Google ACE Practice Question: Ensuring Successful Operation of a Cloud Solution
A developer needs to check the latest logs from a Compute Engine instance to debug a failed startup script. They want to filter logs from the last hour with severity ERROR or higher. Which Cloud Logging query language filter should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
ACE often tests the exact syntax of Cloud Logging query language, especially the difference between severity=ERROR and severity>=ERROR, and the correct resource type string for Compute Engine.
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
✓
resource.type="gce_instance" timestamp>="-1h" severity>=ERROR
The correct Cloud Logging query language filter uses resource.type="gce_instance" to target Compute Engine instances, timestamp>="-1h" to filter the last hour, and severity>=ERROR to include ERROR and higher severities. The syntax severity>=ERROR is valid and includes ERROR, CRITICAL, ALERT, and EMERGENCY. This combination precisely meets the requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
resource.type="gce_instance" timestamp>="-1h" severity>=ERROR
Why this is correct
The filter combines the required resource type with a relative timestamp and severity comparison. `resource.type="gce_instance"` scopes results to the Compute Engine instance, `timestamp>="-1h"` restricts to the last hour, and `severity>=ERROR` returns ERROR and above, satisfying every constraint in the stem.
- ✗
resource.type="gce_instance" severity=ERROR timestamp>="-1h"
Why it's wrong here
severity=ERROR only matches exactly ERROR, not WARNING or CRITICAL. The requirement is 'ERROR or higher'.
- ✗
resource.type="compute.googleapis.com/Instance" severity>=ERROR timestamp<"-1h"
Why it's wrong here
resource.type format is incorrect; it should be gce_instance. Also timestamp<"-1h" would exclude logs from the last hour.
- ✗
resource.labels.instance_id="*" severity>=ERROR timestamp>="-3600s"
Why it's wrong here
instance_id wildcard is not standard; resource.type must be specified. Using seconds is acceptable but not the primary issue.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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GCP Labels and Resource Tags
Key term
Compute Engine
Compute Engine is Google Cloud's Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering that lets you create and run virtual machines on Google's infrastructure.
Key term
Startup script
A startup script is a file of commands or code that runs automatically when a cloud virtual machine starts up, allowing you to configure the system without manual logging in.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Google Cloud exam blueprint
This ACE 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 ACE exam.