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ACE Practice Question: A GKE cluster hosts multiple teams' workloads in…
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of a gke cluster hosts multiple teams' workloads in…. 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 GKE cluster hosts multiple teams' workloads in separate namespaces. One team's pods should not be able to make API calls to Google Cloud services (e.g., they should not call BigQuery or Cloud Storage). The pods currently use the node's service account via the Compute Engine metadata server. How do you restrict these specific pods from accessing GCP APIs while allowing other pods on the same node to continue using GCP APIs?
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.
A
Distractor review
Set `automountServiceAccountToken: false` on the restricted team's pods.
This prevents mounting the Kubernetes service account token, not the GCP node service account credentials obtained via the metadata server. GCP API access would still be available via the metadata server.
B
Distractor review
Use a Kubernetes ResourceQuota to limit the team's namespace API access.
ResourceQuotas limit Kubernetes resource consumption (CPU, memory, pod count), not access to GCP APIs.
C
Distractor review
Revoke all IAM roles from the node's service account.
Revoking roles from the node SA affects all pods on the node, not just the restricted team's pods. It also breaks GKE node functionality that depends on the node SA.
D
Best answer
Apply a Kubernetes NetworkPolicy in the team's namespace blocking egress to `169.254.169.254` (the metadata server).
The GCE metadata server at 169.254.169.254 is how pods obtain GCP credentials. Blocking egress to this IP prevents those pods from getting any GCP access tokens, while other namespaces remain unaffected.
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
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Question 2
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Question 3
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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: Apply a Kubernetes NetworkPolicy in the team's namespace blocking egress to `169.254.169.254` (the metadata server). — When GKE uses Workload Identity, each Kubernetes service account is bound to a GCP service account. Pods using a KSA with no GCP SA binding (or a GCP SA with no IAM roles) cannot access GCP APIs. The restricted team's pods should use a dedicated KSA with no Workload Identity binding or one bound to a GCP SA with no IAM roles. Additionally, a NetworkPolicy can block egress to the metadata server (`169.254.169.254`) for those pods, preventing them from obtaining tokens at all.
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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