Google ACE Planning and Configuring a Cloud Solution Practice Question
A company wants to migrate an on-premises PostgreSQL database to Google Cloud. They need a managed database service with high availability and automatic failover. The application uses many stored procedures and extensions specific to PostgreSQL. Which service should they choose?
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
✓
Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL
Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL supports many PostgreSQL extensions and stored procedures. Cloud Spanner is not PostgreSQL-compatible; Firestore is NoSQL; Bare Metal Solution is for on-premises-like deployments, not managed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cloud Spanner
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Spanner is a horizontally scalable, globally distributed relational database that supports strong consistency, but it does not support the PostgreSQL wire protocol or SQL dialect natively. Migrating an on-premises PostgreSQL database to Cloud Spanner would require significant schema redesign, query rewriting, and data type conversions. It is suited for applications needing seamless horizontal scaling across regions, not a straightforward lift-and-shift of a PostgreSQL workload.
- ✗
Bare Metal Solution
Why it's wrong here
Bare Metal Solution is a Google Cloud offering that provides dedicated, single-tenant infrastructure primarily designed for running Oracle databases and legacy enterprise workloads that require low-level hardware access. It is not a managed PostgreSQL service and does not provide a PostgreSQL-compatible endpoint. Using it for a PostgreSQL migration would mean managing the operating system, database software, backups, and high availability yourself, defeating the purpose of migrating to a managed cloud environment.
- ✓
Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL
Why this is correct
Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL is a fully managed, PostgreSQL-compatible database service that supports the same SQL dialect, extensions, and client protocols as standard PostgreSQL. It enables a straightforward migration path for on-premises PostgreSQL databases using tools like Database Migration Service or pg_dump/pg_restore. Cloud SQL also provides automated backups, high availability, and scaling, making it the optimal choice for a direct PostgreSQL migration without application code changes.
- ✗
Firestore
Why it's wrong here
Firestore is a flexible, horizontally scaling NoSQL document database with a different data model based on collections and documents, rather than relational tables with SQL joins and transactions. It does not speak the PostgreSQL wire protocol, nor does it support PostgreSQL features like stored procedures, window functions, or complex joins. Migrating a PostgreSQL database to Firestore would require completely re-architecting the data layer and rewriting all queries, and would break any SQL-based reporting and analytics.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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Google Cloud Platform Overview
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.
Key term
Google Cloud
Google Cloud is a suite of cloud computing services offered by Google that provides infrastructure, platform, and software solutions over the internet.
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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.