Design innovative, scalable, and highly available cloud database solutions →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
PCDE Practice Question: Design innovative, scalable, and highly available cloud database solutions
A company is migrating a large on-premises MySQL database to Cloud SQL. The source database supports heavy reporting queries that scan millions of rows and join multiple tables. The team wants to minimize downtime and avoid performance degradation during migration. Which migration approach should they use?
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
✓
Set up Database Migration Service (DMS) with continuous replication from the source to Cloud SQL, then cut over when replication lag is minimal
Database Migration Service (DMS) with continuous replication allows near-zero downtime migration by replicating changes from the source to Cloud SQL while the source remains operational. Export/import methods typically require downtime. Replicating to BigQuery is not relevant for Cloud SQL migration. Just changing instance size does not handle data migration.
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 gcloud sql import command to import a CSV export while the source database remains in use
Why it's wrong here
CSV export/import is a batch operation that requires source to be offline or read-only for consistency; it is not zero-downtime.
- ✗
Create a BigQuery transfer service to move data from MySQL to Cloud SQL
Why it's wrong here
BigQuery is not involved in Cloud SQL migration; this is not a valid approach.
- ✓
Set up Database Migration Service (DMS) with continuous replication from the source to Cloud SQL, then cut over when replication lag is minimal
Why this is correct
DMS with continuous replication minimizes downtime by synchronizing data in real-time until cutover.
- ✗
Use mysqldump to export the data and import it into Cloud SQL during a maintenance window
Why it's wrong here
This approach requires significant downtime and may cause performance issues on the source during dump.
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