Google PCA Design and plan a cloud solution architecture Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of design and plan a cloud solution architecture. 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 designing a multi-region architecture for disaster recovery. Their primary region is us-central1 and they want a warm standby in another region. The application runs on Compute Engine with a stateful backend. Which approach minimizes RTO while keeping costs reasonable?
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
✓
Use a managed instance group in the secondary region with persistent disk snapshots and Cloud Load Balancing failover
Option B minimizes RTO by pre-provisioning Compute Engine instances in the secondary region via a managed instance group, using persistent disk snapshots for stateful data. This warm standby approach keeps instances ready to serve traffic with minimal startup delay, while Cloud Load Balancing failover automatically redirects traffic on primary region failure, balancing cost and recovery speed.
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.
✗
Use Cloud SQL cross-region replication and start Compute Engine instances on failover
Why it's wrong here
Compute part is cold.
✓
Use a managed instance group in the secondary region with persistent disk snapshots and Cloud Load Balancing failover
Why this is correct
This provides warm standby with data replicated via snapshots.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Replicate the application to Cloud Run in the secondary region
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Run is not designed for stateful workloads.
✗
Set up a managed instance group with instance templates in the secondary region without pre-provisioned instances
Why it's wrong here
Cold standby increases RTO.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between warm and cold standby by making candidates think that database replication alone (Option A) or serverless migration (Option C) meets the warm standby requirement, but they fail to address the stateful Compute Engine backend's need for pre-provisioned compute capacity and persistent disk state synchronization.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A warm standby architecture for stateful Compute Engine workloads typically uses regional managed instance groups with instance templates that include boot disks and attached persistent disks. Persistent disk snapshots can be scheduled for cross-region replication, and Cloud Load Balancing with failover configuration uses health checks to detect primary region failure and route traffic to the secondary region's pre-provisioned instances, achieving RTO in minutes rather than hours. The key is that instances are already running and ready to serve, with stateful data synchronized via snapshot schedules or disk replication.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PCA question in full detail.
Design and plan a cloud solution architecture — This question tests Design and plan a cloud solution architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a managed instance group in the secondary region with persistent disk snapshots and Cloud Load Balancing failover — Option B minimizes RTO by pre-provisioning Compute Engine instances in the secondary region via a managed instance group, using persistent disk snapshots for stateful data. This warm standby approach keeps instances ready to serve traffic with minimal startup delay, while Cloud Load Balancing failover automatically redirects traffic on primary region failure, balancing cost and recovery speed.
What should I do if I get this PCA 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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