Google PCA Practice Question: Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes
A company has a Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance that experiences high connection overhead. Developers frequently open and close connections. Which solution reduces connection overhead without code changes?
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
✓
Configure PgBouncer as a sidecar
Cloud SQL Auth Proxy provides secure connections but does not pool. PgBouncer is a connection pooler for PostgreSQL; it maintains a pool of connections and reuses them. Increasing max_connections doesn't reduce overhead. Using private IP alone doesn't pool.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase max_connections in Cloud SQL
Why it's wrong here
Increasing max_connections allows more concurrent connections but doesn't reduce overhead.
- ✓
Configure PgBouncer as a sidecar
Why this is correct
PgBouncer is a lightweight connection pooler that reduces overhead by reusing connections.
- ✗
Switch to Private IP
Why it's wrong here
Private IP changes network path but doesn't pool connections.
- ✗
Use Cloud SQL Auth Proxy
Why it's wrong here
Auth Proxy provides authentication and encryption, not connection pooling.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
Proxy
A proxy is an intermediary server that sits between a client and a destination server, forwarding requests and responses while providing security, privacy, and control.
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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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCA 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 PCA exam.