- A
Configure the read replica to use synchronous replication
Why wrong: Cross-region replicas only support asynchronous replication due to latency.
- B
Increase the replica's storage capacity
Why wrong: Storage capacity does not directly affect replication lag; CPU/memory might help but monitoring is the key to verifying RPO.
- C
Set up monitoring and alerting on the replication lag metric
Monitoring the replication lag ensures that if the lag approaches 1 hour, the team can take corrective action to maintain the RPO.
- D
Enable point-in-time recovery on the primary instance
Why wrong: PITR helps with RPO but only for the primary instance, not for the replica.
Question 88 of 1,000
PCDOE Practice Question: Design for Reliability, Scalability, and Disaster Recovery
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of design for reliability, scalability, and disaster recovery. 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 healthcare company uses Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL and needs to meet a disaster recovery requirement of RPO = 1 hour and RTO = 2 hours for a cross-region failover. They currently have a cross-region read replica in another region. Which additional action should they take to meet the RPO consistently?
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
✓
Set up monitoring and alerting on the replication lag metric
Cross-region read replicas have asynchronous replication lag, which can vary. To ensure that the RPO is bounded to 1 hour, the company must monitor the replication lag and alert if it exceeds 1 hour. They can also increase the replica's resources to reduce lag, but monitoring is essential to guarantee the RPO.
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.
- ✗
Configure the read replica to use synchronous replication
Why it's wrong here
Cross-region replicas only support asynchronous replication due to latency.
- ✗
Increase the replica's storage capacity
Why it's wrong here
Storage capacity does not directly affect replication lag; CPU/memory might help but monitoring is the key to verifying RPO.
- ✓
Set up monitoring and alerting on the replication lag metric
Why this is correct
Monitoring the replication lag ensures that if the lag approaches 1 hour, the team can take corrective action to maintain the RPO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable point-in-time recovery on the primary instance
Why it's wrong here
PITR helps with RPO but only for the primary instance, not for the replica.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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 PCDOE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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Design for Reliability, Scalability, and Disaster Recovery — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCDOE question test?
Design for Reliability, Scalability, and Disaster Recovery — This question tests Design for Reliability, Scalability, and Disaster Recovery — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Set up monitoring and alerting on the replication lag metric — Cross-region read replicas have asynchronous replication lag, which can vary. To ensure that the RPO is bounded to 1 hour, the company must monitor the replication lag and alert if it exceeds 1 hour. They can also increase the replica's resources to reduce lag, but monitoring is essential to guarantee the RPO.
What should I do if I get this PCDOE question wrong?
Identify which PCDOE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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 →
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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