hardMultiple Choice
Google PCA Practice Question: A company requires a globally distributed…
A company requires a globally distributed relational database with strong consistency across regions and automatic replication. They need to support SQL queries and have a write throughput of 100,000 writes per second. Which Google Cloud database meets these requirements?
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 Spanner
Cloud Spanner is a globally distributed, strongly consistent relational database that supports SQL and can scale to millions of writes per second. Cloud SQL is regional, Bigtable is NoSQL and not relational, BigQuery is an analytics warehouse.
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 this is correct
Cloud Spanner is the only Google Cloud relational database delivering strong global consistency through TrueTime, with horizontal write scaling that handles 100,000 writes per second and automatic multi-region replication, while still supporting standard SQL queries.
- ✗
Cloud Bigtable
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Bigtable is a wide-column NoSQL store; it provides neither relational SQL semantics nor strong cross-region consistency. It is tempting because it handles very high write throughput, but that throughput comes with eventual consistency and a non-relational data model, failing the SQL and consistency requirements.
- ✗
BigQuery
Why it's wrong here
BigQuery is an analytics warehouse optimised for large-scale read queries and columnar scans, not 100,000 row-level writes per second with strong multi-region consistency. It is tempting because it is globally distributed and SQL-capable, but its write model suits batch loading, not high-throughput transactional writes.
- ✗
Cloud SQL with cross-region replication
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL cross-region replication is asynchronous and single-primary, so it cannot deliver strong consistency plus 100,000 writes per second globally. It is tempting because it is relational and SQL-capable, but its replication model and vertical scaling limits do not meet the stated consistency and throughput demands.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Key term
Cloud Spanner
Cloud Spanner is a fully managed, globally distributed relational database service from Google Cloud that combines the benefits of relational database structure with horizontal scalability and strong consistency.
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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