Cloud Digital Leader Google Cloud Products and Services Practice Question
A company wants to migrate its on-premises MySQL database to Google Cloud with minimal changes to the application. Which managed database service should they use?
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 MySQL
Cloud SQL provides managed MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server databases. It is compatible with existing MySQL applications. Cloud Spanner is globally distributed but not drop-in MySQL. Firestore and Bigtable are NoSQL.
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 globally distributed relational database that provides external consistency and horizontal scaling, but it is not a drop-in replacement for MySQL. It uses its own storage engine, a PostgreSQL-compatible dialect (as of 2024) but no MySQL wire protocol, and requires redesigning indexes, partitioning, and transaction patterns. Migrating an on-premises MySQL database to Spanner would involve significant application changes, making it an incorrect choice for a direct lift-and-shift.
- ✗
Cloud Bigtable
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Bigtable is a NoSQL wide-column database optimized for high-throughput, low-latency read/write operations on time-series and analytical data, not for transactional relational workloads. It does not support SQL queries, joins, or MySQL-compatible ACID transactions, and its API is fundamentally different from MySQL's protocol. Because an existing MySQL application relies on these relational features, Bigtable cannot serve as a migration target without a complete rewrite, making it wrong for this scenario.
- ✓
Cloud SQL for MySQL
Why this is correct
Cloud SQL for MySQL is Google Cloud's fully managed service that is natively compatible with the MySQL engine, including support for MySQL 5.7, 8.0, and 8.4. It provides the same SQL syntax, stored procedures, triggers, and InnoDB storage engine, so existing applications can connect with standard MySQL drivers and require minimal to no code changes. With automated backups, high availability, read replicas, and straightforward import tools, it is the correct and lowest-risk choice for migrating an on-premises MySQL database.
- ✗
Firestore
Why it's wrong here
Firestore is a serverless NoSQL document database designed for mobile, web, and real-time applications, offering flexible schemas and real-time listeners. It does not support relational constructs such as tables, foreign keys, joins, or SQL queries, and its transaction model is limited to documents and collections rather than multi-row relational operations. An existing MySQL database with normalized schemas cannot be migrated to Firestore without a full redesign of the data model and application logic, making it an incorrect option for this migration.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Cloud Digital Transformation
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
SQL
SQL is a standard programming language used to manage, query, and manipulate relational databases by issuing commands like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.
About these practice questions
This GCDL question is part of Courseiva's 829-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This GCDL 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 GCDL exam.