Google ACE Deploying and implementing a cloud solution Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of deploying and implementing a cloud solution. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. 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.
A company is running a Cloud SQL for MySQL instance that experiences high read traffic. They want to offload read queries to reduce load on the primary instance. Which action should they take?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create one or more read replicas and direct read queries to them
Creating one or more read replicas allows you to offload read queries from the primary Cloud SQL for MySQL instance. Read replicas are asynchronous replicas that can serve read traffic, reducing load on the primary and improving overall read throughput. This is the correct approach for scaling read-heavy workloads without modifying the primary instance.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Enable automatic storage increase on the primary instance
Why it's wrong here
Storage increase addresses disk space, not read load.
✗
Increase the machine type of the primary instance
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up helps but does not offload reads; it still handles all queries.
✓
Create one or more read replicas and direct read queries to them
Why this is correct
Read replicas handle read traffic, reducing load on the primary.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Change the instance to use private IP only
Why it's wrong here
Private IP secures access but does not offload reads.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between scaling up (increasing machine type) and scaling out (adding read replicas), where candidates mistakenly choose vertical scaling for read offloading instead of horizontal read replication.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud SQL read replicas use MySQL's native asynchronous replication (binlog-based) to maintain a near-real-time copy of the primary instance. Read replicas can be promoted to standalone instances for disaster recovery, and they support up to 10 replicas per primary. In high-read scenarios, you can use connection pooling or proxy layers (e.g., ProxySQL, HAProxy) to route SELECT queries to replicas while writes go to the primary.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
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
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
Deploying and implementing a cloud solution — This question tests Deploying and implementing a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create one or more read replicas and direct read queries to them — Creating one or more read replicas allows you to offload read queries from the primary Cloud SQL for MySQL instance. Read replicas are asynchronous replicas that can serve read traffic, reducing load on the primary and improving overall read throughput. This is the correct approach for scaling read-heavy workloads without modifying the primary instance.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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