- A
Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL
Why wrong: Cloud SQL is a separate service, not used to read Spanner changes.
- B
Cloud Pub/Sub
Pub/Sub can deliver change stream events to subscribers.
- C
Bigtable replication
Why wrong: Bigtable replication is for Bigtable, not Spanner.
- D
Spanner change streams
Change streams provide a log of mutations.
- E
Cloud Dataflow
Dataflow can read change streams and stream to analytics.
Question 159 of 1,000
PCDOE Manage Database Solutions Practice Question
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of manage 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.
A financial services company uses Cloud Spanner for transaction processing. They need to capture real-time changes from the database to stream to a downstream analytics system. Which THREE services or features can achieve this?
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
✓
Cloud Pub/Sub
Cloud Pub/Sub is correct because it is a fully managed real-time messaging service that can ingest and stream change events from Spanner change streams to downstream analytics systems. It provides at-least-once delivery, low latency, and integrates natively with Spanner via change streams to capture row-level mutations.
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.
- ✗
Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL is a separate service, not used to read Spanner changes.
- ✓
Cloud Pub/Sub
Why this is correct
Pub/Sub can deliver change stream events to subscribers.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Bigtable replication
Why it's wrong here
Bigtable replication is for Bigtable, not Spanner.
- ✓
Spanner change streams
Why this is correct
Change streams provide a log of mutations.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Cloud Dataflow
Why this is correct
Dataflow can read change streams and stream to analytics.
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 distinction between services that capture changes (Spanner change streams) and services that transport or process those changes (Pub/Sub, Dataflow), leading candidates to mistakenly select services like Bigtable replication or Cloud SQL that serve different purposes.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Spanner change streams use a transactional log-based approach to capture committed row changes, which are then pushed to Pub/Sub topics as structured messages. Dataflow can consume these Pub/Sub messages to perform transformations, aggregations, or write to BigQuery, enabling near-real-time analytics pipelines. The combination of change streams, Pub/Sub, and Dataflow provides an end-to-end streaming solution without custom polling or CDC tools.
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.
- →
Manage Database Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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Manage Database Solutions practice questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCDOE question test?
Manage Database Solutions — This question tests Manage Database Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Cloud Pub/Sub — Cloud Pub/Sub is correct because it is a fully managed real-time messaging service that can ingest and stream change events from Spanner change streams to downstream analytics systems. It provides at-least-once delivery, low latency, and integrates natively with Spanner via change streams to capture row-level mutations.
What should I do if I get this PCDOE 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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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This PCDOE 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 PCDOE exam.
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