Google PCA Manage and provision cloud infrastructure Practice Question
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.
An organization requires that all Compute Engine instances in a project must have a specific tag for firewall rule compliance. How can they enforce this?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a mandatory tag via organization policy
Option C is correct because Organization Policies in Google Cloud can enforce constraints that require resources, including Compute Engine instances, to have specific labels or tags. The `compute.requireOsLogin` or custom constraint `compute.requireInstanceTag` can be used to mandate that all instances must have a particular tag, and any instance creation that violates this policy will be denied at the API level, ensuring compliance without relying on user behavior.
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.
✗
Use IAM roles to restrict instance creation
Why it's wrong here
IAM controls who can create instances but does not enforce tags.
✗
Use a startup script to add the tag
Why it's wrong here
Startup scripts are not enforceable; users could skip them.
✓
Use a mandatory tag via organization policy
Why this is correct
Organization policies can enforce constraints like `compute.requireTags`.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Cloud Asset Inventory
Why it's wrong here
Cloud Asset Inventory is for monitoring and discovery, not enforcement.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse IAM roles with Organization Policies, thinking that restricting creation permissions (Option A) is sufficient, but IAM cannot enforce resource-level attributes like tags, which is a common misconception in policy-based governance questions.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Organization policies use a hierarchical constraint model that can be applied at the organization, folder, or project level. For tag enforcement, a custom constraint like `compute.requireInstanceTag` can be defined using a boolean policy that checks the `resource.tags` field during the instance creation API call, and the policy is evaluated before the resource is created, providing a deny-by-default mechanism. This is similar to how AWS Service Control Policies (SCPs) work, but Google Cloud's Organization Policy Service uses a more granular, resource-specific constraint approach.
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 PCA question in full detail.
Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — This question tests Manage and provision cloud infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a mandatory tag via organization policy — Option C is correct because Organization Policies in Google Cloud can enforce constraints that require resources, including Compute Engine instances, to have specific labels or tags. The `compute.requireOsLogin` or custom constraint `compute.requireInstanceTag` can be used to mandate that all instances must have a particular tag, and any instance creation that violates this policy will be denied at the API level, ensuring compliance without relying on user behavior.
What should I do if I get this PCA 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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