The answer is to enable the high availability (HA) configuration during Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance creation. This is correct because HA configuration provisions a synchronous standby replica in a different zone within the same region, using PostgreSQL’s synchronous replication to ensure that every write is committed on both the primary and standby before acknowledging the transaction. In the event of a zone failure, Cloud SQL automatically detects the outage and promotes the standby to primary, typically achieving a recovery point objective (RPO) of under one second and automatic failover without manual intervention. On the Google Professional Cloud Database Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding that HA must be set at creation time—you cannot add it later without recreating the instance—and a common trap is confusing read replicas (which are asynchronous and require manual promotion) with true HA. Remember the memory tip: “HA at creation, sync replication, zero-touch failover.”
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 company runs a production Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance. They need to ensure high availability with automatic failover in case of a zone failure. Which configuration should they use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable high availability (HA) configuration during instance creation.
Option D is correct because enabling the high availability (HA) configuration during Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance creation automatically provisions a standby instance in a different zone within the same region. This synchronous replication setup ensures automatic failover with minimal data loss (typically under 1 second RPO) in the event of a zone failure, meeting the requirement for high availability.
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 cross-region read replica and set it as failover target.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas are not for automatic failover; manual promotion would be needed.
✗
Use a zonal HA configuration by selecting a regional location.
Why it's wrong here
Zonal HA is not a concept; regional location is required for HA.
✗
Deploy a single Cloud SQL instance with multiple CPUs and high memory.
Why it's wrong here
Does not provide zone redundancy.
✓
Enable high availability (HA) configuration during instance creation.
Why this is correct
Cloud SQL HA provisions a standby in a different zone, with synchronous replication for automatic failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that a read replica can serve as a failover target for high availability, but in Cloud SQL, read replicas are asynchronous and require manual promotion, making them unsuitable for automatic zone-level failover.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud SQL HA uses synchronous replication between the primary and standby instances, with a regional persistent disk that is replicated synchronously across zones. During a zone failure, the standby is promoted automatically, and the DNS endpoint remains unchanged, so applications experience minimal disruption. The failover typically completes within 60 seconds, and the RPO is near zero due to synchronous writes.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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: Enable high availability (HA) configuration during instance creation. — Option D is correct because enabling the high availability (HA) configuration during Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance creation automatically provisions a standby instance in a different zone within the same region. This synchronous replication setup ensures automatic failover with minimal data loss (typically under 1 second RPO) in the event of a zone failure, meeting the requirement for high availability.
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.
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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