PCDE Practice Question: Deploy scalable and highly available databases in Google Cloud
A company needs to choose a Google Cloud database for a globally distributed application that requires strong consistency across continents and an SLA of 99.999% for availability. Which database service meets these requirements?
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
✓
Cloud Spanner
Cloud Spanner is the only Google Cloud database that provides global strong consistency and a 99.999% availability SLA when using a multi-region configuration. Bigtable offers only eventual consistency across regions, Cloud SQL is regional, and Firestore provides strong consistency only within a single region.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cloud Bigtable
Why it's wrong here
Bigtable offers only eventual consistency across regions, not strong consistency.
- ✗
Cloud SQL
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL is regional and does not offer a multi-region SLA.
- ✗
Firestore
Why it's wrong here
Firestore provides strong consistency only within a single region; multi-region is eventual.
- ✓
Cloud Spanner
Why this is correct
Spanner provides global strong consistency and a 99.999% SLA for multi-region configurations.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.