Google Professional Cloud Database Engineer Exam - Topic 14 Question 58 Discussion

Actual exam question for Google's Professional Cloud Database Engineer exam

Question #: 58
Topic #: 14

[All Professional Cloud Database Engineer Questions]

You work for a financial services company that wants to use fully managed database services. Traffic volume for your consumer services products has increased annually at a constant rate with occasional spikes around holidays. You frequently need to upgrade the capacity of your database. You want to use Cloud Spanner and include an automated method to increase your hardware capacity to support a higher level of concurrency. What should you do?

AUse linear scaling to implement the Autoscaler-based architecture

BUse direct scaling to implement the Autoscaler-based architecture.

CUpgrade the Cloud Spanner instance on a periodic basis during the scheduled maintenance window.

DSet up alerts that are triggered when Cloud Spanner utilization metrics breach the threshold, and then schedule an upgrade during the scheduled maintenance window.

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: A

Linear scaling is best used with load patterns that change more gradually or have a few large peaks. The method calculates the minimum number of nodes or processing units required to keep utilization below the scaling threshold. The number of nodes or processing units added or removed in each scaling event is not limited to a fixed step amount. https://cloud.google.com/spanner/docs/autoscaling-overview#linear

by Sage at Jul 06, 2025, 01:55 AM

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Jerry

6 days ago

I think we practiced a similar question where we had to choose between scaling methods. I feel like the Autoscaler-based architecture is key, but I can't recall the specifics.

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Ula

12 days ago

I remember studying about Cloud Spanner's scaling options, but I'm not sure if linear or direct scaling is the right choice here.

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Alexis

17 days ago

Based on the details provided, I think the best approach is to use linear scaling to implement the Autoscaler-based architecture. That way, the system can automatically scale up as needed to handle the increased traffic.

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Ashton

23 days ago

Upgrading the Cloud Spanner instance on a periodic basis could work, but it might not be the most efficient approach if the traffic volume is constantly increasing. I'd prefer a more dynamic solution.

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Marleen

28 days ago

The question mentions needing to support a higher level of concurrency, so I'm leaning towards the option that involves setting up alerts and scheduling upgrades during maintenance windows.

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Tenesha

1 month ago

Hmm, I'm a bit confused about the differences between linear and direct scaling. I'll need to review that part of the material again before deciding.

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Erick

1 month ago

This question seems straightforward. I think the key is to use the Autoscaler-based architecture to automatically scale the Cloud Spanner instance as needed.

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