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Associate Cloud Engineer Exam Guide

Master Google Cloud Platform with this comprehensive 6-week study plan designed to help you pass the Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam.

Exam Information

2 hours

Duration

50-60 questions

Questions

Not published

Passing Score

$125 USD

Exam Cost

Recommended Study Plan

Week 1

GCP Fundamentals & IAM

Setting up a cloud solution environment (17%)

10-12 hours

GCP resource hierarchy (organization, folders, projects)
IAM roles, policies, and service accounts
Resource Manager and organization policies
Cloud Identity and workspace setup

Recommended Resources:

GCP Console

IAM Documentation

Week 2

Compute Engine & GKE

Deploying and implementing a cloud solution (23%)

12-14 hours

VM instances, machine types, and disk options
Instance templates and managed instance groups
GKE cluster creation and workload deployment
Preemptible/Spot VMs and committed use discounts

Recommended Resources:

Compute Engine Labs

GKE Quickstarts

Week 3

Storage & Databases

Planning and configuring a cloud solution (18%)

12-14 hours

Cloud Storage classes and lifecycle management
Cloud SQL configuration and high availability
Firestore and Bigtable use cases
Persistent disks and snapshots

Recommended Resources:

Cloud Storage Labs

Database Documentation

Week 4

Networking

Planning and configuring a cloud solution (18%)

10-12 hours

VPC networks, subnets, and firewall rules
Load balancing options and configurations
Cloud DNS and CDN
VPN, Interconnect, and hybrid connectivity

Recommended Resources:

Networking Labs

VPC Documentation

Week 5

Operations & Monitoring

Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution (21%)

10-12 hours

Cloud Monitoring metrics and dashboards
Cloud Logging and log-based metrics
Error reporting and debugging
Cloud Trace and performance optimization

Recommended Resources:

Operations Suite

Monitoring Labs

Week 6

Security & Review

Configuring access and security (21%)

12-14 hours

Service account best practices
VPC Service Controls and Private Google Access
Cloud KMS and Secret Manager
Review all domains and practice exams

Recommended Resources:

Security Labs

Practice Tests

Exam Tips & Strategies

terminal

Know the GCP CLI Commands

Many questions test gcloud command knowledge. Memorize common commands for compute, storage, IAM, and networking operations.

structure

Understand Resource Hierarchy

Know how IAM policies inherit through organization > folders > projects > resources and when to apply policies at each level.

compare

Compare Similar Services

Know when to use Cloud SQL vs Spanner vs Firestore vs Bigtable. Each has specific use cases the exam will test.

cost

Focus on Cost Optimization

Understand preemptible VMs, committed use discounts, storage classes, and other cost-saving strategies.

network

Master Load Balancing Selection

Know which load balancer to use: HTTP(S) for global web traffic, Network for TCP/UDP, Internal for private services.

hands-on

Practice with Real GCP Console

Hands-on experience is essential. Use the free tier and Qwiklabs to practice common operations.

Back to GCP ACE

Associate Cloud Engineer Exam Guide

Master Google Cloud Platform with this comprehensive 6-week study plan designed to help you pass the Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam.

Exam Information

2 hours

Duration

50-60 questions

Questions

Not published

Passing Score

$125 USD

Exam Cost

Recommended Study Plan

Week 1

GCP Fundamentals & IAM

Setting up a cloud solution environment (17%)

10-12 hours

GCP resource hierarchy (organization, folders, projects)
IAM roles, policies, and service accounts
Resource Manager and organization policies
Cloud Identity and workspace setup

Recommended Resources:

GCP Console

IAM Documentation

Week 2

Compute Engine & GKE

Deploying and implementing a cloud solution (23%)

12-14 hours

VM instances, machine types, and disk options
Instance templates and managed instance groups
GKE cluster creation and workload deployment
Preemptible/Spot VMs and committed use discounts

Recommended Resources:

Compute Engine Labs

GKE Quickstarts

Week 3

Storage & Databases

Planning and configuring a cloud solution (18%)

12-14 hours

Cloud Storage classes and lifecycle management
Cloud SQL configuration and high availability
Firestore and Bigtable use cases
Persistent disks and snapshots

Recommended Resources:

Cloud Storage Labs

Database Documentation

Week 4

Networking

Planning and configuring a cloud solution (18%)

10-12 hours

VPC networks, subnets, and firewall rules
Load balancing options and configurations
Cloud DNS and CDN
VPN, Interconnect, and hybrid connectivity

Recommended Resources:

Networking Labs

VPC Documentation

Week 5

Operations & Monitoring

Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution (21%)

10-12 hours

Cloud Monitoring metrics and dashboards
Cloud Logging and log-based metrics
Error reporting and debugging
Cloud Trace and performance optimization

Recommended Resources:

Operations Suite

Monitoring Labs

Week 6

Security & Review

Configuring access and security (21%)

12-14 hours

Service account best practices
VPC Service Controls and Private Google Access
Cloud KMS and Secret Manager
Review all domains and practice exams

Recommended Resources:

Security Labs

Practice Tests

Exam Tips & Strategies

terminal

Know the GCP CLI Commands

Many questions test gcloud command knowledge. Memorize common commands for compute, storage, IAM, and networking operations.

structure

Understand Resource Hierarchy

Know how IAM policies inherit through organization > folders > projects > resources and when to apply policies at each level.

compare

Compare Similar Services

Know when to use Cloud SQL vs Spanner vs Firestore vs Bigtable. Each has specific use cases the exam will test.

cost

Focus on Cost Optimization

Understand preemptible VMs, committed use discounts, storage classes, and other cost-saving strategies.

network

Master Load Balancing Selection

Know which load balancer to use: HTTP(S) for global web traffic, Network for TCP/UDP, Internal for private services.

hands-on

Practice with Real GCP Console

Hands-on experience is essential. Use the free tier and Qwiklabs to practice common operations.