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PCD Practice Question: Which TWO are best practices for reducing the…
Which TWO are best practices for reducing the cost of Cloud Logging for a high-traffic application?
⚠ Common exam trap
The PCD exam often tests the misconception that exporting or deleting logs after ingestion reduces costs, but the trap here is that Cloud Logging bills on ingestion, not storage, so only exclusion filters (which prevent ingestion) actually lower the bill.
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
✓
Use exclusion filters to drop debug logs.
Exclusion filters in Cloud Logging allow you to drop specific log entries (e.g., debug-level logs) before they are ingested, which directly reduces the volume of logs billed. Since Cloud Logging charges based on the amount of data ingested, excluding high-volume, low-value logs like debug messages is a primary cost-saving measure.
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 exclusion filters to drop debug logs.
Why this is correct
Exclusion filters prevent logs from being ingested and stored, directly reducing costs for low-value logs like debug messages.
- ✗
Route all logs to BigQuery for long-term storage.
Why it's wrong here
Routing logs to BigQuery incurs additional BigQuery storage costs and does not reduce Cloud Logging ingestion costs; it may increase overall cost.
- ✗
Use log sinks to export logs to Cloud Storage and delete from Logging.
Why it's wrong here
Exporting to Cloud Storage does not automatically delete logs from Logging unless combined with exclusion filters; it adds storage costs.
- ✓
Set retention periods to the minimum required.
Why this is correct
Shorter retention periods reduce the amount of stored log data, lowering storage costs.
- ✗
Disable default logs for all services.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling default logs may cause loss of important operational data; selective exclusion is better than disabling entirely.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCD 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 PCD exam.