Google PCA Practice Question: Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes
A company stores infrequently accessed data in Cloud Storage Standard class. To reduce costs, they want to automatically move objects older than 90 days to a lower-cost storage class. Which approach 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
✓
Configure a lifecycle policy to transition to Archive class
Cloud Storage lifecycle policies allow automatic transitions between storage classes based on conditions like age. Setting a rule to transition from Standard to Nearline, Coldline, or Archive after 90 days is the correct approach. Object versioning keeps multiple versions but doesn't change class. Pub/Sub notifications notify events but don't act. gsutil rewrite can be scripted but is manual.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Configure a lifecycle policy to transition to Archive class
Why this is correct
Lifecycle policies automatically move objects to lower-cost classes based on rules.
- ✗
Use gsutil rewrite to manually change storage class
Why it's wrong here
Manual scripting is not the automated solution recommended.
- ✗
Set up Pub/Sub notifications for object changes
Why it's wrong here
Notifications do not automatically transition storage classes.
- ✗
Enable object versioning
Why it's wrong here
Object versioning keeps historical versions but does not change storage class.
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
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
Pub/Sub
Pub/Sub is a messaging pattern where publishers send messages without knowing who receives them, and subscribers receive only the messages they care about.
Key term
Storage class
A storage class is a category of data storage that defines how data is stored, accessed, retrieved, and billed in a cloud environment.
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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.