PCSE Practice Question: Configuring access within a cloud solution environment
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access within a cloud solution environment. 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 wants to enforce that all Compute Engine instances must use a specific service account. Which three steps are necessary? (Choose three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Grant the service account the needed roles on the project.
Option B is correct because the service account must be granted the necessary IAM roles on the project (or specific resources) to perform its intended actions. Without these grants, even if the service account is enforced, it will lack permissions to interact with Compute Engine resources. This step ensures the service account has the required access, such as compute.instanceAdmin or custom roles, to manage instances.
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 custom role with compute.instances.create permission.
Why it's wrong here
This is not necessary for enforcing the service account restriction.
✓
Grant the service account the needed roles on the project.
Why this is correct
The SA needs permissions to perform its intended tasks.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Create the service account in the project.
Why this is correct
The service account must exist before it can be used.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Set an organization policy constraint compute.restrictServiceAccountUsage to allow only that service account.
Why this is correct
This enforces that only the specified SA can be attached to instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Grant the compute.instanceAdmin role to the service account.
Why it's wrong here
This would allow the SA to manage instances, not required for the restriction.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between enforcing a service account (via organization policy) and granting permissions to that service account (via IAM roles), leading candidates to mistakenly include steps like creating custom roles or granting instanceAdmin to the service account as part of the enforcement process.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The organization policy constraint compute.restrictServiceAccountUsage is a boolean constraint that, when set to 'True' for a specific service account, prevents Compute Engine instances from using any other service account. This constraint is enforced at the project or folder level via Organization Policy Service, and it overrides any local IAM permissions. Under the hood, the Compute Engine API checks this constraint during instance creation, and if the instance's service account does not match the allowed list, the request is denied with a PERMISSION_DENIED error.
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.
Configuring access within a cloud solution environment — This question tests Configuring access within 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: Grant the service account the needed roles on the project. — Option B is correct because the service account must be granted the necessary IAM roles on the project (or specific resources) to perform its intended actions. Without these grants, even if the service account is enforced, it will lack permissions to interact with Compute Engine resources. This step ensures the service account has the required access, such as compute.instanceAdmin or custom roles, to manage instances.
What should I do if I get this PCSE 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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