Courseiva
← ACE
Full test
Question 374 of 500
Planning and configuring a cloud solution →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is a single Cloud SQL instance with a separate schema per customer, provisioned via API automation. This approach is correct because it achieves complete multi-tenant database isolation by using separate schemas within one database engine, allowing you to enforce strict data boundaries while sharing a single compute and storage resource pool. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of balancing isolation with operational efficiency—the common trap is assuming each customer needs a separate Cloud SQL instance, which creates massive management overhead and connection limits. The key insight is that Cloud SQL supports up to 10,000 databases per instance, so provisioning a new schema via API takes seconds and leverages connection pooling, whereas managing 200 separate instances would be costly and slow. Memory tip: think "one engine, many garages"—one Cloud SQL engine houses many isolated schemas, each like a separate garage for a tenant.

Google ACE Planning and configuring a cloud solution Practice Question

This ACE practice question tests your understanding of planning and configuring 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 SaaS company serves 200 enterprise customers, each requiring complete data isolation in separate databases. The company needs to provision a new customer database within minutes and manage 200 databases with minimal overhead. Which GCP approach scales most efficiently?

Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →

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

✓

A single Cloud SQL instance with a separate schema (database) per customer, provisioned via API automation

Option B is correct because it uses a single Cloud SQL instance with separate schemas (databases) per customer, which allows you to achieve complete data isolation while minimizing overhead. Provisioning a new schema via API automation takes seconds, and managing 200 schemas on one instance is far more efficient than managing 200 separate instances. This approach scales efficiently because Cloud SQL supports up to 10,000 databases per instance, and you can leverage connection pooling and shared resources without sacrificing isolation.

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.

  • ✗

    200 separate Cloud SQL instances, one per customer

    Why it's wrong here

    200 separate Cloud SQL instances generate significant operational overhead (patching, monitoring, backups), costs, and slow provisioning — not scalable.

  • ✓

    A single Cloud SQL instance with a separate schema (database) per customer, provisioned via API automation

    Why this is correct

    A single Cloud SQL instance with per-customer databases (schemas) balances isolation, cost efficiency, and provisioning speed. Automation via API or Terraform enables sub-minute provisioning.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • ✗

    Storing all customer data in a single shared database with customer_id as a discriminator column

    Why it's wrong here

    A shared database with a discriminator column provides no true data isolation — a query bug could expose one customer's data to another.

  • ✗

    Using BigQuery with a separate dataset per customer

    Why it's wrong here

    BigQuery is an analytics warehouse — it's not appropriate for transactional SaaS application databases requiring row-level operations.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'data isolation' with 'physical separation' and assume separate instances are required, but GCP's Cloud SQL supports logical isolation via separate databases on a single instance, which is far more efficient and still meets the isolation requirement.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Cloud SQL uses MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server under the hood, and each 'database' in a single instance is a separate schema with its own tables, indexes, and permissions, providing logical isolation. The API automation for creating a new database can be done via gcloud sql databases create or the Cloud SQL Admin API, which completes in seconds. In a real-world scenario, you would also use Cloud SQL's resource management features like per-database resource limits (e.g., max_connections) to prevent a noisy customer from affecting others, and you can scale the instance vertically or use read replicas for performance.

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

An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Related practice questions

Related ACE practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

Setting up a cloud solution environment practice questions

Practise ACE questions linked to Setting up a cloud solution environment.

Planning and configuring a cloud solution practice questions

Practise ACE questions linked to Planning and configuring a cloud solution.

Deploying and implementing a cloud solution practice questions

Practise ACE questions linked to Deploying and implementing a cloud solution.

Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution practice questions

Practise ACE questions linked to Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution.

Configuring access and security practice questions

Practise ACE questions linked to Configuring access and security.

ACE fundamentals practice questions

Practise ACE questions linked to ACE fundamentals.

ACE scenario practice questions

Practise ACE questions linked to ACE scenario.

ACE troubleshooting practice questions

Practise ACE questions linked to ACE troubleshooting.

Practice this exam

Start a free ACE practice session

Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.

10 questions20 questions30 questions50 questionsTimed 30
ACE practice-test guide →Study guide →Browse all practice tests

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this ACE question test?

Planning and configuring a cloud solution — This question tests Planning and configuring a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: A single Cloud SQL instance with a separate schema (database) per customer, provisioned via API automation — Option B is correct because it uses a single Cloud SQL instance with separate schemas (databases) per customer, which allows you to achieve complete data isolation while minimizing overhead. Provisioning a new schema via API automation takes seconds, and managing 200 schemas on one instance is far more efficient than managing 200 separate instances. This approach scales efficiently because Cloud SQL supports up to 10,000 databases per instance, and you can leverage connection pooling and shared resources without sacrificing isolation.

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.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

Keep practising

More ACE practice questions

Browse all ACE questions →

Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026

Question Discussion

Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.

Loading comments…

Sign in to join the discussion.

This ACE 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 ACE exam.