PDE Storing the Data Practice Question
A company needs to store logs in Cloud Storage for compliance, with a requirement that logs cannot be deleted or overwritten for a period of 7 years. Which Cloud Storage feature should they enable?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google often tests the distinction between features that prevent deletion (Bucket Lock) versus features that only track versions or automate cleanup (Versioning, Lifecycle), leading candidates to choose Versioning or Lifecycle rules thinking they enforce immutability.
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
✓
Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years.
Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years is the correct feature because it enforces a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) model on the bucket. Once a retention policy is locked, objects cannot be deleted or overwritten until the retention period expires, meeting the compliance requirement for immutable log storage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years.
Why this is correct
Bucket Lock applies a retention policy that prevents objects from being deleted or overwritten until the specified period elapses, directly enforcing the seven-year compliance requirement. It is the Cloud Storage mechanism designed for immutable, tamper-resistant retention.
- ✗
Requester Pays bucket setting.
Why it's wrong here
Requester Pays shifts bandwidth and operation costs to the caller; it imposes no retention or immutability. It tempts because it is a bucket-level compliance-adjacent control, and would be correct when serving data to external parties who should bear access costs.
- ✗
Versioning enabled with Object Hold.
Why it's wrong here
Object Hold alone enforces retention, but Versioning permits overwriting by creating new object versions rather than blocking writes; a Bucket Lock retention policy is what prevents deletion or overwrite for a fixed 7-year period. Versioning is tempting because it preserves prior generations for recovery, which suits accidental-deletion scenarios, not immutable compliance retention.
- ✗
Object lifecycle management with a delete rule after 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle rules delete objects after the period, which is the opposite of preventing deletion; a Bucket Lock retention policy is required. It tempts because lifecycle management handles time-based data handling, and would be correct for cost-driven cleanup rather than compliance.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PDE 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 PDE exam.