Service accounts are special Google Cloud accounts that belong to applications or virtual machines rather than individual users. They enable workloads to authenticate and access Google Cloud resources securely without human intervention.
To create a service account, you can use the Google Cloud Co…Service accounts are special Google Cloud accounts that belong to applications or virtual machines rather than individual users. They enable workloads to authenticate and access Google Cloud resources securely without human intervention.
To create a service account, you can use the Google Cloud Console, gcloud CLI, or APIs. In the Console, navigate to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts, click 'Create Service Account', provide a name and description, then assign appropriate IAM roles.
Using gcloud CLI, execute: gcloud iam service-accounts create [SA-NAME] --description="[DESCRIPTION]" --display-name="[DISPLAY-NAME]"
Service accounts have unique email addresses formatted as: [SA-NAME]@[PROJECT-ID].iam.gserviceaccount.com
There are three types of service accounts:
1. User-managed service accounts - Created by users for specific application needs
2. Default service accounts - Automatically created when certain APIs are enabled (like Compute Engine or App Engine)
3. Google-managed service accounts - Created and managed by Google for internal processes
After creation, you must grant the service account appropriate IAM roles to access resources. Follow the principle of least privilege by assigning only necessary permissions.
For authentication, service accounts can use:
- Service account keys (JSON or P12 format) - Should be managed carefully and rotated regularly
- Workload Identity Federation - Allows external identities to impersonate service accounts
- Attached service accounts - VMs and other resources can use attached service accounts
Best practices include:
- Avoid using default service accounts for production workloads
- Create dedicated service accounts for each application
- Regularly audit and rotate service account keys
- Use Cloud IAM Conditions for fine-grained access control
- Monitor service account usage through Cloud Audit Logs
Service accounts are fundamental for securing automated processes and maintaining proper access control in Google Cloud environments.
Creating Service Accounts - GCP Associate Cloud Engineer Exam Guide
Why Creating Service Accounts is Important
Service accounts are fundamental to Google Cloud Platform security and automation. They enable applications, virtual machines, and other non-human entities to authenticate and interact with GCP services securely. Unlike user accounts, service accounts are not tied to individual people, making them essential for:
• Automated processes that need to access GCP resources • Applications running on Compute Engine, GKE, or App Engine • CI/CD pipelines that deploy and manage infrastructure • Workload identity for containers and serverless functions
What is a Service Account?
A service account is a special type of Google account that belongs to an application or compute workload rather than an individual end user. Service accounts are identified by their email addresses, which follow the format:
• User-managed: SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com • Default: PROJECT_NUMBER-compute@developer.gserviceaccount.com • Google-managed: Various formats depending on the service
There are three types of service accounts:
1. User-managed service accounts - Created and managed by users 2. Default service accounts - Automatically created when certain APIs are enabled 3. Google-managed service accounts - Created and managed by Google for internal processes
How Service Account Creation Works
To create a service account, you can use the Google Cloud Console, gcloud CLI, or the IAM API.
Using gcloud CLI:
gcloud iam service-accounts create SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID --display-name="DISPLAY_NAME" --description="DESCRIPTION" Using Cloud Console:
1. Navigate to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts 2. Click "Create Service Account"3. Enter a name, ID, and description 4. Assign roles (optional but recommended) 5. Grant users access to the service account (optional)
Key Concepts for the Exam
• Service Account Keys: JSON or P12 keys that allow external applications to authenticate as the service account. Keys should be managed carefully and rotated regularly.
• Impersonation: Users or other service accounts can impersonate a service account if they have the appropriate permissions (roles/iam.serviceAccountTokenCreator).
• Workload Identity: The recommended way for GKE workloads to access GCP services, eliminating the need for service account keys.
• Attached Service Accounts: Service accounts can be attached to Compute Engine instances, Cloud Functions, and other resources to provide identity.
• Principle of Least Privilege: Always grant only the minimum permissions necessary for the service account to perform its function.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Creating Service Accounts
1. Know the naming conventions: Questions may test your understanding of valid service account IDs (6-30 characters, lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens).
2. Understand the default service accounts: Be aware that default service accounts often have overly permissive roles and should be replaced with custom service accounts in production.
3. Remember key management best practices: Prefer attached service accounts and workload identity over downloaded keys. If keys are necessary, implement key rotation.
4. Distinguish between roles: Know the difference between roles/iam.serviceAccountUser (allows attaching a service account to a resource) and roles/iam.serviceAccountTokenCreator (allows impersonation).
5. Project-level vs Organization-level: Service accounts are created at the project level but can be granted roles at any level of the resource hierarchy.
6. Quota awareness: Remember that there is a limit of 100 service accounts per project by default.
7. Scenario-based questions: When a question describes an application needing to access GCP APIs, creating a dedicated service account with specific roles is typically the correct answer.
8. Security focus: Choose answers that emphasize creating custom service accounts with minimal permissions over using default accounts or granting broad roles.