Design innovative, scalable, and highly available cloud database solutions →mediumMultiple SelectObjective-mapped
PCDE Practice Question: Design innovative, scalable, and highly available cloud database solutions
A company is using Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL and wants to improve read scalability for a reporting dashboard that executes complex aggregate queries. The reports can tolerate up to 5 minutes of data staleness. Which two actions should the team take?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between scaling reads via replicas versus scaling writes or optimizing connections, and candidates mistakenly choose connection pooling or vertical scaling as a solution for read-heavy workloads.
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 read replicas in Cloud SQL and configure the reporting application to connect to the replicas
Creating read replicas in Cloud SQL offloads read traffic from the primary instance, allowing complex aggregate queries to run on replicas without impacting write performance. Since the reports can tolerate up to 5 minutes of staleness, the asynchronous replication lag inherent in Cloud SQL read replicas is acceptable, making this a cost-effective and scalable solution.
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 PostgreSQL query cache to speed up aggregate queries
Why it's wrong here
PostgreSQL does not have a built-in query cache; this is not a valid option.
- ✓
Create read replicas in Cloud SQL and configure the reporting application to connect to the replicas
Why this is correct
Read replicas offload read traffic and can serve stale data with minimal lag.
- ✗
Increase the number of vCPUs on the primary instance to handle more queries
Why it's wrong here
This does not isolate reporting workload; it still impacts primary performance.
- ✗
Configure a connection pool to reduce connection overhead
Why it's wrong here
Connection pooling helps with connection management but does not significantly improve read scalability for complex queries.
- ✓
Use Database Migration Service to continuously replicate data to BigQuery for reporting
Why this is correct
BigQuery can handle complex aggregates without impacting Cloud SQL; DMS can stream data.
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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.