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A manufacturing company uses thousands of IoT sensors to monitor machine performance on its factory floor. These sensors generate high volumes of time-series data (e.g., temperature, pressure, vibration) at sub-second intervals. The company needs a database that can handle extremely high write and read throughput for this type of data, specifically for operational analytics and real-time dashboards. Which Google Cloud database is best suited for this use case?

  1. ACloud SQL
  2. BCloud Bigtable
  3. CCloud Spanner
  4. DFirestore
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B. Cloud Bigtable

Cloud Bigtable is a fully managed, scalable NoSQL wide-column database service specifically designed for large analytical and operational workloads, including IoT time-series data. It excels at handling very high read/write throughput and low-latency access, making it ideal for real-time sensor data.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. Cloud SQL is a relational database, not designed for the extreme write/read throughput of IoT time-series data.
  • C. Cloud Spanner is a globally distributed relational database, optimized for transactional consistency, not the high-volume, low-latency needs of IoT time-series.
  • D. Firestore is a NoSQL document database, better suited for mobile/web apps and less for extreme time-series throughput.

Cloud Bigtable

A fully managed, scalable NoSQL wide-column database service designed for large analytical and operational workloads, including IoT and time-series data.

  • Handles extremely high read/write throughput.
  • Low-latency access.
  • Ideal for time-series data, IoT, and operational analytics.

Memory trick: Bigtable handles Big Time-Series data.

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