Google Professional Cloud Database Engineer Question 143
Select 2Google Cloud PlatformYou are managing a mission-critical PostgreSQL database hosted on Google Cloud and need to ensure minimal downtime and data loss in case of a regional failure. The database has high write activity, and you are required to design a backup and recovery solution. Which combination of strategies should you implement to meet these requirements?
- A
Set up automated daily backups in Cloud SQL and configure point-in-time recovery (PITR).
- B
Enable cross-region replication for the PostgreSQL database.
- C
Perform manual backups before every major database change.
- D
Set up a multi-regional Cloud Spanner instance to replace the PostgreSQL database.
- E
Use a Cloud Storage bucket with versioning enabled to store database export backups.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, B
Explanation
To ensure minimal downtime and data loss for a mission-critical PostgreSQL database, combining automated backups with point-in-time recovery (PITR) and cross-region replication is the optimal solution. PITR provides the ability to restore the database to a specific point in time, while cross-region replication ensures a live copy is available in another region to protect against regional failures. Other options, such as manual backups or Cloud Storage versioning, do not meet the high availability and recovery needs for such a database.
- A. Correct.
Automated daily backups combined with point-in-time recovery (PITR) allow you to restore the database to a specific point in time, minimizing data loss. This is a critical feature for high write activity databases.
- B. Correct.
Cross-region replication ensures that a real-time copy of the database is available in another region, reducing downtime significantly in case of regional failures.
- C. Incorrect.
Manual backups are not feasible for mission-critical databases with high write activity, as they are error-prone and do not provide the needed granularity or automation.
- D. Incorrect.
Cloud Spanner is not a direct replacement for PostgreSQL and would require significant effort to migrate and refactor the application. It is not a suitable solution for the described scenario.
- E. Incorrect.
While Cloud Storage with versioning can store backups, it does not provide real-time replication or point-in-time recovery, which are critical for this use case.