PCDE Plan and manage database infrastructure Practice Question
This PCDE practice question tests your understanding of plan and manage database infrastructure. 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.
A startup is using Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL and wants to minimize downtime during maintenance. The application can tolerate a few minutes of read-only mode. Which configuration should they use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a read replica and promote it during maintenance.
Option A is correct because using a read replica and promoting it during maintenance allows the application to switch to a read-write capable instance with minimal downtime. The application can tolerate a few minutes of read-only mode, so the brief period when the replica is promoted and the original primary is unavailable is acceptable. This approach avoids the longer downtime associated with other methods like HA failover or simply waiting for maintenance to complete.
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.
✓
Use a read replica and promote it during maintenance.
Why this is correct
This allows reads to continue and writes to be redirected with minimal disruption.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable automatic storage increase.
Why it's wrong here
Storage increase does not reduce downtime during maintenance.
✗
Configure a high availability (HA) instance with regional failover.
Why it's wrong here
HA provides automatic failover but still incurs a brief downtime during maintenance.
✗
Schedule maintenance during off-peak hours only.
Why it's wrong here
Scheduling does not reduce downtime; it only moves it to a less busy time.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse high availability (HA) failover with read replica promotion, assuming HA provides zero downtime, but HA still incurs a brief failover delay and does not allow the application to remain in read-only mode during maintenance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Cloud SQL read replicas use PostgreSQL's streaming replication to maintain an asynchronous copy of the primary. When promoted, the replica becomes a standalone primary with full read-write capability, and the original primary can be decommissioned or reattached later. In a real-world scenario, this is ideal for blue-green deployments where the application's connection pool is updated to point to the promoted replica, achieving sub-minute switchover times.
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.
Plan and manage database infrastructure — This question tests Plan and manage database infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a read replica and promote it during maintenance. — Option A is correct because using a read replica and promoting it during maintenance allows the application to switch to a read-write capable instance with minimal downtime. The application can tolerate a few minutes of read-only mode, so the brief period when the replica is promoted and the original primary is unavailable is acceptable. This approach avoids the longer downtime associated with other methods like HA failover or simply waiting for maintenance to complete.
What should I do if I get this PCDE 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: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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