Google ACE Setting up a cloud solution environment Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of setting up a cloud solution environment. 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 service account needs to be able to create snapshots of disks in a specific project and store them in a different project. What is the correct IAM policy configuration?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Grant roles/compute.snapshotAdmin on the source project and roles/storage.objectAdmin on the target bucket
Option C is correct because creating snapshots in one project and storing them in another requires distinct permissions: `roles/compute.snapshotAdmin` on the source project allows the service account to create snapshots, while `roles/storage.objectAdmin` on the target bucket (within the destination project) grants the necessary permissions to write snapshot data into the bucket. This separation follows the principle of least privilege and aligns with the cross-project snapshot workflow.
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.
✗
Grant roles/compute.storageAdmin on both projects
Why it's wrong here
StorageAdmin is not a valid role; correct roles are snapshotAdmin and objectAdmin.
✗
Grant roles/viewer on both projects
Why it's wrong here
Viewer only allows read, not create.
✓
Grant roles/compute.snapshotAdmin on the source project and roles/storage.objectAdmin on the target bucket
Why this is correct
This provides snapshot creation and storage permissions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Grant roles/compute.instanceAdmin on the source project and roles/storage.objectAdmin on the target bucket
Why it's wrong here
InstanceAdmin allows VM management but not snapshot creation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that a single role like `compute.storageAdmin` or `compute.instanceAdmin` can handle cross-project snapshot operations, when in fact you need a combination of snapshot-specific and bucket-specific roles.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, when a snapshot is created, Compute Engine temporarily stores the snapshot in a staging bucket within the source project before exporting it to the specified target bucket. The service account must have `storage.objects.create` and `storage.objects.delete` on the target bucket (provided by `roles/storage.objectAdmin`) to complete the write. Additionally, the `compute.snapshotAdmin` role includes the `compute.snapshots.create` permission, which is distinct from `compute.disks.createSnapshot`—a common point of confusion.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
Setting up a cloud solution environment — This question tests Setting up a cloud solution environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Grant roles/compute.snapshotAdmin on the source project and roles/storage.objectAdmin on the target bucket — Option C is correct because creating snapshots in one project and storing them in another requires distinct permissions: `roles/compute.snapshotAdmin` on the source project allows the service account to create snapshots, while `roles/storage.objectAdmin` on the target bucket (within the destination project) grants the necessary permissions to write snapshot data into the bucket. This separation follows the principle of least privilege and aligns with the cross-project snapshot workflow.
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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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.
Question Discussion
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