Google ACE Planning and Configuring a Cloud Solution Practice Question
A company wants to migrate a large on-premises MySQL database to Cloud SQL with minimal downtime. Which TWO steps should they take?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Set up a Cloud VPN connection between on-premises and Google Cloud
Database Migration Service (DMS) can migrate with minimal downtime using CDC. For the final cutover, a brief write-stop is required to ensure consistency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Set up a Cloud VPN connection between on-premises and Google Cloud
Why this is correct
A Cloud VPN tunnel is a prerequisite, not an alternative to DMS: Database Migration Service connects to your on-premises MySQL over a private IP address, and the VPN provides the secure, encrypted network path across the public internet. Without this connectivity, DMS cannot establish the replication channel needed for continuous sync. High-bandwidth, low-latency Interconnect is the alternative when VPN bandwidth is insufficient.
- ✓
Use Database Migration Service (DMS) with continuous replication
Why this is correct
DMS is the recommended service for minimal-downtime migrations: it performs an initial one-time backfill of your existing data, then continuously replicates ongoing changes from the on-premises MySQL binlog to a Cloud SQL instance. This allows you to keep the source database live during the migration and switch traffic only after the replica has caught up. DMS handles schema translation and works with MySQL natively.
- ✗
Configure a read replica on-premises and promote it in Google Cloud
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas in Cloud SQL are managed replicas that only operate within the Cloud SQL ecosystem; you cannot create an on-premises read replica of a Cloud SQL primary or promote a standalone on-premises replica into a Cloud SQL instance. The replica promotion concept applies only to Cloud SQL-managed replicas, not to on-premises databases. Therefore, this approach is not technically valid for migrating to Cloud SQL.
- ✗
Use gcloud sql import command for the final migration
Why it's wrong here
The `gcloud sql import` command performs an offline bulk load into an existing Cloud SQL instance. If used for the final cutover, you must first quiesce writes to the source database to produce a consistent export, and the import itself takes time, during which the database cannot serve traffic. It also does not capture any changes made after the dump, making it unsuitable for a minimal-downtime migration.
- ✗
Export the database to a SQL dump file and import it to Cloud SQL
Why it's wrong here
Exporting to a SQL dump file and then importing creates a point-in-time snapshot only; any transactions committed after the dump begins are lost unless writes are stopped, forcing a full maintenance window. For a large on-premises database, the dump, upload, and import can take hours or even days, so business downtime becomes prohibitive. This approach is a classic cold migration and fails the minimal-downtime requirement.
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Google Cloud Platform Overview
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
Key term
Cloud SQL
Cloud SQL is a fully managed relational database service that lets you set up, maintain, and scale SQL databases (like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server) in the cloud without managing the underlying infrastructure.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This ACE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the ACE exam.