Google PCA Practice Question: Analyze and optimize technical and business processes
A company stores backup data in Cloud Storage. They observe high egress costs when clients download backups. Additionally, they must retain backups for 7 years for compliance. Which optimization should they implement first?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that changing storage class (e.g., to Archive) reduces egress costs, when in fact egress costs are independent of storage class and requester pays is the direct solution for shifting download costs.
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
✓
Enable requester pays on the bucket
High egress costs occur when clients download backups, and enabling requester pays shifts these costs to the clients. This directly addresses the cost issue without changing storage class or retention. Requester pays is the first optimization because it resolves the immediate cost problem while lifecycle rules or storage class changes address separate concerns like retention or storage cost.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use lifecycle rules to transition to Archive after 30 days and delete after 7 years
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle rules to Archive and delete reduce storage cost and enforce retention, but egress charges still apply each time clients download the backups. It tempts because it addresses the 7-year compliance requirement elegantly, and would be correct if storage cost, not download egress, were the primary problem.
- ✓
Enable requester pays on the bucket
Why this is correct
Requester pays shifts egress charges to the downloading clients, directly addressing the high egress cost constraint. Since backups must still be retained for seven years, this preserves the data unchanged while eliminating the company's own retrieval fees.
- ✗
Set up a Cloud CDN for backup downloads
Why it's wrong here
Cloud CDN caches content at edge locations, but backup downloads are unique per client and not cacheable, so egress from the bucket still occurs. It tempts because CDNs reduce egress for popular static content, and would be correct if clients repeatedly downloaded the same shared objects.
- ✗
Move the backup data to Archive storage class
Why it's wrong here
Archive storage class lowers storage cost, not egress charges, which are billed on data downloaded by clients regardless of class. It tempts because Archive suits long-term retention, and would be correct if the concern were storage cost for rarely accessed 7-year backups rather than repeated downloads.
Visual reference
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Migration and Transfer Services
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
Key term
Cloud storage
Cloud storage is a service that lets you save data on remote servers accessed over the internet instead of on your computer's hard drive.
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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.