- A
Enable read replicas to distribute query load
Why wrong: Read replicas help with read-heavy workloads but require application changes to route reads to replicas — not an immediate fix for high CPU on the primary.
- B
Scale up the Cloud SQL instance machine type to add more vCPUs
Scaling up the Cloud SQL instance (more CPUs/RAM) immediately provides more compute capacity. For Cloud SQL, this operation involves a brief restart but is the fastest relief for CPU saturation.
- C
Restart the Cloud SQL instance to clear CPU-intensive processes
Why wrong: Restarting clears connections and may temporarily reduce load, but it doesn't address the underlying capacity issue and disrupts the production database.
- D
Delete and recreate the instance with a larger machine type
Why wrong: Deleting and recreating the instance loses all data unless a backup is restored — a destructive and unnecessary approach when Cloud SQL supports in-place resize.
Quick Answer
The immediate action is to scale up the Cloud SQL instance machine type to add more vCPUs. This is correct because sustained CPU above 85% indicates the instance has exhausted its available compute capacity for processing queries, transactions, and background tasks; vertically scaling to a larger machine type directly increases the number of vCPUs and memory, providing the necessary headroom without requiring application-level changes or downtime when using a rolling update. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of immediate corrective actions for production databases versus longer-term optimizations—a common trap is choosing read replicas, which offload read traffic but do not reduce CPU load from write operations or complex queries on the primary instance. Remember the memory tip: “Scale up first, optimize later”—when CPU is critically high on a primary, vertical scaling is the fastest fix; replicas are for reads, not CPU relief.
Google ACE Practice Question: Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of ensuring successful operation of 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 DevOps team monitors a Cloud SQL instance and notices its CPU is consistently above 85% for several hours. The instance handles a critical production database. What should be the team's immediate action?
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
Scale up the Cloud SQL instance machine type to add more vCPUs
Scaling up the Cloud SQL instance to a larger machine type with more vCPUs directly addresses sustained high CPU utilization by providing additional compute capacity. This is the immediate corrective action for a critical production database because it increases the instance's processing power without requiring architectural changes or downtime (if using a rolling update). Read replicas help with read-heavy workloads but do not reduce CPU load from write operations or complex queries on 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 read replicas to distribute query load
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas help with read-heavy workloads but require application changes to route reads to replicas — not an immediate fix for high CPU on the primary.
- ✓
Scale up the Cloud SQL instance machine type to add more vCPUs
Why this is correct
Scaling up the Cloud SQL instance (more CPUs/RAM) immediately provides more compute capacity. For Cloud SQL, this operation involves a brief restart but is the fastest relief for CPU saturation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Restart the Cloud SQL instance to clear CPU-intensive processes
Why it's wrong here
Restarting clears connections and may temporarily reduce load, but it doesn't address the underlying capacity issue and disrupts the production database.
- ✗
Delete and recreate the instance with a larger machine type
Why it's wrong here
Deleting and recreating the instance loses all data unless a backup is restored — a destructive and unnecessary approach when Cloud SQL supports in-place resize.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that read replicas can solve all performance issues, but the trap here is that replicas only help with read scaling, not CPU-bound write or compute workloads on the primary instance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud SQL uses a shared-core model for smaller machine types, where vCPUs are allocated from a pool; sustained CPU above 85% indicates the instance is throttling or queuing queries. Scaling up to a dedicated machine type (e.g., n1-standard-8) provides guaranteed vCPU resources and can also increase memory and I/O throughput, which often alleviates CPU pressure from query processing and connection handling. In practice, the team should also analyze the top queries using Cloud SQL's Query Insights to identify if a specific query or index is causing the bottleneck before scaling.
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
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution — This question tests Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Scale up the Cloud SQL instance machine type to add more vCPUs — Scaling up the Cloud SQL instance to a larger machine type with more vCPUs directly addresses sustained high CPU utilization by providing additional compute capacity. This is the immediate corrective action for a critical production database because it increases the instance's processing power without requiring architectural changes or downtime (if using a rolling update). Read replicas help with read-heavy workloads but do not reduce CPU load from write operations or complex queries on 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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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