PCDOE Optimizing service performance Practice Question
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of optimizing service performance. 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 team is running a stateful application on Compute Engine with high disk I/O. They want to optimize disk performance. Which TWO actions should they take? (Choose two.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use SSD persistent disk for data
Option C is correct because SSD persistent disks provide higher IOPS and lower latency than standard persistent disks, making them suitable for high disk I/O workloads. Option D is correct because local SSDs offer even higher performance by attaching directly to the host VM, but their data is ephemeral, making them ideal for temporary data like caches or scratch space.
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 standard persistent disk for cost savings
Why it's wrong here
Standard disk has lower IOPS and is not optimal for high I/O workloads.
✗
Enable disk encryption
Why it's wrong here
Encryption adds a slight overhead and does not improve performance.
✓
Use SSD persistent disk for data
Why this is correct
SSD persistent disk offers significantly higher IOPS compared to standard disk.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Use local SSD for temporary data
Why this is correct
Local SSD provides very high I/O and low latency, ideal for scratch space.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Increase disk size
Why it's wrong here
Larger disk increases capacity but not IOPS per GB; performance gain is marginal.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that increasing disk size is the primary way to improve disk performance, but the correct approach for high I/O is to choose the right disk type (SSD) and use local SSDs for ephemeral data, not just resize the disk.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SSD persistent disks provide up to 30,000 IOPS per volume (with bursting) and consistent sub-millisecond latency, while local SSDs can deliver over 1 million IOPS per VM but are tied to the VM lifecycle and cannot be resized or snapshotted. In practice, a stateful application like a database might use SSD persistent disks for persistent storage and local SSDs for temporary sort or buffer files to balance performance and durability.
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.
Optimizing service performance — This question tests Optimizing service performance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use SSD persistent disk for data — Option C is correct because SSD persistent disks provide higher IOPS and lower latency than standard persistent disks, making them suitable for high disk I/O workloads. Option D is correct because local SSDs offer even higher performance by attaching directly to the host VM, but their data is ephemeral, making them ideal for temporary data like caches or scratch space.
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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Question Discussion
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