- A
Reduce the Cloud SQL instance tier to a lower machine type to save costs, and add read replicas in other regions for failover.
Why wrong: Reducing tier on already underutilized instance saves little; adding replicas may increase latency and cost without addressing Spanner.
- B
Add more nodes to the Cloud SQL instance and enable automatic storage increase to handle peak loads.
Why wrong: Cloud SQL is underutilized; adding nodes would increase cost without solving Spanner bottleneck.
- C
Increase the number of splits in Cloud Spanner to reduce hot spots, and configure Cloud CDN in front of the load balancer to cache static content.
Increasing splits improves Spanner performance; Cloud CDN reduces egress costs and latency for static content.
- D
Move the transactional database to Cloud Spanner and decommission Cloud SQL to reduce complexity.
Why wrong: This would increase Spanner load and latency; Cloud SQL is underutilized, so consolidation is not needed.
Google PCA Manage and provision cloud infrastructure Practice Question
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of manage and provision cloud infrastructure. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Your company runs a global e-commerce platform on Google Cloud. The application is deployed across multiple regions for low latency. You use Cloud SQL for transactional data and Cloud Spanner for global consistency of inventory. Recently, the operations team reported that the application is experiencing increased latency during peak hours, and the monthly cloud bill has risen significantly. Upon investigation, you find that the Cloud SQL instance is underutilized (CPU < 20%) while Cloud Spanner split utilization is over 80%. The application instances are fronted by a global external HTTPS load balancer. Network egress costs are high. Which course of action would best address both the latency and cost issues?
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.
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
Increase the number of splits in Cloud Spanner to reduce hot spots, and configure Cloud CDN in front of the load balancer to cache static content.
The symptoms suggest that the Cloud SQL instance is underutilized, but Cloud Spanner is near capacity, causing potential contention. The high egress costs could be due to cross-region traffic. Option C is the best because scaling Cloud Spanner split utilization (by adding splits or nodes) will improve throughput and reduce latency, and using Cloud CDN reduces egress costs by caching content at edge locations. Option A might increase costs without addressing Spanner bottleneck. Option B adds more Cloud SQL instances, which are already underutilized. Option D focuses on cloud SQL only, not Spanner.
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.
- ✗
Reduce the Cloud SQL instance tier to a lower machine type to save costs, and add read replicas in other regions for failover.
Why it's wrong here
Reducing tier on already underutilized instance saves little; adding replicas may increase latency and cost without addressing Spanner.
- ✗
Add more nodes to the Cloud SQL instance and enable automatic storage increase to handle peak loads.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL is underutilized; adding nodes would increase cost without solving Spanner bottleneck.
- ✓
Increase the number of splits in Cloud Spanner to reduce hot spots, and configure Cloud CDN in front of the load balancer to cache static content.
Why this is correct
Increasing splits improves Spanner performance; Cloud CDN reduces egress costs and latency for static content.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Move the transactional database to Cloud Spanner and decommission Cloud SQL to reduce complexity.
Why it's wrong here
This would increase Spanner load and latency; Cloud SQL is underutilized, so consolidation is not needed.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PCA exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCA question test?
Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — This question tests Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Increase the number of splits in Cloud Spanner to reduce hot spots, and configure Cloud CDN in front of the load balancer to cache static content. — The symptoms suggest that the Cloud SQL instance is underutilized, but Cloud Spanner is near capacity, causing potential contention. The high egress costs could be due to cross-region traffic. Option C is the best because scaling Cloud Spanner split utilization (by adding splits or nodes) will improve throughput and reduce latency, and using Cloud CDN reduces egress costs by caching content at edge locations. Option A might increase costs without addressing Spanner bottleneck. Option B adds more Cloud SQL instances, which are already underutilized. Option D focuses on cloud SQL only, not Spanner.
What should I do if I get this PCA question wrong?
Identify which PCA exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
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.
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 →
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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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