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Design and Plan Database Solutions →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

PCDOE Bigtable node throughput Practice Question

This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of design and plan database solutions. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. A key principle to apply: bigtable node throughput. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

You need to size a Bigtable cluster for a workload that requires 50,000 reads per second (QPS) and 20,000 writes per second. Each read is about 1 KB, each write is about 1 KB. The data volume is 5 TB and growing. You choose SSD storage. What is the minimum number of nodes?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

  • Clue: "minimum / minimize"

    Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

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

✓

5 nodes

Bigtable SSD nodes can handle approximately 10,000 read QPS per node for 1 KB reads and 10,000 write QPS per node for 1 KB writes. For 50,000 reads QPS, 5 nodes are needed (50,000 / 10,000 = 5). For 20,000 writes QPS, 2 nodes are sufficient, but the read requirement dominates. Each SSD node also provides up to 2.5 TB of storage, so 5 nodes provide 12.5 TB, more than the 5 TB data. With Bigtable’s minimum recommendation of 3 nodes for production, 5 nodes satisfy all requirements. Therefore, the minimum number of nodes is 5.

Key principle: Bigtable node throughput

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • ✗

    72 nodes

    Why it's wrong here

    Incorrect: 72 nodes is an unrealistic overestimate. The workload requires only 5 nodes for throughput and storage.

  • ✗

    50 nodes

    Why it's wrong here

    Incorrect: 50 nodes is excessive. The required QPS can be met with 5 nodes.

  • ✗

    7 nodes

    Why it's wrong here

    Incorrect: 7 nodes is not minimal. While it would work, the minimum is 5 nodes.

  • ✓

    5 nodes

    Why this is correct

    Correct: 5 nodes provide exactly 50,000 read QPS and 20,000 write QPS, with sufficient storage capacity.

    Clue confirmation

    The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.

    Related concept

    Bigtable node throughput

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Candidates often overestimate node requirements for Bigtable, assuming that high QPS or large data volumes require dozens of nodes. In reality, each SSD node handles ~10,000 QPS for 1 KB operations, so 5 nodes are enough for 70K total QPS, and storage is not a bottleneck for 5 TB.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Bigtable's SSD nodes have a throughput limit of approximately 10,000 QPS for mixed 1 KB reads and writes, but this is a guideline; actual performance depends on row key design, locality groups, and compaction overhead. The 5 TB data volume with SSD storage requires careful node count because each SSD node provides about 70 GB of usable storage after replication (3x replication factor), meaning 5 TB / 70 GB ≈ 72 nodes for storage alone, which coincidentally matches the throughput requirement. In real-world scenarios, you must also consider CPU utilization for compaction and garbage collection, which can reduce effective throughput by 20-30%.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Bigtable node throughput
  • Bigtable node storage
  • Node sizing factors

TExam Day Tips

  • Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
  • Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Bigtable node throughput

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Review bigtable node throughput, then practise related PCDOE questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this PCDOE question test?

Design and Plan Database Solutions — This question tests Design and Plan Database Solutions — Bigtable node throughput.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: 5 nodes — Bigtable SSD nodes can handle approximately 10,000 read QPS per node for 1 KB reads and 10,000 write QPS per node for 1 KB writes. For 50,000 reads QPS, 5 nodes are needed (50,000 / 10,000 = 5). For 20,000 writes QPS, 2 nodes are sufficient, but the read requirement dominates. Each SSD node also provides up to 2.5 TB of storage, so 5 nodes provide 12.5 TB, more than the 5 TB data. With Bigtable’s minimum recommendation of 3 nodes for production, 5 nodes satisfy all requirements. Therefore, the minimum number of nodes is 5.

What should I do if I get this PCDOE question wrong?

Review bigtable node throughput, then practise related PCDOE questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Bigtable node throughput

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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

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This PCDOE 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 PCDOE exam.