- A
Create a firewall rule in every project blocking outbound traffic on port 80 and 443
Why wrong: Firewall rules control traffic flow, not IP assignment. This wouldn't prevent VMs from having external IPs, and maintaining rules per-project doesn't scale.
- B
Set the organization policy constraint compute.vmExternalIpAccess to Deny All at the organization level
This organization-level constraint prevents external IP assignment across all projects, automatically applying to new projects without manual intervention.
- C
Remove the Compute Engine Admin role from all project owners
Why wrong: Removing IAM roles impacts all Compute Engine operations, not just external IP assignment, and project owners need broad access for project management.
- D
Use Cloud Armor to block all traffic destined for public IPs in the organization
Why wrong: Cloud Armor is a WAF that filters incoming HTTP traffic — it does not prevent VMs from being assigned external IPs.
Quick Answer
The answer is to set the organization policy constraint `compute.vmExternalIpAccess` to Deny All at the organization level. This is the correct choice because Google Cloud’s Organization Policy Service allows you to enforce hierarchical controls that cascade down to all projects, meaning you can prevent VMs with external IP across the organization without touching each project individually. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this scenario tests your understanding of centralized governance versus per-project configuration—a common trap is choosing a solution that requires scripting or manual auditing, which is not scalable. The key insight is that organization policies override project-level settings, making this the most efficient approach for a security team. Memory tip: think of the organization policy as a “master switch” for external IPs—flip it once at the top, and every VM in every project is locked down.
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 security team wants to prevent every project in the organization from creating VM instances with external IP addresses — without requiring configuration in each individual project. What is the most scalable solution?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Set the organization policy constraint compute.vmExternalIpAccess to Deny All at the organization level
Option B is correct because the organization policy constraint `compute.vmExternalIpAccess` can be applied at the organization level to deny all VM instances from having external IP addresses, enforcing this rule across all projects without per-project configuration. This is the most scalable approach as it uses Google Cloud's hierarchical policy engine to centrally control resource creation, overriding any project-level settings.
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 in every project blocking outbound traffic on port 80 and 443
- ✓
Set the organization policy constraint compute.vmExternalIpAccess to Deny All at the organization level
Why this is correct
This organization-level constraint prevents external IP assignment across all projects, automatically applying to new projects without manual intervention.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Remove the Compute Engine Admin role from all project owners
Why it's wrong here
Removing IAM roles impacts all Compute Engine operations, not just external IP assignment, and project owners need broad access for project management.
- ✗
Use Cloud Armor to block all traffic destined for public IPs in the organization
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse network-level controls (firewall rules, Cloud Armor) with resource-level policies (organization constraints), mistakenly thinking blocking traffic is equivalent to preventing IP assignment, when in fact the constraint operates at the IAM/resource creation layer.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `compute.vmExternalIpAccess` constraint is part of Google Cloud's Organization Policy Service, which uses a deny-list approach by default; setting it to 'Deny All' at the organization level applies to all descendant projects, folders, and resources, and it prevents the creation of new VMs with external IPs while existing VMs are unaffected unless the constraint is enforced retroactively. This constraint works at the API level, rejecting any `instances.insert` request that includes an external IP configuration, making it more fundamental than network-based controls.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
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: Set the organization policy constraint compute.vmExternalIpAccess to Deny All at the organization level — Option B is correct because the organization policy constraint `compute.vmExternalIpAccess` can be applied at the organization level to deny all VM instances from having external IP addresses, enforcing this rule across all projects without per-project configuration. This is the most scalable approach as it uses Google Cloud's hierarchical policy engine to centrally control resource creation, overriding any project-level settings.
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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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