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CL-221 Cloud & Platform

GCP Core Services Practitioner

Google Cloud fluency for engineers: projects and IAM, VPC networking, Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL and operations suite — completing the tri-cloud trilogy with the same reference application so learners hold all three vendors' models side by side.

B2Foundation
6modules
42skill atoms
3role journeys
Curriculum

What this course covers.

6 modules, 42 named skill atoms. Expand any module to see them.

1GCP Structure7 skill atoms
projectsfoldersIAM bindingsorganization resource hierarchypredefined vs custom rolesservice accounts & impersonationbilling account association
2VPC the Google Way7 skill atoms
global VPCfirewall rulesroutesregional subnets in a global networkfirewall targeting by network tagCloud NAT egressShared VPC host & service projects
3Compute & Storage7 skill atoms
GCEMIGsstorage classesmachine families & custom typesspot VM behaviourinstance templates & autohealingbucket lifecycle rules
4Managed Data7 skill atoms
Cloud SQLbackupsconnectivityregional HA failoverread replicasprivate IP vs Cloud SQL Auth Proxypoint-in-time recovery
5Operations Suite7 skill atoms
loggingmonitoringbudgetslog sinks to BigQuerylog-based metricsuptime checks & alerting policiesbudget alerts and quota watch
6Three-Tier Build7 skill atoms
deploycompare across all three cloudsglobal HTTP(S) load balancer over a MIGfirewall by service accountCloud SQL on private IPSecret Manager for credentialstri-cloud delta memo
Where it fits

CL-221 in the role journeys.

This course appears in 3 of our 45 role journeys. Here is what a learner takes immediately before and after it in each.

Cloud Engineer

Practitioner stage
CL-211CL-221CL-205

Cloud / Solutions Architect

Foundation stage
CL-211CL-221CL-101

Multi-Cloud Engineer

Practitioner stage
CL-211CL-221CL-311

Roles this course serves

The capability ladder

This course is authored to band B2.

Every course we run is written to one rung of the CASI ladder, so a plan can be assembled to take a team from where they are to where they need to be.

What do B1–B6 mean?The CASI Capability Ladder — click to expand

Every course targets a band on the CASI Capability Ladder — our six-band proficiency scale, anchored to open standards (O*NET, ESCO, NICE, NIST AI RMF, Bloom's). A band tells you how deep a course goes, and what evidence proves it.

What the learner can doTypical evidence
B1
AwareUnderstands concepts and vocabulary; uses tools with guidance
Knowledge checks
B2
FoundationPerforms standard tasks correctly in familiar contexts
Guided labs, autograded exercises
B3
PractitionerDelivers complete pieces of work independently
Scenario labs, proctored hands-on exams
B4
ProfessionalHandles production-grade complexity, trade-offs and failure modes
Break-fix drills, design defenses
B5
AdvancedEngineers systems end-to-end under constraints; leads others
Rubric-scored capstones, vivas
B6
ExpertSets direction; recognised authority across teams
Portfolio + panel evaluation

A note on B6. Courses in this catalog target B1–B5. B6 is not taught — it is recognised, through a portfolio and a panel, once someone is setting direction for others. Every journey here is built to land a learner at B5.

Next step

Run CL-221 for your team.

This course runs at several lengths depending on how deep you need to go and how much of it your people already have. Tell us who is being trained and we will scope it.

Add it to a training plan Talk to our team Check your team’s level free