# Google Cloud Certified Cloud Digital Leader - Learning Resources

Google Cloud has introduced a new foundational exam called Cloud Digital Leader. It's currently in beta version and exam would be generally available from June 2021.

Since this is a new exam and training resources may not be widely available, I am sharing Google Cloud documentation reference for each of the exam topics (for most of them), which can help you to prepare for this exam.

**1. General Cloud Knowledge**

1.1 Define basic cloud technologies. Considerations include:

-  [Differentiate between traditional infrastructure, public cloud, and private cloud](https://www.bmc.com/blogs/public-private-hybrid-cloud/) 
-  [Define cloud infrastructure ownership, Shared Responsibility Model](https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/blog/2020/08/26/shared-responsibility-model-explained/) 
-  [Essential characteristics of cloud computing](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-145.pdf) 

1.2 Differentiate cloud service models. Considerations include:
-  [Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) , Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS)](https://www.bmc.com/blogs/saas-vs-paas-vs-iaas-whats-the-difference-and-how-to-choose/)
-   [Describe the tradeoffs between level of management versus flexibility when comparing cloud services, Define the tradeoffs between costs versus responsibility](https://cloud.google.com/docs/overview/cloud-platform-services) 
-  [Appropriate implementation and alignment with given budget and resources](https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/how-to/budgets) 

1.3 Identify common cloud procurement financial concepts. Considerations include:
-  [Operating expenses (OpEx), capital expenditures (CapEx), and total cost of operations (TCO)](https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/cost-management/principles-of-cloud-cost-optimization) 
-  [Recognize the relationship between OpEx and CapEx related to networking and compute infrastructure](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/gcp/time-to-hello-world-vms-vs-containers-vs-paas-vs-faas) 
-  [Summarize the key cost differentiators between cloud and on-premises environments](https://cloud.google.com/files/guide-to-financial-governance.pdf) 

**2. General Google Cloud Knowledge**

2.1 Recognize how Google Cloud meets common compliance requirements. Considerations include:
-  [Locating current Google Cloud compliance requirements](https://cloud.google.com/security/compliance) 
-  [Familiarity with Compliance Reports Manager](https://cloud.google.com/security/compliance/compliance-reports-manager) 

2.2 Recognize the main elements of Google Cloud resource hierarchy. Considerations include:
-  [Describe the relationship between organization, folders, projects, and resources](https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/concepts#gcp_resource_hierarchy_overview) 
2.3 Describe controlling and optimizing Google Cloud costs. Considerations include:
-  [Google Cloud billing models and applicability to different service classes](https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/concepts#billing_account) 
-  [Define a consumption-based use model](https://cloud.google.com/pricing) 
- [Application of discounts (e.g.,  flat-rate](https://cloud.google.com/compute/resource-based-pricing) ,  [committed use discounts [CUD]](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/signing-up-committed-use-discounts) ,  [sustained use discounts [SUD]](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/sustained-use-discounts) )

2.4 Describe Google Cloud’s geographical segmentation strategy. Considerations include:
 - [Regions, Zones, Regional resources, Zonal resources, Multiregional resources](https://cloud.google.com/docs/geography-and-regions) 

2.5 Define Google Cloud Support options. Considerations include:

-  [Distinguish between billing support, technical support, role-based support, and enterprise support](https://cloud.google.com/support) 
-  [Recognize a variety of Service Level Agreement (SLA) applications](https://cloud.google.com/terms/sla) 


**3.General Google Cloud Knowledge**

3.1 Describe the benefits of Google Cloud virtual machine (VM)-based compute options. Considerations include:
-  [Google Compute Engine](https://cloud.google.com/compute) ,  [Google Cloud VMware Engine](https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/developers-practitioners/google-cloud-vmware-engine-cheat-sheet) , and Bare Metal
-  [Custom versus](https://cloud.google.com/custom-machine-types)   [standard sizing](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/machine-types) 
-  [Free, premium, and custom service options](https://cloud.google.com/network-tiers) 
-  [Attached storage/disk options](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks) 
-  [Preemptible VMs](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/preemptible) 

3.2 Identify and evaluate container-based compute options. Considerations include:
-  [Define the function of a container registry](https://cloud.google.com/container-registry) 
-  [Distinguish between VMs, containers, and Google Kubernetes Engine](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/compute/choosing-the-right-compute-option-in-gcp-a-decision-tree) 

