Google PCA Manage and provision cloud infrastructure Practice Question
A company uses Terraform to manage Google Cloud infrastructure. They want to store the Terraform state file in a remote backend with state locking to prevent concurrent modifications. Which Google Cloud service supports this natively?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that any database with locking (like Cloud Spanner or Cloud SQL) can serve as a Terraform backend, but the exam requires knowing that only services with a native Terraform backend implementation—specifically Cloud Storage—are supported for state locking.
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 Storage
Google Cloud Storage (GCS) is the only option that natively supports Terraform's remote state backend with state locking. Terraform uses GCS's object versioning and a write-lock mechanism via a separate lock file (e.g., `default.tflock`) stored in the same bucket, leveraging GCS's strong consistency for atomic operations. This prevents concurrent `terraform apply` commands from corrupting the state.
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 Firestore
Why it's wrong here
Firestore is a NoSQL database, not a typical backend for Terraform state.
- ✗
Cloud Spanner
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Spanner can be used but is not the standard choice; it requires a Terraform provider.
- ✗
Bigtable
Why it's wrong here
Bigtable is a NoSQL database, not suitable for Terraform state.
- ✓
Cloud Storage
Why this is correct
Correct. Cloud Storage is the native Terraform backend for GCP.
- ✗
Cloud SQL
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL is a relational database, but Terraform does not have a native backend for it.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Cloud Storage: Objects and Buckets
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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.