- A
Cloud SQL
Why wrong: Cloud SQL is a managed relational database, not serverless for analytics on external files.
- B
AlloyDB
Why wrong: AlloyDB is a PostgreSQL-compatible database, not designed for serverless queries on external data.
- C
Dataproc with Spark SQL
Why wrong: Dataproc requires managing a cluster; not serverless.
- D
BigQuery with external tables
BigQuery external tables let you query Parquet files in GCS without loading, serverless.
Question 188 of 1,000
PDE Storing the Data Practice Question
This PDE practice question tests your understanding of storing the data. 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 marketing team needs to run ad-hoc SQL queries on terabytes of clickstream data stored in Parquet files in Cloud Storage. They want a serverless solution with no cluster management and the ability to query external data without loading. Which service 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
✓
BigQuery with external tables
BigQuery with external tables allows querying data stored in Cloud Storage (including Parquet files) without loading it into BigQuery storage, providing a serverless, fully managed solution with no cluster management. This matches the requirement for ad-hoc SQL queries on terabytes of clickstream data in Parquet format, as BigQuery automatically scales compute and 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.
- ✗
Cloud SQL
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL is a managed relational database, not serverless for analytics on external files.
- ✗
AlloyDB
Why it's wrong here
AlloyDB is a PostgreSQL-compatible database, not designed for serverless queries on external data.
- ✗
Dataproc with Spark SQL
Why it's wrong here
Dataproc requires managing a cluster; not serverless.
- ✓
BigQuery with external tables
Why this is correct
BigQuery external tables let you query Parquet files in GCS without loading, serverless.
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 choose Dataproc with Spark SQL (Option C) because it can query Parquet files, but they overlook the 'serverless' and 'no cluster management' requirement, which BigQuery satisfies natively without any cluster provisioning.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
BigQuery external tables use a federated query engine that reads Parquet files directly from Cloud Storage via the Storage API, leveraging columnar pruning and predicate pushdown to minimize data scanned. This allows querying terabytes of data without incurring storage costs in BigQuery, though you pay for bytes processed; partitioning and clustering the Parquet files can further reduce costs and improve performance.
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.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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: BigQuery with external tables — BigQuery with external tables allows querying data stored in Cloud Storage (including Parquet files) without loading it into BigQuery storage, providing a serverless, fully managed solution with no cluster management. This matches the requirement for ad-hoc SQL queries on terabytes of clickstream data in Parquet format, as BigQuery automatically scales compute and 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.
About these practice questions
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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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