PDE Ingesting and Processing the Data Practice Question
A data engineer needs to migrate 200 TB of on-premises Oracle data to BigQuery. The network bandwidth is limited to 100 Mbps, and the data must be loaded within 2 weeks. Which Google Cloud service is most appropriate for the initial data transfer?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume online services like Storage Transfer Service or BigQuery Data Transfer Service can handle large volumes if given enough time, ignoring the hard bandwidth calculation that proves 200 TB at 100 Mbps is impossible within 2 weeks.
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
✓
Transfer Appliance
Transfer Appliance is correct because it is a physical device designed for large-scale offline data transfers when network bandwidth is insufficient. With 200 TB at 100 Mbps, the theoretical transfer time exceeds 190 days, far beyond the 2-week window. Transfer Appliance allows shipping the data directly to Google, bypassing network constraints entirely.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Transfer Appliance
Why this is correct
At 100 Mbps, 200 TB needs roughly 185 days of continuous transfer, far beyond the two-week deadline. Transfer Appliance ships data physically, bypassing the bandwidth constraint entirely, then uploads to Cloud Storage for loading into BigQuery.
- ✗
BigQuery Data Transfer Service for Oracle
Why it's wrong here
BigQuery Data Transfer Service for Oracle is a scheduled, recurring query service for datasets already reachable over the network, not a bulk migration tool. It is tempting because it targets BigQuery, but 200 TB over a 100 Mbps link cannot complete within two weeks, so the transfer must be shipped physically.
- ✗
Datastream
Why it's wrong here
Datastream provides change data capture for replicating ongoing Oracle changes into BigQuery, not the initial 200 TB bulk load. It is tempting because it connects Oracle to BigQuery, but continuous replication over a 100 Mbps link cannot move 200 TB within two weeks; physical transfer is required first.
- ✗
Storage Transfer Service
Why it's wrong here
Storage Transfer Service moves data between cloud storage buckets or from HTTP sources; it cannot read an on-premises Oracle database directly. It is tempting because it performs large-scale transfers, but at 100 Mbps, 200 TB would take roughly 200 days, far exceeding the two-week window.
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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.