- A
Set up a Cloud SQL for MySQL high-availability configuration across zones within us-central1
Why wrong: Incorrect: doesn't protect against regional failure.
- B
Create a cross-region read replica in us-west1, use a Cloud Load Balancing with a static IP that maps to the primary or promoted replica, and automate monitoring and failover via Cloud Functions
Correct: cross-region replica with load balancer and automation meets RTO and RPO.
- C
Configure an external read replica in us-west1 and manually promote it using gcloud commands during an incident
Why wrong: Incorrect: manual promotion doesn't meet recovery time.
- D
Enable automatic failover by creating a Cloud SQL for MySQL regional failover replica in us-central1
Why wrong: Incorrect: failover replica is in same region.
Google PCA Ensure solution and operations reliability Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of ensure solution and operations reliability. 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.
You are designing a high-availability architecture for a global e-commerce platform that uses Cloud SQL for MySQL as the primary database. The application writes to a single Cloud SQL instance in us-central1 and reads from read replicas in us-central1 and us-west1. During a recent regional outage in us-central1, the primary instance became unavailable, and the application experienced full downtime for 3 hours because the failover to a read replica was not automatic. The application can tolerate up to 10 minutes of data loss but needs to recover within 30 minutes. You need to automate failover to a geographically distant region with minimal manual intervention. The application's connection string must not change. Which solution meets these requirements?
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 choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Create a cross-region read replica in us-west1, use a Cloud Load Balancing with a static IP that maps to the primary or promoted replica, and automate monitoring and failover via Cloud Functions
Option B is correct because it uses a cross-region read replica in us-west1 combined with a static IP via Cloud Load Balancing, which allows the connection string to remain unchanged after failover. Cloud Functions automate the monitoring and promotion of the replica, meeting the 30-minute recovery and 10-minute data loss tolerance. This design ensures failover to a geographically distant region with minimal manual intervention, unlike single-zone or same-region HA configurations.
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.
- ✗
Set up a Cloud SQL for MySQL high-availability configuration across zones within us-central1
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: doesn't protect against regional failure.
- ✓
Create a cross-region read replica in us-west1, use a Cloud Load Balancing with a static IP that maps to the primary or promoted replica, and automate monitoring and failover via Cloud Functions
Why this is correct
Correct: cross-region replica with load balancer and automation meets RTO and RPO.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Configure an external read replica in us-west1 and manually promote it using gcloud commands during an incident
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: manual promotion doesn't meet recovery time.
- ✗
Enable automatic failover by creating a Cloud SQL for MySQL regional failover replica in us-central1
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: failover replica is in same region.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse zonal high-availability (HA) with cross-region disaster recovery, assuming that a regional failover replica (Option D) provides geographic redundancy, when in fact it only spans zones within the same region.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud SQL for MySQL read replicas can be promoted to standalone instances, but the promotion process requires updating the application connection string unless a static IP is fronted by a load balancer. Cloud Load Balancing with a static IP allows traffic to be redirected to the promoted replica without changing the endpoint, while Cloud Functions can monitor health checks (e.g., via Cloud Monitoring) and trigger the promotion and DNS-like updates. The 10-minute data loss tolerance is acceptable because cross-region replication is asynchronous, so some transactions may be lost during a sudden outage.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Ensure solution and operations reliability — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Ensure solution and operations reliability practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All PCA questions
509 questions across all exam domains
- →
Google Professional Cloud Architect study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
PCA practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related PCA practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Design and plan a cloud solution architecture practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to Design and plan a cloud solution architecture.
Manage and provision cloud infrastructure practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to Manage and provision cloud infrastructure.
Design for security and compliance practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to Design for security and compliance.
Analyze and optimize technical and business processes practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to Analyze and optimize technical and business processes.
Manage implementation of cloud architecture practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to Manage implementation of cloud architecture.
Ensure solution and operations reliability practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to Ensure solution and operations reliability.
PCA fundamentals practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to PCA fundamentals.
PCA scenario practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to PCA scenario.
PCA troubleshooting practice questions
Practise PCA questions linked to PCA troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free PCA practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCA question test?
Ensure solution and operations reliability — This question tests Ensure solution and operations reliability — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a cross-region read replica in us-west1, use a Cloud Load Balancing with a static IP that maps to the primary or promoted replica, and automate monitoring and failover via Cloud Functions — Option B is correct because it uses a cross-region read replica in us-west1 combined with a static IP via Cloud Load Balancing, which allows the connection string to remain unchanged after failover. Cloud Functions automate the monitoring and promotion of the replica, meeting the 30-minute recovery and 10-minute data loss tolerance. This design ensures failover to a geographically distant region with minimal manual intervention, unlike single-zone or same-region HA configurations.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More PCA practice questions
- Which THREE factors should be considered when choosing a Google Cloud region for deploying a low-latency application ser…
- A company has a requirement to store application logs for 7 years for compliance. They are using Cloud Logging. What is…
- A company is migrating a legacy monolithic application to Google Cloud. The application runs on a single VM and uses a l…
- A financial services company is designing a multi-tier application on Google Cloud. The application must meet PCI DSS co…
- A company is migrating its on-premises workloads to Google Cloud. They have strict compliance requirements that all data…
- A company wants to optimize their cloud spending on Google Cloud. They have a mix of workloads including batch processin…
Last reviewed: Jun 25, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.