Question 974 of 1,446
PCDE Practice Question: Manage a solution that can span multiple database technologies
A Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance is experiencing a surge in read traffic. The team wants to offload read queries without affecting write latency. What should they do?
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 same-region read replica
Creating read replicas allows distributing read traffic, reducing load on the primary instance for writes. Read replicas are the standard solution for scaling read workloads.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable automated backups
Why it's wrong here
Automated backups are for data recovery, not performance.
- ✓
Create a same-region read replica
Why this is correct
Same-region read replicas offload read traffic with minimal latency, preserving write performance on the primary.
- ✗
Create a cross-region read replica
Why it's wrong here
A cross-region read replica introduces additional latency for replica synchronisation and does not address the read surge within the same region; the replication lag can cause stale reads, and the replica’s location does not reduce load on the primary instance’s local read path. This option is tempting because cross-region replicas are designed for disaster recovery and geographic read distribution, which would be correct if the requirement were to serve reads from a distant location rather than to offload local read traffic without write latency impact.
- ✗
Increase the CPU of the primary instance
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up the primary instance may help but does not offload reads as effectively as replicas.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This PCDE 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 PCDE exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.