ACE Practice Question: Enabling OS Login for a GCP project to manage SSH…
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of enabling os login for a gcp project to manage ssh…. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You are enabling OS Login for a GCP project to manage SSH access to Compute Engine VMs. A developer cannot SSH to a VM despite having `roles/compute.osLogin` granted. The VM has OS Login enabled. What is the most likely missing configuration?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Best answer
The VM metadata `enable-oslogin` is not set to `TRUE` at the VM or project level.
OS Login is enabled by setting `enable-oslogin=TRUE` in instance or project metadata. Without this metadata key, OS Login is not active on the VM even if the IAM role is granted.
Distractor review
The developer's account needs `roles/iam.serviceAccountTokenCreator` to authenticate via SSH.
serviceAccountTokenCreator is for impersonating service accounts to generate tokens. It has no role in OS Login SSH authentication.
Distractor review
The developer needs `roles/compute.instanceAdmin` in addition to `roles/compute.osLogin`.
compute.instanceAdmin manages VM instances (start/stop/configure). SSH access via OS Login only requires osLogin (or osAdminLogin for sudo). instanceAdmin is not needed for SSH.
Distractor review
The developer must generate an SSH key pair and upload the public key to the VM's authorized_keys.
OS Login replaces the manual authorized_keys approach. With OS Login enabled, SSH keys are managed via the user's Google account profile, not authorized_keys.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Related practice questions
Related ACE practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
What is the correct order of the Google Cloud resource hierarchy from highest to lowest level?
Question 2
A compliance archive stores legal documents accessed at most once per quarter. Which Cloud Storage class minimizes storage cost while meeting that access pattern?
Question 3
Which gcloud command creates a Compute Engine VM named 'web-01' using the e2-medium machine type in zone us-central1-a?
Question 4
A team wants to receive an email alert when the average CPU utilization of VMs in a managed instance group exceeds 80% for more than 5 minutes. What should they create in Cloud Monitoring?
Question 5
A junior developer needs read-only access to all GCP resources in a project. Which IAM role grants the minimum permissions required?
Question 6
A startup creates its first Google Cloud project. Before deploying any paid resources, what must be linked to the project?
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The VM metadata `enable-oslogin` is not set to `TRUE` at the VM or project level. — OS Login links a Linux user identity to a Google account. When OS Login is enabled, the developer's Google account must have `roles/compute.osLogin` for regular access or `roles/compute.osAdminLogin` for sudo access. For external users or users who need to run commands as root, the `roles/compute.osAdminLogin` role is needed. Additionally, if the VM is in a different project, the role must be granted in the project containing the VM. A common miss is that OS Login requires the metadata server setting `enable-oslogin=TRUE` on the VM or project level.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which ACE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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