Question 373 of 1,446
Manage a solution that can span multiple database technologies →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
PCDE Practice Question: Manage a solution that can span multiple database technologies
An organization runs a Cloud SQL for MySQL instance for its e-commerce platform. During a load test, they notice the CPU utilization consistently exceeds 80% and queries are slowing down. The instance is using 2 vCPUs. The team needs to improve performance with minimal downtime. 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
✓
Increase the number of vCPUs and memory via vertical scaling
Increasing vCPUs and memory vertically (scaling up) is the quickest way to improve CPU-bound performance with minimal downtime. Cloud SQL supports online vertical scaling. Read replicas are for read offloading, not CPU-bound write performance. Auto-storage increase addresses storage, not CPU.
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 vCPUs and memory via vertical scaling
Why this is correct
Vertical scaling adds more CPU and memory, directly addressing high CPU utilization. Cloud SQL supports this online.
- ✗
Create a cross-region read replica
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas offload read traffic but do not reduce CPU load from write-heavy operations.
- ✗
Enable automatic storage increase
Why it's wrong here
Automatic storage increase addresses disk space, not CPU performance.
- ✗
Shard the database using application-level sharding
Why it's wrong here
Sharding requires significant application changes and is not a simple operational fix.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PCDE
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Variation 1. A Cloud SQL for MySQL instance is experiencing high CPU utilisation (>80%) and slow query performance. The instance has auto-storage increase enabled. Which step should the engineer take to immediately reduce CPU load?
easy- ✓ A.Increase the instance tier to a larger machine type
- B.Reduce the max_connections parameter
- C.Create a cross-region read replica to offload reads
- D.Enable auto-storage increase if not already enabled
Why A: High CPU utilisation is often due to insufficient compute capacity. Increasing the instance tier (vertical scaling) provides more CPU and memory, reducing load. Enabling auto-storage increase only adds disk space, not compute. Creating a read replica distributes read traffic but does not help with CPU load on the primary for write-heavy workloads. Adjusting max_connections may help marginally but is not as effective as increasing compute capacity.
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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