This PCA practice question tests your understanding of analyze and optimize technical and business processes. 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 developer is migrating a stateful application to GKE. The application requires persistent storage with high IOPS for a database. Which storage option is most suitable?
Local SSD
Why wrong: Local SSD is ephemeral; data is lost if the node is terminated.
Persistent Disk SSD
PD SSD offers high IOPS and persists data independently of node lifecycle.
Cloud Storage Fuse
Why wrong: Fuse provides file access via Cloud Storage, not high IOPS.
Persistent Disk Standard
Why wrong: Standard PD has lower IOPS.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Persistent Disk SSD
Persistent Disk SSD (pd-ssd) is the most suitable option for a stateful database on GKE requiring high IOPS because it provides block storage with consistent, high-performance IOPS and can be dynamically provisioned via PersistentVolumeClaims. Unlike Local SSD, pd-ssd persists data independently of the node lifecycle, ensuring data durability during pod rescheduling or node failures.
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.
Local SSD
Why it's wrong here
Local SSD is ephemeral; data is lost if the node is terminated.
Persistent Disk SSD
Why this is correct
PD SSD offers high IOPS and persists data independently of node lifecycle.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Cloud Storage Fuse
Why it's wrong here
Fuse provides file access via Cloud Storage, not high IOPS.
Persistent Disk Standard
Why it's wrong here
Standard PD has lower IOPS.
Common exam traps
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that Local SSD is suitable for stateful workloads because of its high IOPS, but the trap is that candidates forget Local SSD is ephemeral and does not survive pod rescheduling or node failures.
Detailed technical explanation
Persistent Disk SSD (pd-ssd) offers up to 30,000 IOPS per volume (with additional IOPS via performance tiers) and uses Google's distributed block storage architecture, where data is replicated across multiple zones for durability. In GKE, you can use a StorageClass with `type: pd-ssd` to dynamically provision volumes, and the CSI driver handles attachment to the correct node. A real-world scenario is a PostgreSQL database on GKE where pd-ssd ensures consistent write latency even during node upgrades, unlike Local SSD which would require complex replication or backup strategies.
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
Analyze and optimize technical and business processes — This question tests Analyze and optimize technical and business processes — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Persistent Disk SSD — Persistent Disk SSD (pd-ssd) is the most suitable option for a stateful database on GKE requiring high IOPS because it provides block storage with consistent, high-performance IOPS and can be dynamically provisioned via PersistentVolumeClaims. Unlike Local SSD, pd-ssd persists data independently of the node lifecycle, ensuring data durability during pod rescheduling or node failures.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This PCA 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 PCA exam.
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