PCDE Plan and manage database infrastructure Practice Question
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.
Which TWO factors are important when selecting the location for a Cloud Spanner instance?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Data residency compliance
Data residency compliance (B) is critical because Cloud Spanner instances are regional resources; data is stored and processed within the chosen Google Cloud region, and many regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) mandate that data remain within specific geographic boundaries. Proximity to users (C) is important because Spanner's read and write latencies are directly affected by network distance; choosing a region close to your user base minimizes latency and improves application performance.
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.
✗
Number of other Spanner instances in the region
Why it's wrong here
The number of other instances does not impact the performance or compliance of a new instance.
✓
Data residency compliance
Why this is correct
Some regulations require data to remain within specific geographical boundaries.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Proximity to users
Why this is correct
Choosing a region close to users reduces latency.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Cost of Cloud Spanner nodes in the region
Why it's wrong here
Cost is generally uniform across regions; not a primary factor for location selection.
✗
Availability of Cloud VPN
Why it's wrong here
VPN availability is a network consideration but not specific to Spanner location choice.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that cost (Option D) or the number of existing instances (Option A) are primary location factors, when in reality the official Google Cloud documentation emphasizes data residency and user proximity as the two key considerations for single-region Spanner instance placement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Spanner uses a synchronous, Paxos-based replication protocol across zones within a region. When selecting a region, you must consider that Spanner provides strong global consistency only within a single region; multi-region configurations (e.g., nam3) are separate deployment types that require explicit configuration and have different latency and replication characteristics. For example, a single-region instance in us-central1 offers ~1-5ms write latency for local users, while a multi-region instance adds inter-continental replication overhead.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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: Data residency compliance — Data residency compliance (B) is critical because Cloud Spanner instances are regional resources; data is stored and processed within the chosen Google Cloud region, and many regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) mandate that data remain within specific geographic boundaries. Proximity to users (C) is important because Spanner's read and write latencies are directly affected by network distance; choosing a region close to your user base minimizes latency and improves application performance.
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.
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 →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.