- A
You cannot increase storage online; you must create a new instance.
Why wrong: Online storage increase is supported.
- B
Create a clone of the instance with larger storage and switch traffic.
Why wrong: This causes unnecessary complexity and potential downtime.
- C
Enable automatic storage increase and it will happen automatically.
Why wrong: Auto-increase takes effect only when storage uses more than the threshold, not immediately.
- D
Edit the instance and increase the storage size; it will be applied online.
Cloud SQL allows online storage increase without downtime.
Question 994 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.
Your Cloud SQL for MySQL instance is running low on storage. You need to increase the storage size without downtime. What should you do?
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
✓
Edit the instance and increase the storage size; it will be applied online.
Option D is correct because Cloud SQL for MySQL supports online storage increases. When you edit the instance and increase the storage allocation, the operation is applied without requiring a restart or causing downtime. The underlying infrastructure uses live migration and dynamic volume expansion to make the additional capacity available immediately while the instance continues serving traffic.
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.
- ✗
You cannot increase storage online; you must create a new instance.
Why it's wrong here
Online storage increase is supported.
- ✗
Create a clone of the instance with larger storage and switch traffic.
Why it's wrong here
This causes unnecessary complexity and potential downtime.
- ✗
Enable automatic storage increase and it will happen automatically.
Why it's wrong here
Auto-increase takes effect only when storage uses more than the threshold, not immediately.
- ✓
Edit the instance and increase the storage size; it will be applied online.
Why this is correct
Cloud SQL allows online storage increase without downtime.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may assume any storage change requires downtime (Option A) or that cloning is the only safe method (Option B), but Cloud SQL explicitly supports online storage increases for MySQL instances.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud SQL for MySQL uses persistent disks that support live resizing. When you increase the storage via the gcloud command or console, the underlying disk is expanded without unmounting or restarting the database process. This is possible because Cloud SQL leverages Google Compute Engine's live resize capability, which allows the block device to be extended while in use, and the filesystem (typically ext4 or XFS) can be resized online. In a real-world scenario, you might need to increase storage during a traffic spike without affecting read replicas or primary instances.
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 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.
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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: Edit the instance and increase the storage size; it will be applied online. — Option D is correct because Cloud SQL for MySQL supports online storage increases. When you edit the instance and increase the storage allocation, the operation is applied without requiring a restart or causing downtime. The underlying infrastructure uses live migration and dynamic volume expansion to make the additional capacity available immediately while the instance continues serving traffic.
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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