Cloud Digital Leader Practice Question: Google Cloud products, services, and solutions
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of google cloud products, services, and solutions. 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 uses Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL and needs to run complex analytical queries on the same dataset without affecting the performance of the transactional database. What should they do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create read replicas of the Cloud SQL instance and run queries on the replicas
Option D is correct because using Cloud SQL read replicas offloads read-only queries from the primary instance. Option A is wrong because BigQuery is for data warehousing, not real-time replication. Option B is wrong because exporting to Cloud Storage is not for live queries. Option C is wrong because increasing machine type may not isolate analytical loads.
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.
✗
Schedule periodic exports to Cloud Storage and query with BigQuery
Why it's wrong here
Not real-time and requires manual steps.
✓
Create read replicas of the Cloud SQL instance and run queries on the replicas
Why this is correct
Read replicas offload reads without affecting primary instance performance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Upgrade the Cloud SQL instance to a higher machine type
Why it's wrong here
Does not separate analytical from transactional workload.
✗
Use BigQuery to directly query Cloud SQL via federated queries
Why it's wrong here
Federated queries can impact performance; read replicas are purpose-built.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 GCDL question in full detail.
Identify which GCDL exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Google Cloud products, services, and solutions — This question tests Google Cloud products, services, and solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create read replicas of the Cloud SQL instance and run queries on the replicas — Option D is correct because using Cloud SQL read replicas offloads read-only queries from the primary instance. Option A is wrong because BigQuery is for data warehousing, not real-time replication. Option B is wrong because exporting to Cloud Storage is not for live queries. Option C is wrong because increasing machine type may not isolate analytical loads.
What should I do if I get this GCDL question wrong?
Identify which GCDL exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This GCDL 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 GCDL exam.
Question Discussion
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