Quick Answer
The answer is instance-2 only. This is correct because Cloud Asset Inventory allows you to filter assets by label presence, and the exhibit shows instance-1 has a 'compliance' label set to 'true', while instance-2 lacks any 'compliance' label entirely, making it the sole instance failing the compliance label audit. On the Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer exam, this scenario tests your ability to use Cloud Asset Inventory’s label-based queries to find compute instances missing compliance labels, a common task for enforcing organizational policy. A frequent trap is assuming that a missing label is equivalent to a label with an empty value—Cloud Asset Inventory treats the absence of a key as a distinct condition, so you must query for assets where the label key does not exist. Memory tip: think of it like a checklist—if the label key isn’t on the asset, it’s missing, regardless of any other labels present.
This PCSE practice question tests your understanding of supporting compliance requirements. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 engineer is using Cloud Asset Inventory to find all Compute Engine instances that are not labeled with a 'compliance' label. Based on the exhibit, which instance(s) are missing the compliance label?
Both instances
Why wrong: instance-1 has it.
instance-2 only
instance-2 lacks compliance label.
Neither instance
Why wrong: instance-2 is missing it.
instance-1 only
Why wrong: instance-1 has compliance label.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
instance-2 only
Option B is correct because the exhibit shows that instance-1 has a 'compliance' label with a value of 'true', while instance-2 has no 'compliance' label at all. Cloud Asset Inventory can query assets using label filters; the absence of the 'compliance' label on instance-2 means it fails the compliance labeling requirement. Therefore, only instance-2 is missing the compliance label.
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.
Both instances
Why it's wrong here
instance-1 has it.
instance-2 only
Why this is correct
instance-2 lacks compliance label.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Neither instance
Why it's wrong here
instance-2 is missing it.
instance-1 only
Why it's wrong here
instance-1 has compliance label.
Common exam traps
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between a label that exists (even with an empty value) and a label that is completely absent, leading candidates to incorrectly assume that a missing label is the same as a label with a false or empty value.
Detailed technical explanation
Cloud Asset Inventory supports filtering assets by labels using the `--asset-types` and `--query` parameters, and labels are key-value pairs attached to resources. Under the hood, the inventory is built from the Cloud Asset API, which aggregates metadata from the Resource Manager; a missing label is distinct from a label with an empty value. In real-world scenarios, compliance audits often require specific labels to be present, and missing labels can trigger automated remediation or alerting via Cloud Functions.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
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FAQ
Supporting compliance requirements — This question tests Supporting compliance requirements — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: instance-2 only — Option B is correct because the exhibit shows that instance-1 has a 'compliance' label with a value of 'true', while instance-2 has no 'compliance' label at all. Cloud Asset Inventory can query assets using label filters; the absence of the 'compliance' label on instance-2 means it fails the compliance labeling requirement. Therefore, only instance-2 is missing the compliance label.
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 30, 2026
This PCSE 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 PCSE exam.
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