- A
Bigtable for real-time user behavior tracking
Bigtable can handle high-throughput write/read for real-time tracking with eventual consistency.
- B
BigQuery for storing product reviews
Why wrong: BigQuery is an analytics data warehouse, not for transactional storage of reviews.
- C
Firestore for product reviews
Eventual consistency is acceptable; Firestore is serverless and scales for user-generated content.
- D
Cloud SQL for inventory
Why wrong: Cloud SQL is regional, cannot provide strong consistency across global regions.
- E
Cloud Spanner for inventory data
Strong consistency and global distribution are required for inventory.
Question 979 of 980
Design Scalable and Highly Available Cloud Database Solutions →mediumMultiple SelectObjective-mapped
PCD Practice Question: Design Scalable and Highly Available Cloud Database Solutions
This PCD practice question tests your understanding of design scalable and highly available cloud database solutions. 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.
You need to select a Google Cloud database for a global e-commerce platform that requires strong consistency for inventory updates, but can tolerate eventual consistency for product reviews. Which THREE services would you consider appropriate for the different parts of the platform?
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
✓
Bigtable for real-time user behavior tracking
Bigtable is correct for real-time user behavior tracking because it is a fully managed, scalable NoSQL database designed for high-throughput, low-latency workloads like time-series data, user analytics, and event logging. It supports strong consistency for single-row operations, which is sufficient for tracking individual user events in real time, and can handle millions of writes per second across a global footprint.
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.
- ✓
Bigtable for real-time user behavior tracking
Why this is correct
Bigtable can handle high-throughput write/read for real-time tracking with eventual consistency.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
BigQuery for storing product reviews
Why it's wrong here
BigQuery is an analytics data warehouse, not for transactional storage of reviews.
- ✓
Firestore for product reviews
Why this is correct
Eventual consistency is acceptable; Firestore is serverless and scales for user-generated content.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Cloud SQL for inventory
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL is regional, cannot provide strong consistency across global regions.
- ✓
Cloud Spanner for inventory data
Why this is correct
Strong consistency and global distribution are required for inventory.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that BigQuery can serve as an operational database for storing and querying product reviews in real time, when in fact it is a data warehouse for analytics and not designed for transactional or low-latency read/write operations.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Spanner uses TrueTime and the Paxos protocol to provide external consistency (strongest form of consistency) across globally distributed replicas, making it ideal for inventory data that must be accurate across regions. Firestore supports eventual consistency for multi-region reads by default, but can be configured for strong consistency on single-region reads, making it suitable for product reviews where slight delays are acceptable. Bigtable's replication model offers eventual consistency across clusters, but single-cluster deployments provide strong consistency for real-time tracking within a region.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCD question test?
Design Scalable and Highly Available Cloud Database Solutions — This question tests Design Scalable and Highly Available Cloud Database Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Bigtable for real-time user behavior tracking — Bigtable is correct for real-time user behavior tracking because it is a fully managed, scalable NoSQL database designed for high-throughput, low-latency workloads like time-series data, user analytics, and event logging. It supports strong consistency for single-row operations, which is sufficient for tracking individual user events in real time, and can handle millions of writes per second across a global footprint.
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.
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: Jul 4, 2026
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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