PCSE Practice Question: Managing Operations in a Cloud Solution Environment
A company wants to use Cloud Audit Logs to monitor for security incidents. They need to retain logs for 6 months for analysis and then archive them for 5 years. Which TWO steps should they take?
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 a log sink to Cloud Storage with the Archive storage class and Bucket Lock retention of 5 years.
Create a log sink to BigQuery for short-term analysis (6 months) with a table expiration. Create another sink to Cloud Storage with an archive class and a retention policy for long-term archival. A single sink cannot do both. Pub/Sub is not archival. Default retention is only 400 days.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a log sink to Cloud Storage with the Archive storage class and Bucket Lock retention of 5 years.
Why this is correct
Provides immutable, cost-effective archival.
- ✗
Rely on the default 400-day retention in Cloud Logging.
Why it's wrong here
Insufficient for 6 months analysis plus 5 years archive.
- ✗
Enable Data Access logs for all services.
Why it's wrong here
Not specific to retention requirements.
- ✗
Create a log sink to Pub/Sub and store in Cloud SQL.
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary complexity and cost.
- ✓
Create a log sink to BigQuery with a table expiration of 6 months.
Why this is correct
Allows SQL analysis during the retention period.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCSE 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 PCSE exam.