- A
Enable high availability (regional) and create a read replica
HA provides automatic failover across zones; read replicas handle reporting.
- B
Deploy Cloud SQL in multi-region mode
Why wrong: Cloud SQL does not support multi-region deployment; it is regional.
- C
Enable automatic backups and point-in-time recovery
Why wrong: Backups help with data recovery, not high availability or read offloading.
- D
Create a cross-region replica and use it for failover
Why wrong: Cross-region replicas are for disaster recovery, not automatic HA failover within a region.
Question 286 of 1,000
PDE Storing the Data Practice Question
This PDE practice question tests your understanding of storing the data. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 company has a Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL instance that must be highly available across zones with automatic failover. They also need a read replica for reporting workloads. Which configuration should they use?
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
✓
Enable high availability (regional) and create a read replica
Option A is correct because Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL supports regional high availability (HA) with synchronous replication across two zones, ensuring automatic failover without data loss. Additionally, you can create a read replica in a different zone or region to offload reporting workloads without impacting the primary instance's performance. This combination meets both the high availability and read replica requirements.
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.
- ✓
Enable high availability (regional) and create a read replica
Why this is correct
HA provides automatic failover across zones; read replicas handle reporting.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Deploy Cloud SQL in multi-region mode
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL does not support multi-region deployment; it is regional.
- ✗
Enable automatic backups and point-in-time recovery
Why it's wrong here
Backups help with data recovery, not high availability or read offloading.
- ✗
Create a cross-region replica and use it for failover
Why it's wrong here
Cross-region replicas are for disaster recovery, not automatic HA failover within a region.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing high availability (automatic zonal failover) with disaster recovery (manual cross-region promotion), and assuming that a read replica can serve as a failover target without understanding the synchronous vs. asynchronous replication difference.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud SQL regional HA uses synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different zone within the same region, with a failover time typically under 60 seconds. Read replicas use asynchronous replication and can be placed in the same or a different region; they are ideal for read-heavy workloads but cannot be used for automatic failover unless promoted manually. For PostgreSQL, Cloud SQL uses the built-in streaming replication protocol for read replicas, and the HA configuration relies on Google's internal management of the standby instance.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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.
- →
Storing the Data — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Storing the Data practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All PDE questions
1,000 questions across all exam domains
- →
Google Professional Data Engineer study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
PDE practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related PDE practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Designing Data Processing Systems practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to Designing Data Processing Systems.
Ingesting and Processing the Data practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to Ingesting and Processing the Data.
Storing the Data practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to Storing the Data.
Preparing and Using Data for Analysis practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to Preparing and Using Data for Analysis.
Maintaining and Automating Data Workloads practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to Maintaining and Automating Data Workloads.
Building and operationalizing data processing systems practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to Building and operationalizing data processing systems.
Operationalizing machine learning models practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to Operationalizing machine learning models.
Ensuring solution quality practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to Ensuring solution quality.
PDE fundamentals practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to PDE fundamentals.
PDE scenario practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to PDE scenario.
PDE troubleshooting practice questions
Practise PDE questions linked to PDE troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free PDE practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PDE question test?
Storing the Data — This question tests Storing the Data — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable high availability (regional) and create a read replica — Option A is correct because Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL supports regional high availability (HA) with synchronous replication across two zones, ensuring automatic failover without data loss. Additionally, you can create a read replica in a different zone or region to offload reporting workloads without impacting the primary instance's performance. This combination meets both the high availability and read replica requirements.
What should I do if I get this PDE 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.
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 PDE 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 PDE exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.