The correct approach is to migrate data to persistent disks and configure the application to use persistent disks. This is because local SSDs provide ephemeral storage that is physically attached to the Compute Engine host, meaning their data is permanently lost the moment the instance is stopped or terminated—making them unsuitable for any stateful workload requiring data durability during maintenance. On the Google Professional Cloud Developer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the fundamental trade-off between local SSD performance and persistent disk durability; a common trap is assuming that snapshots or backups can protect local SSD data during a stop, but snapshots are only possible while the instance is running. The key distinction is that persistent disks are network-attached and survive instance lifecycle events, while local SSDs do not. Memory tip: “Local is lost, persistent persists”—if you need the data to survive a stop, always choose persistent disks.
PCD Practice Question: Designing highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications
This PCD practice question tests your understanding of designing highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications. 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 runs a stateful application on Compute Engine instances with local SSDs. They need to perform maintenance that requires stopping the instances. What is the best approach to ensure data durability and minimal downtime?
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 the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Migrate data to persistent disks and configure the application to use persistent disks
Local SSDs provide ephemeral storage that is tied to the lifecycle of the Compute Engine instance. When an instance is stopped or terminated, data on local SSDs is permanently lost. To ensure data durability during maintenance that requires stopping the instance, the application must use persistent disks, which are durable network-attached storage that persists independently of the instance. Option D is correct because migrating the application to persistent disks ensures data survives the stop and allows the instance to be restarted with the same data, minimizing downtime.
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.
✗
Create a snapshot of the local SSD before stopping the instance
Why it's wrong here
Local SSDs cannot be snapshotted; they are ephemeral.
✗
Use instance groups with autohealing to automatically recreate instances
Why it's wrong here
Autohealing recreates instances but does not preserve local SSD data.
✗
Enable live migration on the instance
Why it's wrong here
Live migration works for instances with persistent disks, not local SSDs. Local SSDs prevent live migration.
✓
Migrate data to persistent disks and configure the application to use persistent disks
Why this is correct
Persistent disks are durable and can be detached and reattached to other instances, ensuring data persistence during maintenance.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume local SSDs can be snapshotted or that live migration works with local SSDs, but Google Cloud explicitly disables both features for local SSDs, making persistent disks the only durable option for stateful workloads requiring maintenance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Local SSDs are physically attached to the host server and provide high IOPS but are ephemeral; data is lost if the instance is stopped, terminated, or if the host fails. Persistent disks are network-attached and can be detached and reattached to other instances, supporting features like snapshots and regional replication. In a real-world scenario, a stateful application like a database should use persistent disks for durability, while local SSDs are suitable for caching or temporary data that can be regenerated.
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 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
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.
Designing highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications — This question tests Designing highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Migrate data to persistent disks and configure the application to use persistent disks — Local SSDs provide ephemeral storage that is tied to the lifecycle of the Compute Engine instance. When an instance is stopped or terminated, data on local SSDs is permanently lost. To ensure data durability during maintenance that requires stopping the instance, the application must use persistent disks, which are durable network-attached storage that persists independently of the instance. Option D is correct because migrating the application to persistent disks ensures data survives the stop and allows the instance to be restarted with the same data, minimizing downtime.
What should I do if I get this PCD 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: "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 →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company runs a stateful application on Compute Engine with local SSDs. They want high durability. Which approach should they use?
medium
A.Replicate data to another zone using synchronous replication
B.Use a RAID 1 array across multiple local SSDs
C.Take regular snapshots of local SSDs
✓ D.Use persistent disks instead of local SSDs for automatic replication
Why D: Local SSDs are ephemeral and data is lost when the VM is stopped or terminated. Persistent disks, by contrast, automatically replicate data within the same zone (or across zones if using regional persistent disks), providing high durability. Option D correctly identifies that switching to persistent disks is the appropriate approach for durability, as local SSDs lack built-in redundancy.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
Question Discussion
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This PCD 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 PCD exam.
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