Google ACE Configuring access and security Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access and security. 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.
A startup wants to grant developers the ability to create and manage Compute Engine instances, but prevent them from deleting instances or changing firewall rules. Which IAM approach should they use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a custom role with permissions for instance management but without compute.instances.delete.
Option A is correct because creating a custom role allows the startup to grant fine-grained permissions for instance management (e.g., compute.instances.create, compute.instances.start, compute.instances.stop) while explicitly omitting compute.instances.delete and any firewall-related permissions like compute.firewalls.update or compute.firewalls.delete. This ensures developers can manage instances but cannot delete them or alter firewall rules, meeting the exact requirement.
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 custom role with permissions for instance management but without compute.instances.delete.
Why this is correct
A custom role can be tailored to include only the required permissions, avoiding unintended capabilities.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Assign the roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1 role.
Why it's wrong here
This role includes compute.instances.delete, which allows deletion of instances.
✗
Assign the roles/compute.instanceOperator role.
Why it's wrong here
This role does not include compute.instances.create, so developers cannot create instances.
✗
Assign the roles/compute.admin role.
Why it's wrong here
This role grants full control over Compute Engine resources, including deletion and firewall changes.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between predefined roles that sound similar (like instanceAdmin.v1 vs. a non-existent instanceOperator) and the need for custom roles when predefined roles do not match the exact permission set required.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Custom roles in Google Cloud IAM are built by selecting specific permissions from a list of available API permissions, such as compute.instances.* for instance operations and compute.firewalls.* for firewall rules. Under the hood, IAM evaluates access by checking if the user's role includes the exact permission required for the API call; omitting compute.instances.delete means any delete request will be denied with a 403 error. In a real-world scenario, this approach is common for DevOps teams where developers need to spin up test environments but must not accidentally delete production resources or alter security boundaries.
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 custom role with permissions for instance management but without compute.instances.delete. — Option A is correct because creating a custom role allows the startup to grant fine-grained permissions for instance management (e.g., compute.instances.create, compute.instances.start, compute.instances.stop) while explicitly omitting compute.instances.delete and any firewall-related permissions like compute.firewalls.update or compute.firewalls.delete. This ensures developers can manage instances but cannot delete them or alter firewall rules, meeting the exact requirement.
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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