rules Overview
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/firewall-rules-logging Firewall Rules Logging Overview
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/routes Routes Overview
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/advanced-vpc Advanced VPC Concepts
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/shared-vpc Shared VPC Overview
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/vpc-peering VPC Network Peering
Networking https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/ip-addresses/ IP Addresses
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/alias-ip Alias IP Ranges Overview
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/multiple-interfaces-concepts Multiple Network Interfaces Overview and Examples
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/private-access-options Private Access Options for Services
Networking https://cloud.google.com/vpn/docs/concepts/overview Cloud VPN Overview
Networking https://cloud.google.com/interconnect/docs/concepts/overview Cloud Interconnect Overview
Networking https://cloud.google.com/interconnect/docs/how-to/choose-type Choose an interconnect type
Networking https://cloud.google.com/network-tiers/docs/overview Network Service Tiers Overview
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/load-balancing-overview Overview of Load Balancing
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/https/ HTTP(S) Load Balancing Concepts
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/https/url-map-concepts URL Map Concepts
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/ssl/ SSL Proxy Load Balancing Concepts
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/tcp/ TCP Proxy Load Balancing Concepts
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/network/ Network Load Balancing Concepts
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/internal/ Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancing Concepts
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/ipv6 IPv6 Termination for HTTP(S), SSL Proxy, and TCP Proxy Load Balancing
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/load-balancing-and-autoscaling Load Balancing and Scaling
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/load-balancing/docs/choosing-load-balancer Choosing a Load Balancer
Load Balancing https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/load-balancing/http/backend-service Backend Services
Load Balancing https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=181&v=HUHBq_VGgFg Cloud Load Balancing Deep Dive and Best Practices
Cloud DNS https://cloud.google.com/dns/docs/overview Cloud DNS Overview
Cloud CDN https://cloud.google.com/cdn/docs/overview Cloud CDN Overview
GAE https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/standard/java/an-overview-of-app-engine An Overview of App Engine
GAE https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/standard/java/microservices-on-app-engine Microservices Architecture on Google App Engine
GAE https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/flexible/ App Engine Flexible Environment
GAE https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/the-appengine-environments Choosing an App Engine environment
GCS https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/standard/java/googlecloudstorageclient/understanding-storage-features Understanding Google Cloud Storage Features
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/key-terms GCS Key Terms
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/storage-classes Storage Classes
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/bucket-locations Bucket Locations
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/encryption/ Data encryption options
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/metadata Object metadata
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/pubsub-notifications Cloud Pub/Sub notifications for Cloud Storage
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/object-change-notification Object change notification
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/object-versioning Object Versioning
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/lifecycle Object Lifecycle Management
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/requester-pays Requester Pays
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/bucket-lock Retention policies using Bucket Lock
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/transcoding Transcoding of gzip-compressed files
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/cross-origin Cross-origin resource sharing (CORS)
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/collaboration Sharing and Collaboration
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/access-control/lists Access Control Lists (ACLs)
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/access-control/cookie-based-authentication Performing authenticated browser downloads
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/access-control/signed-urls Signed URLs
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/composite-objects Composite Objects and Parallel Uploads
GCS https://cloud.google.com/storage/transfer/ Cloud Storage Transfer Service
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/ Cloud SQL
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/high-availability Overview of the High Availability Configuration
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/external-connection-methods Connection options for external applications
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/sql-proxy About the Cloud SQL Proxy
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/replication/ Replication options
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/import-export/ Best practices for importing and exporting data
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/backup-recovery/backups Overview of Backups
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/backup-recovery/restore Overview of Restoring an Instance
Cloud SQL https://cloud.google.com/sql/faq Cloud SQL FAQ
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/what-is-bigquery What is BigQuery?
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/projects Projects
