Question 4 of 1,446
PCDE Practice Question: Manage a solution that can span multiple database technologies
A company is using Bigtable for real-time analytics and notices that some queries are experiencing high latency. They suspect a hot spot due to a row key design that uses a monotonically increasing value. Which two actions should they take to diagnose and mitigate the hot spottedness? (Choose TWO.)
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
✓
Redesign the row key to include a hash prefix or a field that distributes writes evenly
Key Visualiser helps identify hot spots by showing row key distribution. Prefixing the row key with a field that distributes writes (like a hash prefix) is a common mitigation strategy.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the number of nodes to spread the load
Why it's wrong here
Adding nodes does not fix a hot spot caused by row key design; the hot key still hits one node.
- ✓
Redesign the row key to include a hash prefix or a field that distributes writes evenly
Why this is correct
A more distributed row key avoids hot spots.
- ✗
Create a Bigtable table with a different column family
Why it's wrong here
Column families do not affect row key distribution.
- ✓
Use Key Visualiser in the Google Cloud console to analyse row key distribution
Why this is correct
Key Visualiser provides visualisation of row key access patterns.
- ✗
Switch from HDD to SSD storage type
Why it's wrong here
Changing storage type requires a new cluster and does not fix hot spots.
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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.
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