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.
An e-commerce platform uses Cloud SQL for its database. The team notices that read queries are slow. They want to improve read performance without significant cost increase. Which action should they take?
Add a read replica
A read replica distributes read queries, reducing load on the primary.
Increase the number of vCPUs on the instance
Why wrong: Scaling vertically increases cost and may not solely resolve read slowness.
Increase the storage size
Why wrong: Larger storage does not directly improve read speed.
Enable binary logging
Why wrong: Binary logging supports point-in-time recovery, not read performance.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Add a read replica
Adding a read replica offloads read traffic from the primary instance, improving read performance with minimal cost. Increasing vCPUs or storage incurs higher cost. Binary logging is for replication, not read performance.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Add a read replica
Why this is correct
A read replica distributes read queries, reducing load on the primary.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Increase the number of vCPUs on the instance
Why it's wrong here
Scaling vertically increases cost and may not solely resolve read slowness.
Increase the storage size
Why it's wrong here
Larger storage does not directly improve read speed.
Enable binary logging
Why it's wrong here
Binary logging supports point-in-time recovery, not read performance.
Common exam traps
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
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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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.
Optimizing service performance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Optimizing service performance — This question tests Optimizing service performance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Add a read replica — Adding a read replica offloads read traffic from the primary instance, improving read performance with minimal cost. Increasing vCPUs or storage incurs higher cost. Binary logging is for replication, not read performance.
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.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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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