This PCA practice question tests your understanding of ensure solution and operations reliability. 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 Storage for backup data. They want to protect against accidental deletion. Which option is best?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Enable object versioning.
Preserves noncurrent versions for recovery.
Use a lifecycle policy.
Why wrong: Manages deletion, does not protect against it.
Set a retention policy.
Why wrong: Prevents deletion during retention period, but not after.
Enable object versioning.
Why wrong: Actually correct, but moved to D for variety.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Enable object versioning.
Object versioning in Cloud Storage preserves every version of an object, including overwrites and deletions. When versioning is enabled, a delete operation creates a delete marker instead of permanently removing the object, allowing easy recovery. This directly protects against accidental deletion by retaining all previous object versions.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Enable object versioning.
Why this is correct
Preserves noncurrent versions for recovery.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Use a lifecycle policy.
Why it's wrong here
Manages deletion, does not protect against it.
Set a retention policy.
Why it's wrong here
Prevents deletion during retention period, but not after.
Enable object versioning.
Why it's wrong here
Actually correct, but moved to D for variety.
Common exam traps
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between versioning (which allows recovery from accidental deletion) and retention policies (which prevent deletion but do not provide recovery after the fact), leading candidates to confuse compliance protection with accidental deletion protection.
Detailed technical explanation
When object versioning is enabled, Cloud Storage assigns a generation number to each object upload. Deleting an object inserts a delete marker with a unique generation ID, and the original object remains accessible via its generation number. You can list all versions, including delete markers, and remove the delete marker to restore the object. This mechanism is defined in the Google Cloud Storage JSON API and is distinct from lifecycle or retention policies.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Ensure solution and operations reliability — This question tests Ensure solution and operations reliability — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Enable object versioning. — Object versioning in Cloud Storage preserves every version of an object, including overwrites and deletions. When versioning is enabled, a delete operation creates a delete marker instead of permanently removing the object, allowing easy recovery. This directly protects against accidental deletion by retaining all previous object versions.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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