Cloud Spanner for global distribution in GCP - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to create a Cloud Spanner instance with multi-region configuration.

GCP

gcloud spanner instances create my-instance --config=[1] --description="Global instance" --nodes=3

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aasia-east1

Bnam6

Cregional-us-central1

Deurope-west1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Choosing a single region like 'asia-east1' instead of a multi-region config.

Using a regional config which does not support global distribution.

The nam6 configuration is a multi-region configuration suitable for global distribution in Cloud Spanner.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to create a Cloud Spanner database in the instance.

GCP

gcloud spanner databases create my-database --instance=[1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aspanner-instance

Bglobal-instance

Ctest-instance

Dmy-instance

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a different instance name than the one created.

Using a placeholder name instead of the actual instance name.

The database must be created in the instance named my-instance which was created earlier.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to add a read-write region to the instance.

GCP

gcloud spanner instances update my-instance --add-[1]=europe-west1

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aread-write-region

Bread-region

Creplica

Dregion

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using --add-region which is invalid.

Using --add-read-region which adds read-only region, not read-write.

The correct flag to add a read-write region is --add-read-write-region.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to configure the instance with 5 nodes and a multi-region config.

GCP

gcloud spanner instances create my-global-instance --config=[1] --nodes=[2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Anam6

B3

C5

Dregional-us-central1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a regional config instead of multi-region.

Setting nodes to a string instead of a number.

Use nam6 for multi-region config and 5 nodes for capacity.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a database with a DDL statement for a table.

GCP

gcloud spanner databases ddl update my-database --instance=[1] --ddl='CREATE TABLE [2] (Id INT64 NOT NULL, Name STRING(100)) PRIMARY KEY([3])'

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Amy-instance

BUsers

CId

Dmy-database

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using the database name instead of instance name in the --instance flag.

Using a wrong table name or primary key column.

The database update must target the correct instance my-instance, create a table named Users, and use Id as the primary key.

Practice

1. What is the main benefit of using Cloud Spanner's global distribution feature?

easy

A. It keeps applications fast and reliable by storing data across multiple regions.

B. It reduces the cost of storage by using local disks only.

C. It automatically deletes old data to save space.

D. It limits access to data to a single region for security.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand global distribution purpose

   Cloud Spanner stores data in multiple regions to improve speed and reliability.

2. Step 2: Compare options

   Only It keeps applications fast and reliable by storing data across multiple regions. correctly describes the benefit of global data storage for performance and reliability.

3. Final Answer:

   It keeps applications fast and reliable by storing data across multiple regions. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Global data storage = fast and reliable apps [OK]

Hint: Global means data spread worldwide for speed and reliability [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking global distribution saves storage cost
• Believing data is deleted automatically
• Assuming data is limited to one region

2. Which of the following is the correct way to specify a multi-region configuration in Cloud Spanner?

easy

A. multi_region_config = "europe-west1"

B. multi_region_config = "us-central1"

C. multi_region_config = "asia-east1"

D. multi_region_config = "nam3"

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify multi-region config names

   Cloud Spanner uses specific multi-region config names like "nam3" for North America multi-region.

2. Step 2: Check options

   Only A is a valid multi-region config. Options B, C, and D are single-region names.

3. Final Answer:

   multi_region_config = "nam3" -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Multi-region config uses names like nam3 [OK]

Hint: Multi-region configs have short codes like nam3, not single region names [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using single region names instead of multi-region codes
• Confusing region names with zone names
• Misspelling multi-region config strings

3. Given this Cloud Spanner instance configuration:
instance_config = "nam3"
nodes = 3
What is the expected behavior of this setup?

medium

A. Data is globally distributed across North America with 3 nodes handling requests.

B. Data is stored in a single region with 3 nodes for processing.

C. Data is stored only in Europe with 3 nodes.

D. Data is stored in Asia with 3 nodes but no replication.

Solution

1. Step 1: Interpret instance_config "nam3"

   "nam3" is a multi-region config for North America, so data is distributed across multiple regions there.

2. Step 2: Understand nodes setting

   3 nodes means the instance has 3 processing units to handle workload.

3. Final Answer:

   Data is globally distributed across North America with 3 nodes handling requests. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   nam3 = North America multi-region + 3 nodes [OK]

Hint: Multi-region config + nodes = distributed data with processing power [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming single region storage with multi-region config
• Ignoring the meaning of nodes
• Confusing region names with multi-region configs

4. You configured a Cloud Spanner instance with instance_config = "nam3" but your app experiences high latency in Europe. What is the likely cause?

medium

A. The instance_config "nam3" is invalid and causes errors.

B. You need to increase the number of nodes to reduce latency.

C. The multi-region config "nam3" only covers North America, not Europe.

D. Cloud Spanner does not support multi-region configurations.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand "nam3" coverage

   "nam3" is a multi-region config limited to North America regions only.

2. Step 2: Analyze latency cause

   High latency in Europe happens because data is not stored close to European users.

3. Final Answer:

   The multi-region config "nam3" only covers North America, not Europe. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   nam3 excludes Europe, causing latency there [OK]

Hint: Check if multi-region config covers your app's user locations [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming multi-region covers all continents
• Thinking node count fixes geographic latency
• Believing "nam3" is invalid

5. You want to deploy a Cloud Spanner instance that serves users in Asia, Europe, and North America with low latency. Which configuration should you choose?

hard

A. Use a single-region config in Asia with 5 nodes.

B. Use the multi-region config "nam-eur-asia1" with enough nodes.

C. Use multiple single-region instances in each continent.

D. Use the multi-region config "nam3" with 3 nodes.

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify multi-region config covering Asia, Europe, North America

   "nam-eur-asia1" is a multi-region config spanning these continents.

2. Step 2: Understand node allocation

   Choosing enough nodes ensures capacity and low latency across regions.

3. Step 3: Compare other options

   Single-region configs or multiple instances increase complexity or limit coverage.

4. Final Answer:

   Use the multi-region config "nam-eur-asia1" with enough nodes. -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   nam-eur-asia1 covers all needed continents [OK]

Hint: Pick multi-region config covering all user continents [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing single-region config for global users
• Using nam3 which excludes Europe and Asia
• Deploying multiple instances instead of one multi-region