- A
Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years.
Bucket Lock enforces a retention policy that prevents object deletion or overwrite for the specified period.
- B
Requester Pays bucket setting.
Why wrong: Requester Pays affects billing, not data retention.
- C
Versioning enabled with Object Hold.
Why wrong: Versioning and holds can prevent deletion but not overwriting; Bucket Lock is more comprehensive.
- D
Object lifecycle management with a delete rule after 7 years.
Why wrong: Lifecycle rules delete objects, but do not prevent deletion; they automate deletion, not protect.
PDE Storing the Data Practice Question
This PDE practice question tests your understanding of storing the data. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 needs to store logs in Cloud Storage for compliance, with a requirement that logs cannot be deleted or overwritten for a period of 7 years. Which Cloud Storage feature should they enable?
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
Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years.
Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years is the correct feature because it enforces a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) model on the bucket. Once a retention policy is locked, objects cannot be deleted or overwritten until the retention period expires, meeting the compliance requirement for immutable log storage.
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.
- ✓
Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years.
Why this is correct
Bucket Lock enforces a retention policy that prevents object deletion or overwrite for the specified period.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Requester Pays bucket setting.
Why it's wrong here
Requester Pays affects billing, not data retention.
- ✗
Versioning enabled with Object Hold.
Why it's wrong here
Versioning and holds can prevent deletion but not overwriting; Bucket Lock is more comprehensive.
- ✗
Object lifecycle management with a delete rule after 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle rules delete objects, but do not prevent deletion; they automate deletion, not protect.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between features that prevent deletion (Bucket Lock) versus features that only track versions or automate cleanup (Versioning, Lifecycle), leading candidates to choose Versioning or Lifecycle rules thinking they enforce immutability.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Bucket Lock uses a retention policy that is applied at the bucket level and can be locked by setting a retention period in days or years. Once locked, the policy cannot be shortened or removed, and any object uploaded inherits the retention policy; attempts to delete or overwrite are denied with a 403 error. This feature is commonly used for regulatory compliance such as SEC Rule 17a-4 or FINRA requirements, where data must be preserved in its original state.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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: Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years. — Bucket Lock with a retention policy of 7 years is the correct feature because it enforces a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) model on the bucket. Once a retention policy is locked, objects cannot be deleted or overwritten until the retention period expires, meeting the compliance requirement for immutable log storage.
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.
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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.
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