Google ACE Configuring access and security Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access and security. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
A security team wants to restrict access to a Google Cloud project such that only virtual machines with a specific tag 'web' can connect to a Compute Engine instance on port 443. Which configuration is required?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a firewall rule allowing ingress from instances with tag 'web' to the target instance on port 443.
Option B is correct because firewall rules in Google Cloud are stateful and control ingress traffic at the network level. To allow only VMs with tag 'web' to connect to the target instance on port 443, you must create an ingress firewall rule that specifies the source tag 'web', the target instance (or its network tag), and the protocol/port tcp:443. This rule permits incoming HTTPS traffic from any VM that has the 'web' tag, regardless of its IP address.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Create a firewall rule allowing egress from instances with tag 'web' to the target instance on port 443.
Why it's wrong here
Egress rules control outgoing traffic; the needed rule is ingress.
✓
Create a firewall rule allowing ingress from instances with tag 'web' to the target instance on port 443.
Why this is correct
Firewall ingress rules with source tags can restrict traffic based on sender's tags.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Set an IAM condition on the instance to only allow calls from instances with tag 'web'.
Why it's wrong here
IAM conditions cannot filter by network tags.
✗
Use Cloud Armor to filter traffic based on tags.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Armor works at the edge of load balancers, not directly on instance traffic.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between ingress and egress firewall rules, and the trap here is that candidates mistakenly choose an egress rule (Option A) because they think of restricting traffic 'from' the source, but the correct direction for controlling incoming connections to a target is ingress.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Google Cloud firewall rules are stateful, meaning that if you allow ingress traffic, the corresponding egress response traffic is automatically allowed. The source tag 'web' is resolved dynamically: when a VM with the 'web' tag sends traffic, the firewall rule matches based on the tag, not the VM's IP, which simplifies management when VMs are ephemeral or scaled. This tag-based filtering uses the network's internal metadata service to map tags to VM instances, ensuring that only VMs with the exact tag are permitted as sources.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
Configuring access and security — This question tests Configuring access and security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a firewall rule allowing ingress from instances with tag 'web' to the target instance on port 443. — Option B is correct because firewall rules in Google Cloud are stateful and control ingress traffic at the network level. To allow only VMs with tag 'web' to connect to the target instance on port 443, you must create an ingress firewall rule that specifies the source tag 'web', the target instance (or its network tag), and the protocol/port tcp:443. This rule permits incoming HTTPS traffic from any VM that has the 'web' tag, regardless of its IP address.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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