Quick Answer
The answer is the combination of roles/logging.viewer and roles/logging.viewAccessor. These two IAM roles together grant read-only access to logs in the default Cloud Logging bucket while explicitly preventing the team from modifying log views or creating linked datasets in BigQuery. The roles/logging.viewAccessor role provides granular, read-only access to log entries within a bucket, and roles/logging.viewer extends that read capability to all Logging resources, such as log-based metrics and sinks, without including write permissions for views or linked datasets. On the Google Professional Cloud Architect exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the principle of least privilege and the subtle distinction between Logging roles—a common trap is assuming roles/logging.viewer alone is sufficient, but it lacks the bucket-level read access that viewAccessor provides. A helpful memory tip: think of “viewer” for the broad Logging dashboard, and “viewAccessor” for the bucket’s actual log data—together they cover read-only without the write.
This PCA practice question tests your understanding of manage and provision cloud infrastructure. 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.
A company wants to enable a new DevOps team to have read-only access to logs in the default Cloud Logging bucket for their project, but prevent them from modifying log views or creating linked datasets in BigQuery. Which two IAM roles should be granted to the team?
roles/logging.viewAccessor
Allows viewing of log views without modifying them.
roles/logging.configWriter
Why wrong: Allows creation and modification of log views and sinks.
roles/logging.admin
Why wrong: Grants full control over logging, including modification of log views.
roles/logging.viewer
Provides read-only access to log entries.
roles/bigquery.dataViewer
Why wrong: This role is for BigQuery data access, not for log views.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
roles/logging.viewAccessor
The roles/logging.viewAccessor role grants read-only access to log entries in Cloud Logging buckets, including the default bucket, without allowing modifications to log views or linked datasets. The roles/logging.viewer role provides broader read-only access to all Logging resources, including logs, but still prevents modifying log views or creating linked datasets in BigQuery. Together, these two roles satisfy the requirement of read-only log access while explicitly excluding permissions to alter log views or manage BigQuery linked datasets.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
roles/logging.viewAccessor
Why this is correct
Allows viewing of log views without modifying them.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
roles/logging.configWriter
Why it's wrong here
Allows creation and modification of log views and sinks.
roles/logging.admin
Why it's wrong here
Grants full control over logging, including modification of log views.
roles/logging.viewer
Why this is correct
Provides read-only access to log entries.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
roles/bigquery.dataViewer
Why it's wrong here
This role is for BigQuery data access, not for log views.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse roles/logging.viewer with roles/logging.viewAccessor, thinking they are interchangeable, but the exam tests the distinction that viewAccessor is bucket-scoped and viewer is project-scoped, and both are needed to cover the default bucket access without granting modification permissions.
Detailed technical explanation
Cloud Logging uses the concept of log buckets to store log entries, and the default bucket is automatically created per project with a retention period of 30 days. The roles/logging.viewAccessor is a fine-grained role that specifically targets log entries within a bucket, while roles/logging.viewer is a broader role that includes permissions like logging.logEntries.list and logging.logs.list across all buckets. Under the hood, the IAM condition for preventing linked dataset creation relies on the absence of the bigquery.linkedDatasets.create permission, which neither of these roles includes, ensuring the team cannot create linked datasets in BigQuery.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — This question tests Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: roles/logging.viewAccessor — The roles/logging.viewAccessor role grants read-only access to log entries in Cloud Logging buckets, including the default bucket, without allowing modifications to log views or linked datasets. The roles/logging.viewer role provides broader read-only access to all Logging resources, including logs, but still prevents modifying log views or creating linked datasets in BigQuery. Together, these two roles satisfy the requirement of read-only log access while explicitly excluding permissions to alter log views or manage BigQuery linked datasets.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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