3.3 Identify and evaluate serverless compute options. Considerations include:
-  [Define the function and use of App Engine, Google Cloud Functions, and Cloud Run](https://cloud.google.com/serverless/#section-6) 
-  [Define rationale for versioning with serverless compute options](https://cloud.google.com/run/docs/rollouts-rollbacks-traffic-migration) 
-  [Cost and performance tradeoffs of scale to zero](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/serverless/how-next-gen-serverless-tools-help-the-enterprise) 

3.4 Identify and evaluate multiple data management offerings. Considerations include:
-  [Describe the differences and benefits of Google Cloud’s relational and non-relational database offerings (e.g., Cloud SQL, Cloud Spanner, Cloud Bigtable, BigQuery)](https://cloud.google.com/products/databases) 
-  [Describe Google Cloud’s database offerings and how they compare to commercial offerings](https://cloud.google.com/architecture/database-migration-concepts-principles-part-1) 

3.5 Distinguish between ML/AI offerings. Considerations include:
-  [Describe the differences and benefits of Google Cloud’s hardware accelerators (e.g., Vision API, AI Platform](https://cloud.google.com/solutions/build-and-use-ai#section-5) [ , TPUs](https://cloud.google.com/ai-platform/training/docs/using-tpus) )
-  [Identify when to train your own model, use a Google Cloud pre-trained model, or build on an existing model](https://cloud.google.com/ai-platform/docs/technical-overview) 

3.6 Differentiate between data movement and data pipelines. Considerations include:
-  [Describe Google Cloud’s data pipeline offerings (e.g., Pub/Sub, Dataflow, Cloud Data Fusion, BigQuery, Looker)](https://cloud.google.com/products#section-7) 
-  [Define data ingestion options](https://cloud.google.com/architecture/data-lifecycle-cloud-platform#ingest) 

3.7 Apply use cases to a high-level Google Cloud architecture. Considerations include:
-  [Define Google Cloud’s offerings around the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)](https://cloud.google.com/products/tools) 
-  [Describe Google Cloud’s platform visibility and alerting offerings](https://cloud.google.com/products/operations#section-8) 

3.8 Describe solutions for migrating workloads to Google Cloud. Considerations include:
-  [Identify data migration options](https://cloud.google.com/solutions/migration-center) 
-  [Differentiate when to use Migrate for Compute Engine](https://cloud.google.com/migrate/compute-engine)   [versus Migrate for Anthos](https://cloud.google.com/migrate/anthos) 
-  [Distinguish between lift and shift](https://cloud.google.com/architecture/migration-to-gcp-getting-started#lift_and_shift)  [versus application modernization](https://cloud.google.com/architecture/migration-to-gcp-getting-started#rip_and_replace) 

3.9 Describe networking to on-premises locations. Considerations include:
-  [Define Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN)](https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/partners/introducing-cisco-sd-wan-cloud-hub-with-google-cloud?hl=FR) 
-  [Determine the best connectivity option based on networking and security requirements](https://cloud.google.com/network-connectivity/docs/how-to/choose-product) 
-  [Private Google Access](https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/private-google-access#pga-supported) 

3.10 Define identity and access features. Considerations include:
-  [Cloud Identity](https://cloud.google.com/files/10909_Cloud_Identity_OnePager_V6.pdf) ,  [Google Cloud Directory Sync](https://support.google.com/a/answer/106368) , [and Identity Access Management (IAM)](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/overview) 

**Additional Learning Resources**

-  [Google Cloud Essentials - YouTube Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D3X6Xl5c_Y&list=PLIivdWyY5sqKh1gDR0WpP9iIOY00IE0xL) 
-  [Overview on key GCP services](https://thecloudgirl.dev/) 
-  [GCP Products](https://cloud.google.com/products)  - to have a quick understanding of various offerings
-  [GCP Developer Cheatsheet](https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/developers-practitioners/back-popular-demand-google-cloud-products-4-words-or-less-2021-edition)  - one pager of all GCP service offerings
-   [Compare AWS & Azure to GCP services](https://cloud.google.com/free/docs/aws-azure-gcp-service-comparison) - if you are already familiar with AWS or Azure

**All the best for your exam preparation and success!**