Google ACE Planning and configuring a cloud solution Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of planning and configuring a cloud solution. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
An organization requires that all Compute Engine instances be created with a specific service account that has minimal permissions. They also want to prevent users from creating instances with a different service account. Which IAM policy should they implement?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Organization policy with constraint compute.setServiceAccount
The organization policy constraint `compute.setServiceAccount` is the correct choice because it allows administrators to restrict which service accounts can be used when creating Compute Engine instances. By setting this constraint to only permit a specific service account, users are prevented from launching instances with any other service account, ensuring minimal permissions are enforced at the organization level.
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.
✗
Organization policy with constraint compute.disableUserServiceAccountCreation
Why it's wrong here
That constraint does not exist; the correct constraint is compute.setServiceAccount.
✗
IAM condition that restricts instances to only use the authorized service account
Why it's wrong here
IAM conditions on instance creation are possible but organization policy is simpler.
✗
Custom role with permission compute.instances.setServiceAccount only for authorized users
Why it's wrong here
This does not prevent users from using a different service account if they have permission.
✓
Organization policy with constraint compute.setServiceAccount
Why this is correct
This constraint restricts the set of service accounts that can be used when creating instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse the organization policy constraint `compute.setServiceAccount` with the IAM permission `compute.instances.setServiceAccount`, thinking that restricting the permission is sufficient, when in fact the organization policy is required to block creation with unauthorized service accounts at the resource hierarchy level.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `compute.setServiceAccount` organization policy constraint is a list constraint that can be set to either allow or deny specific service accounts. When configured with a deny-all or allow-list approach, it intercepts the instance creation API call (instances.insert) and validates the service account field against the policy, rejecting the request if it violates the constraint. This policy is evaluated before IAM permissions, making it a hard enforcement mechanism that cannot be overridden by individual user roles.
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.
Planning and configuring a cloud solution — This question tests Planning and configuring a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Organization policy with constraint compute.setServiceAccount — The organization policy constraint `compute.setServiceAccount` is the correct choice because it allows administrators to restrict which service accounts can be used when creating Compute Engine instances. By setting this constraint to only permit a specific service account, users are prevented from launching instances with any other service account, ensuring minimal permissions are enforced at the organization level.
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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