PCNE Implementing VPC Instances Practice Question
A company wants to restrict access to Google Cloud APIs from a specific set of VMs based on the VM's service account. Which type of firewall rule target should be used?
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
✓
Target service accounts
Firewall rules can target instances by service account, allowing fine-grained control based on identity rather than network tags.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Target tags
Why it's wrong here
Target tags are network tags, not service accounts.
- ✗
All instances
Why it's wrong here
All instances applies to every instance, which is too broad.
- ✗
Source service accounts
Why it's wrong here
Source service accounts are used in ingress rules but not as a target.
- ✓
Target service accounts
Why this is correct
Target service accounts specify which instances to apply the rule to based on their service account.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCNE 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 PCNE exam.