Cloud Spanner with a multi-region configuration is the correct choice because it uniquely combines strong global consistency with low-latency reads and writes across geographically distributed regions, while its automatic horizontal scaling effortlessly accommodates a 10x workload increase. This synchronous replication ensures that every write is committed across multiple regions before acknowledgment, providing built-in disaster recovery without sacrificing ACID transactions—a critical requirement for consistent low-latency access. On the Google Professional Cloud Architect exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between Spanner’s synchronous multi-region replication and asynchronous options like Cloud SQL read replicas, which cannot guarantee strong consistency across regions. A common trap is choosing Bigtable for its low latency, but Bigtable lacks ACID transactions and cross-region consistency. Memory tip: think “Spanner spans regions synchronously”—the name itself hints at spanning multiple regions with synchronous replication for consistent low-latency performance.
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. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 migrating on-premises workloads to Google Cloud. They have a critical application that requires consistent low-latency access to a database, with read replicas in multiple regions for disaster recovery. The application is expected to grow by 10x over the next year. Which database service and configuration should the architect choose to meet these requirements?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Cloud Spanner with multi-region configuration
Cloud Spanner with a multi-region configuration is the correct choice because it provides strong global consistency, low-latency reads and writes across regions, and automatic horizontal scaling to handle a 10x growth in workload. Its multi-region replication ensures synchronous replication for disaster recovery while maintaining ACID transactions, which is critical for a database requiring consistent low-latency access.
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 Bigtable with multi-region replication
Why it's wrong here
Bigtable is a NoSQL wide-column database optimized for analytical workloads, not transactional consistency.
✗
Use Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL with cross-region read replicas
Why it's wrong here
Cross-region replicas are asynchronous, not strongly consistent, and may not meet latency requirements.
✓
Use Cloud Spanner with multi-region configuration
Why this is correct
Cloud Spanner offers global strong consistency, automatic replication, and horizontal scalability.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Firestore in native mode with multi-region location
Why it's wrong here
Firestore Native mode is eventually consistent, not strongly consistent across regions.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Cloud Spanner's multi-region capabilities with simpler replication options like Cloud SQL read replicas or Bigtable's eventual consistency, failing to recognize that only Spanner provides strong global consistency and horizontal scaling for transactional workloads.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Spanner uses a TrueTime API and Paxos-based synchronous replication across zones and regions to provide external consistency (linearizability) for reads and writes, even in a multi-region configuration. Under the hood, Spanner automatically splits and rebalances data across nodes as the workload grows, allowing it to scale horizontally without downtime, which is essential for a 10x growth scenario. In a real-world scenario, a global e-commerce platform requiring consistent inventory reads across regions would rely on Spanner's multi-region setup to avoid stale data and maintain low-latency transactions.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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 Cloud Spanner with multi-region configuration — Cloud Spanner with a multi-region configuration is the correct choice because it provides strong global consistency, low-latency reads and writes across regions, and automatic horizontal scaling to handle a 10x growth in workload. Its multi-region replication ensures synchronous replication for disaster recovery while maintaining ACID transactions, which is critical for a database requiring consistent low-latency access.
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.
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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