Google Cloud Platform — Associate Cloud Engineer (GCP ACE) Certification | Preparation Guide
Hello everyone, this weekend I passed the Google Cloud Platform — Associate Cloud Engineer exam. So, I am here to share my experience and guidance on how to prepare for it.
Introduction
This certification enables candidates to use Google Cloud Console and the command-line interface to perform common platform-based tasks to maintain one or more deployed solutions that leverage Google-managed or self-managed services on Google Cloud.
Certification Details
- Certification Name: Associate Cloud Engineer
- Format: Multiple Select & Multiple Choice
- Exam Duration: 120 minutes
- Number of Questions: 50
- Passing Score: Pass/Fail — only feedback at end of exam. No score/No breakdown of performance by topic.
- Registration Fee: $125 (plus tax where applicable)
Certification Topics
Section 1: Setting up a cloud solution environment
1.1 Setting up cloud projects and accounts.
1.2 Managing billing configuration.
1.3 Installing and configuring the command line interface (CLI), specifically the Cloud SDK (e.g., setting the default project).
Section 2: Planning and configuring a cloud solution
2.1 Planning and estimating GCP product use using the Pricing Calculator
2.2 Planning and configuring compute resources.
2.3 Planning and configuring data storage options.
2.4 Planning and configuring network resources.
Section 3: Deploying and implementing a cloud solution
3.1 Deploying and implementing Compute Engine resources.
3.2 Deploying and implementing Google Kubernetes Engine resources.
3.3 Deploying and implementing App Engine, Cloud Run, and Cloud Functions resources.
3.4 Deploying and implementing data solutions.
3.5 Deploying and implementing networking resources.
3.6 Deploying a solution using Cloud Marketplace.
3.7 Deploying application infrastructure using Cloud Deployment Manager.
Section 4: Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution
4.1 Managing Compute Engine resources.
4.2 Managing Google Kubernetes Engine resources.
4.3 Managing App Engine and Cloud Run resources.
4.4 Managing storage and database solutions.
4.5 Managing networking resources.
4.6 Monitoring and logging.
Section 5: Configuring access and security
5.1 Managing identity and access management (IAM).
5.2 Managing service accounts.
5.3 Viewing audit logs for project and managed services.
Official Learning/Practice Options
Google provided official learning course in Coursera, study guide, hands-on in Qwiklabs and practice tests too.
Exam Guide
Google provides official exam guide for ACE exam. Please go through it before proceeding further with the preparation.
Coursera
Coursera provides a full learning path ‘Cloud Engineering with Google Cloud Professional Certificate’ for preparing to ACE exam.
This learning path consists of below 6 courses which will give you all details about GCP services & the last course will provide details about ACE Certification.
Official Study Guide
Official Google Cloud Certified Associate Cloud Engineer Study Guide written by Dan Sullivan also covers all the topics in the exam guide. Its available in Amazon for purchase.
Qwiklabs
Qwiklabs provides hands-on experience for topics related to ACE exam.
Official Practice Exam
Google provides practice exam with around 18–20 questions which will familiarize you with types of questions you may encounter on the certification exam and help you determine your readiness or if you need more preparation and/or experience.
Other Learning/Practice Options
Linux Academy/A Cloud Guru
Linux Academy covers majority of ACE exam related topics and its web based practice sessions are added advantage associated after each lesson.
Udemy
There are many udemy courses available for ACE certification. Below one have 150 practice questions.
Certification Appointment Booking
Please follow below steps to book appointment for the certification exam:
- Go to https://www.webassessor.com/googlecloud/
- Use your existing Webassessor account to log in or create a new account and log in.
- Select ‘Register For An Exam’.
- Click on ‘Google Cloud Certified — Associate Cloud Engineer(English)’.
- Select how you want to take the exam and follow the prompts.
System Test (Prior to Exam Day)
I highly recommend you to perform system test from the same computer and location you will be testing from on exam day. Please follow below link for further steps:
You must install Sentinel and set up your Biometric Profile prior to your scheduled exam time. You can install Sentinel by logging into your Webassessor account at www.webassessor.com/googlecloud and referring to the Sentinel info found in My Assessments.
Ensure you have administrative rights on your computer to be able to download the software and proceed further with the prompts.
On Certification Day
The certification will be open 10 minutes before the booked time and please be ready at least before 10 minutes so that you will be ready for the booked time after completing the admission process.
- Login: https://www.webassessor.com/googlecloud/
- Click on your exam under ‘My Assessments’
- Click “Launch” and proceed through the self check-in process and wait for a Proctor to connect with you
- If you face any issue during the exam, then please contact the Kryterion Technical Support through Live Chat: https://kryterion.force.com/support/s/contactsupport?language=en_US
Some tips…
- There are totally 50 questions and you have 120 minutes — so you have around 2.5 minutes for each question. So take your time to read the question carefully before choosing the answer and also review each question once you completed all questions.
- Read questions properly, sometimes they are tricky and you can often miss some minute details which will be a key point to find the correct answer.
- If you take the exam from home, then you are video proctored. So strictly follow the Webassessor guide for taking the exam.
Good that you read the whole article; hopefully it will be useful for you.
All the best for Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer Certification exam. Please contact me if you have any queries/need any details on this at Balaji Ashok Kumar
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