This PCDE practice question tests your understanding of plan and manage database infrastructure. 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 wants to migrate a 100 GB MySQL database to Cloud SQL with minimal application changes. Which migration tool should they use?
mysqldump
Why wrong: mysqldump requires manual export/import and may cause downtime.
Database Migration Service
DMS supports MySQL to Cloud SQL migrations with minimal changes.
BigQuery Data Transfer Service
Why wrong: BigQuery Data Transfer Service moves data into BigQuery, not Cloud SQL.
Storage Transfer Service
Why wrong: Storage Transfer Service transfers objects in Cloud Storage, not databases.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Database Migration Service
Database Migration Service (DMS) is the correct tool because it is designed specifically for migrating databases to Cloud SQL with minimal downtime and minimal application changes. DMS uses a combination of initial snapshot and continuous change data capture (CDC) to replicate the source MySQL database to Cloud SQL, allowing the application to point to the new database with only a connection string update.
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.
mysqldump
Why it's wrong here
mysqldump requires manual export/import and may cause downtime.
Database Migration Service
Why this is correct
DMS supports MySQL to Cloud SQL migrations with minimal changes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
BigQuery Data Transfer Service
Why it's wrong here
BigQuery Data Transfer Service moves data into BigQuery, not Cloud SQL.
Storage Transfer Service
Why it's wrong here
Storage Transfer Service transfers objects in Cloud Storage, not databases.
Common exam traps
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between database migration tools and general data transfer or backup tools, so the trap here is that candidates might choose mysqldump (Option A) because it is a familiar MySQL tool, overlooking that it causes downtime and is not optimized for live migrations to Cloud SQL.
Detailed technical explanation
Database Migration Service leverages a replication slot on the source MySQL server to capture binlog events for CDC, ensuring near-zero downtime during migration. It automatically handles schema conversion, data validation, and resumable transfers, which is critical for large databases like 100 GB where manual intervention could introduce errors. In a real-world scenario, DMS can also migrate from external MySQL instances (e.g., on-premises or AWS RDS) to Cloud SQL without requiring the application to change its SQL dialect or connection logic beyond the new hostname.
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
Plan and manage database infrastructure — This question tests Plan and manage database infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Database Migration Service — Database Migration Service (DMS) is the correct tool because it is designed specifically for migrating databases to Cloud SQL with minimal downtime and minimal application changes. DMS uses a combination of initial snapshot and continuous change data capture (CDC) to replicate the source MySQL database to Cloud SQL, allowing the application to point to the new database with only a connection string update.
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 PCDE 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 PCDE exam.
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