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/storing-data Storing data
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/loading-data Introduction to loading data into BigQuery
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/streaming-data-into-bigquery Streaming Data into BigQuery
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/partitioned-tables Partitioned Tables
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/pricing#queries Query pricing
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/exporting-data Exporting table data
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/external-data-sources Introduction to external data sources
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/access-control Access control
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/slots Slots
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/best-practices-costs BigQuery best practices: Controlling costs
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/updating-datasets Updating dataset properties
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/best-practices-storage BigQuery Best practices: Optimizing storage
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/best-practices-performance-input Managing input data and data sources
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/best-practices-performance-communication Optimizing communication between slots
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/best-practices-performance-compute Optimizing query computation
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/best-practices-performance-output Managing query outputs
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/best-practices-performance-patterns Avoiding SQL anti-patterns
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/query-plan-explanation Query plan and timeline
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/views-intro Introduction to views
BIGQUERY https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/transfer-service-overview Introduction to BigQuery Data Transfer Service
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/overview Overview of Cloud Bigtable
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/instances-clusters-nodes Instances, clusters, and nodes
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/schema-design Designing Your Schema
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/schema-design-time-series Schema Design for Time Series Data
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/access-control Access Control
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/replication-overview Overview of Replication
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/replication-settings Examples of Replication Settings
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/app-profiles Application Profiles
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/failovers Failovers
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/keyvis-overview Overview of Key Visualizer
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/keyvis-patterns Heatmap Patterns
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/performance Understanding Cloud Bigtable performance
BIGTABLE https://cloud.google.com/bigtable/docs/choosing-ssd-hdd Choosing Between SSD and HDD Storage
DB COMPARISON http://stackoverflow.com/questions/30085326/google-cloud-bigtable-vs-google-cloud-datastore Google Cloud Bigtable vs Google Cloud Datastore
DB COMPARISON https://db-engines.com/en/system/Google+Cloud+Bigtable%3BGoogle+Cloud+Datastore System Properties Comparison Google Cloud Bigtable vs. Google Cloud Datastore
DB COMPARISON https://tpryan.blog/2015/05/08/when-to-pick-google-bigtable-vs-other-cloud-platform-databases/ When to Pick Google Bigtable vs Other Cloud Platform Databases
Container Registry https://cloud.google.com/container-registry/docs/overview Overview of Container Registry
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/kubernetes-engine-overview GKE Overview
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/cluster-architecture Cluster architecture
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/regional-clusters Regional clusters
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/cluster-autoscaler Cluster autoscaler
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/pod Pod
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/deployment Deployment
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/stateless-apps Deploying a stateless application
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/stateful-apps Deploying a stateful application
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/statefulset StatefulSet
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/daemonset DaemonSet
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/security-overview Security overview
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/protecting-cluster-metadata#concealment Protecting cluster metadata
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/secret Secret
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/configmap ConfigMap
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/network-overview Network overview
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/service Service
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/storage-overview Storage overview
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/volumes Volumes
KUBERNETES ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/persistent-volumes Persistent volumes with Persistent Disks
Cloud Build https://cloud.google.com/cloud-build/docs/overview Overview of Cloud Build
Cloud Build https://cloud.google.com/cloud-build/docs/configuring-builds/build-test-deploy-artifacts Building, testing, and deploying artifacts
Cloud Directory Sync https://support.google.com/a/answer/106368 About Google Cloud Directory Sync
CLOUD DATAFLOW https://cloud.google.com/dataflow/docs/concepts/beam-programming-model Programming model for Apache Beam
CLOUD DATAPROC https://cloud.google.com/dataproc/docs/concepts/overview What is Google Cloud Dataproc?
CLOUD DATAPROC https://cloud.google.com/dataproc/docs/concepts/compute/custom-machine-types Custom machine types
