Google PCA Practice Question: Analyze and optimize technical and business processes
A company uses Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL for their transactional database. They need a disaster recovery solution that provides cross-region failover with a recovery point objective (RPO) of less than 1 minute. Which solution meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between high availability (within a region) and disaster recovery (cross-region), and the trap here is that candidates confuse multi-zone (regional) instances with cross-region failover, or assume that automated backups can meet a sub-minute RPO.
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
✓
Create a cross-region read replica and promote it during failover
A cross-region read replica in Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL can be promoted to a standalone instance during a disaster, enabling failover to another region. The replica uses PostgreSQL's native streaming replication, which typically provides an RPO of less than 1 minute because changes are replicated asynchronously but with very low latency. This meets the stated RPO requirement without needing to redesign the application for global consistency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a cross-region read replica and promote it during failover
Why this is correct
Cross-region read replicas replicate data asynchronously with low RPO.
- ✗
Use Cloud Spanner for global strong consistency
Why it's wrong here
Spanner is a different database service requiring migration.
- ✗
Use a Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance with multiple zones
Why it's wrong here
Zonal HA does not protect against regional failures.
- ✗
Take daily automated backups and restore in another region
Why it's wrong here
Daily backups result in up to 24 hours of data loss.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
Key term
RPO
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time, defining how recent data must be to resume operations after a disruption.
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