Unit 4 roadmap — Modernize Infrastructure and Applications with Google Cloud

Every objective below is quoted from Google's Cloud Digital Leader exam guide, retrieved 2026-09-22. Under each topic is that topic's own summary of what the exam actually tests, taken from its lecture.

Topic 1 — Cloud modernization and migration

CDL-U4.T1 · 2 objectives · lecture deck of 9 slides

1. Discuss benefits of infrastructure modernization and application modernization by using Google Cloud.
2. Define the main cloud migration terms, including: workload; retire; retain; rehost; lift and shift; replatform; move and improve; refactor; reimagine.

What this topic actually tests. Moving or changing? migration moves; modernization transforms. Which layer? infrastructure modernization avoids hardware refresh; application modernization innovates faster. Which path, for THIS application? retire and retain do not migrate; rehost, replatform, refactor and reimagine migrate with increasing change.

Topic 2 — Computing in the cloud

CDL-U4.T2 · 5 objectives · lecture deck of 12 slides

1. Define the main cloud compute terms, including: virtual machines (VMs); containerization; containers; microservices; serverless computing; preemptible VMs; Kubernetes, autoscaling, load balancing.
2. Describe the benefits and business value of running compute workloads in the cloud.
3. Explain the choices and constraints between different compute options.
4. Discuss the business value of using Compute Engine to create and run virtual machines on Google’s infrastructure.
5. Discuss the business value of choosing a rehost migration path for specialized legacy applications.

What this topic actually tests. Package or platform? a container is how code travels; Cloud Run or GKE is where it runs. Control or simplicity? more control is more to manage. Group or load balancer? one changes the machines, the other routes to them. Can it change? if not, rehost — and accept it is not yet optimized.

Topic 3 — Serverless computing

CDL-U4.T3 · 2 objectives · lecture deck of 10 slides

1. Explain the benefits of serverless computing.
2. Discuss the business value of using serverless computing Google Cloud products, including: Cloud Run; App Engine; Cloud Functions.

What this topic actually tests. On demand or event-driven? Only serverless stops when nothing happens. Saving or first-request delay? Scale to zero gives both; minimum instances trade one for the other. Which shape of work? Requests → service; run-and-stop → job; an event → function; an existing web app → App Engine, new ones → Cloud Run.

Topic 4 — Containers in the cloud

CDL-U4.T4 · 4 objectives · lecture deck of 11 slides

1. Discuss the advantages of modern cloud application development.
2. Differentiate between virtual machines and containers.
3. Discuss the main benefits of containers and microservices for application modernization.
4. Discuss the business value of using Google Cloud products to deploy containers, including: Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE); Cloud Run.

What this topic actually tests. Where it runs, or how it is built? cloud native is the second. Which layer is virtualized? hardware for a VM, the OS for a container. What does splitting buy, and cost? independent scale and failure — and harder tracing. Who manages the nodes? Google in Autopilot, you in Standard, nobody you see in Cloud Run.

Topic 5 — The value of APIs

CDL-U4.T5 · 3 objectives · lecture deck of 10 slides

1. Define application programming interface (API).
2. Explain how organizations can create new business opportunities by exposing and monetizing public-facing APIs.
3. Discuss the business value of using Apigee API Management.

What this topic actually tests. Interface, contract, proxy or program? name which one the item is about. Channel, reach or legacy? the three ways an exposed API earns. Which pain, which capability? portal for onboarding, analytics for blindness, the proxy for change — and hybrid when traffic must stay on-premises.

Topic 6 — Hybrid and multi-cloud

CDL-U4.T6 · 2 objectives · lecture deck of 9 slides

1. Discuss the reasons and use cases for why organizations choose a hybrid cloud or multi-cloud strategy.
2. Describe the business value of using Anthos as a single control panel for the management of hybrid or multicloud infrastructure.

What this topic actually tests. Permanent or temporary? a merger or migration is a stage, not a strategy. Which driver is stated? sovereignty, capability, lock-in or resilience. Which name? Anthos on the exam; GKE fleet management in Google's documentation — one idea, managed from one console.