Google PCA Manage implementation of cloud architecture Practice Question
A financial services company runs a mission-critical database on Compute Engine with local SSDs. They need to ensure data durability in case of an instance failure while maintaining low latency. What should they do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that local SSDs are durable because they are fast, but the trap here is that local SSDs are ephemeral and data is lost on instance failure, so candidates may incorrectly choose snapshotting or database replication instead of the correct regional persistent disk solution.
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 regional persistent disk with synchronous replication and attach it to the instance
Regional persistent disks (PD) provide synchronous replication of data between two zones in the same region, ensuring data durability even if the entire zone fails. By attaching a regional PD to a Compute Engine instance, you maintain low latency (since the disk is network-attached but still within the same region) while achieving the required durability. Local SSDs, while offering very low latency, are ephemeral and lose data on instance failure, so they are not suitable for mission-critical durability requirements.
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 regional persistent disk with synchronous replication and attach it to the instance
Why this is correct
Regional persistent disks replicate data synchronously across zones, providing durability and low latency.
- ✗
Use a managed instance group with autohealing and store data on a persistent disk
Why it's wrong here
Persistent disks are durable but local SSDs provide lower latency; switching to persistent disk may increase latency.
- ✗
Set up a read replica in another zone using database-native replication
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas don't provide synchronous durability; writes are async.
- ✗
Take regular snapshots of the local SSDs to Cloud Storage
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots have RPO/ RTO latency, not real-time durability.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Google Cloud Compute Options Overview
Key term
Compute Engine
Compute Engine is Google Cloud's Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering that lets you create and run virtual machines on Google's infrastructure.
Key term
Latency
Latency is the time delay between a request being sent over a network and the response being received, often measured in milliseconds.
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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.