CLOUD DATAPROC https://cloud.google.com/dataproc/docs/concepts/compute/dataproc-local-ssds Cloud Dataproc Local SSDs
CLOUD DATAPROC https://cloud.google.com/dataproc/docs/concepts/preemptible-vms Preemptible VMs
CLOUD DATAPROC https://cloud.google.com/dataproc/docs/resources/faq Cloud Dataproc FAQ
CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MANAGER https://cloud.google.com/deployment-manager/ Cloud Deployment Manager
CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MANAGER https://cloud.google.com/deployment-manager/docs/fundamentals Deployment Manager Fundamentals
STACKDRIVER MONITORING https://cloud.google.com/monitoring/docs/ Stackdriver Monitoring documentation
STACKDRIVER LOGGING https://cloud.google.com/logging/docs/basic-concepts Basic Concepts
STACKDRIVER LOGGING https://cloud.google.com/logging/docs/export/using_exported_logs Using Exported Logs
STACKDRIVER LOGGING https://cloud.google.com/logging/docs/agent/ The Logging Agent
STACKDRIVER LOGGING https://cloud.google.com/logging/docs/audit/ Cloud Audit Logging
Stackdriver Debugger https://cloud.google.com/debugger/docs/ Stackdriver Debugger
STORAGE https://cloud.google.com/storage-options/ Choosing a Storage Option
CLOUD PUB/SUB https://cloud.google.com/pubsub/docs/overview What is Google Cloud Pub/Sub?
ARCHITECTURE https://cloud.google.com/solutions/scalable-and-resilient-apps Building Scalable and Resilient Web Applications on Google Cloud Platform
ARCHITECTURE https://dev.to/mostlyjason/intro-to-deployment-strategies-blue-green-canary-and-more-3a3 Intro to deployment strategies: blue-green, canary, and more
Disaster recovery https://cloud.google.com/solutions/designing-a-disaster-recovery-plan How to Design a Disaster Recovery Plan
Disaster recovery https://cloud.google.com/solutions/dr-scenarios-building-blocks Disaster Recovery Building Blocks
Disaster recovery https://cloud.google.com/solutions/dr-scenarios-for-data Disaster Recovery Scenarios for Data
Disaster recovery https://cloud.google.com/solutions/dr-scenarios-for-applications Disaster Recovery Scenarios for Applications
IAM https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/access/service-accounts Service Accounts
IAM https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/overview IAM Overview
IAM https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/resource-hierarchy-access-control Using Resource Hierarchy for Access Control
IAM https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/using-iam-securely Using IAM Securely
IAM https://cloud.google.com/security/infrastructure/design/ Google Infrastructure Security Design Overview
Security https://cloud.google.com/armor/docs/security-policy-concepts Google Cloud Armor Security Policy Concepts
Security https://cloud.google.com/kms/docs/hsm Cloud HSM
Security https://cloud.google.com/kms/ CLOUD KEY MANAGEMENT SERVICE
Security https://cloud.google.com/dlp/ Cloud Data Loss Prevention
Security https://cloud.google.com/vpc-service-controls/docs/overview Overview of VPC Service Controls
Security https://cloud.google.com/security-command-center/docs/concepts-overview Cloud SCC conceptual overview
Security https://cloud.google.com/security-scanner/ CLOUD SECURITY SCANNER
Security https://cloud.google.com/identity/docs/concepts/overview Google Identity Platform Overview
Security https://cloud.google.com/iap/docs/concepts-overview Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy overview
Security https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96HlT4f2AUU Introduction to Cloud IAM
security and compliance https://cloud.google.com/security/gdpr/ Google Cloud & the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
security and compliance https://cloud.google.com/security/compliance/pci-dss/ Standards, Regulations & Certifications
security and compliance https://cloud.google.com/solutions/pci-dss-compliance-in-gcp PCI Data Security Standard compliance
Security https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/gcp/managing-encryption-keys-in-the-cloud-introducing-google-cloud-key-management-service?m=1 Managing encryption keys in the cloud: introducing Google Cloud Key Management Service
Security https://cloud.google.com/security/encryption-at-rest/ ENCRYPTION AT REST
MACHINE LEARNING ENGINE https://cloud.google.com/ml-engine/ CLOUD MACHINE LEARNING ENGINE
Spanner https://cloud.google.com/spanner/docs/overview Cloud Spanner
Storage https://cloud.google.com/filestore/ CLOUD FILESTORE
Networking https://cloud.google.com/nat/docs/overview Cloud NAT
Composer https://cloud.google.com/composer/docs/concepts/overview Overview of Cloud Composer
Scheduler https://cloud.google.com/scheduler/docs/ Cloud Scheduler Overview
Source Repositories https://cloud.google.com/source-repositories/docs/features Source Repositories Features
Tasks https://cloud.google.com/tasks/docs/dual-overview Cloud Tasks Overview
MEMORY STORE https://cloud.google.com/memorystore/ CLOUD MEMORYSTORE
Cloud Shell https://cloud.google.com/shell/docs/features Cloud Shell Features
Transfer Appliance https://cloud.google.com/transfer-appliance/docs/2.0/overview Transfer Appliance Overview
Serverless https://cloud.google.com/run/ Cloud Run
Serverless https://cloud.google.com/functions/docs/concepts/overview Cloud Functions Overview
IOT https://cloud.google.com/iot/docs/concepts/overview Cloud IoT Core overview
General https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/020915/what-difference-between-capex-and-opex.asp Capital Expenditures vs. Operating Expenses: What’s the Difference?
PRACTICE EXAM https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDAVzEp7b9NvpZYpkkcRATLlRds2q0YYbBYCJ6RRrxMkJvUQ/formResponse Cloud Architect Practice Exam (Official)
General https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2015/11/cloud-economics.pdf Cloud Economics: Making the Business Case for Cloud

 

 

Few more important links

 

 

Practice Tests

 

 

 

Disclaimer

The guide is shared with the intent of helping people, aiming to take the Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect exam. Be advised there is no guarantee that following the guide will make you pass the exam.

 

Do let me know your feedback in comment section. All the best.