Applying organizational policies to the resource hierarchy
5 minutes
5 Questions
Organizational policies in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are a powerful governance mechanism that allows administrators to enforce constraints across the entire resource hierarchy. The resource hierarchy consists of four levels: Organization, Folders, Projects, and Resources, with policies inherited …Organizational policies in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are a powerful governance mechanism that allows administrators to enforce constraints across the entire resource hierarchy. The resource hierarchy consists of four levels: Organization, Folders, Projects, and Resources, with policies inherited from parent to child nodes.
Organization Policy Service enables centralized control over cloud resources by defining constraints that restrict how resources can be configured. These policies help maintain compliance, security standards, and cost management across your entire GCP environment.
To apply organizational policies, you first need the Organization Policy Administrator role at the appropriate level. Policies can be set at any hierarchy level, and child resources inherit constraints from their parents. However, you can also override inherited policies at lower levels when necessary.
Common organizational policy constraints include restricting VM external IP addresses, limiting which regions resources can be deployed in, enforcing uniform bucket-level access for Cloud Storage, and controlling which services can be used. Boolean constraints either allow or deny specific actions, while list constraints specify allowed or denied values.
When implementing policies, consider the principle of least privilege. Start with restrictive policies at the organization level and create exceptions at folder or project levels only when business requirements demand it. This approach ensures consistent governance while maintaining operational flexibility.
To manage organizational policies, you can use the Google Cloud Console, gcloud command-line tool, or the Resource Manager API. The gcloud command 'gcloud resource-manager org-policies' allows you to describe, set, and delete policies programmatically.
Policy evaluation follows a specific order: if a policy is set at multiple levels, the most specific policy typically takes precedence unless inheritance is explicitly configured. Understanding this inheritance model is crucial for effective policy management and avoiding unintended access or restrictions across your cloud environment.
Applying Organizational Policies to the Resource Hierarchy
Why It Is Important
Organizational policies are essential for maintaining governance, security, and compliance across your Google Cloud environment. As organizations scale, managing resources becomes increasingly complex. Organizational policies provide centralized control over what resources can be deployed, how they can be configured, and where they can exist. This ensures consistency, reduces security risks, and helps meet regulatory requirements across all projects and folders in your organization.
What Are Organizational Policies?
Organizational policies are constraints applied through the Organization Policy Service in Google Cloud. They allow administrators to configure restrictions on how resources can be used across the entire organization, specific folders, or individual projects. These policies work alongside IAM (Identity and Access Management) but serve a different purpose: while IAM controls who can do things, organizational policies control what can be done.
Key components include: - Constraints: Rules defined by Google that can be enforced (e.g., restricting VM external IPs) - Policies: The configuration you apply to enforce or customize constraints - Resource hierarchy: Organization → Folders → Projects → Resources
How It Works
1. Inheritance: Policies are inherited down the resource hierarchy. A policy set at the organization level applies to all folders and projects beneath it.
2. Policy Evaluation: When a resource is created or modified, Google Cloud checks applicable organizational policies. If the action violates a policy, it is denied.
3. Types of Constraints: - List constraints: Allow or deny specific values (e.g., allowed VM locations) - Boolean constraints: Enable or disable specific behaviors (e.g., disable serial port access)
4. Common Organizational Policies: - compute.vmExternalIpAccess: Restricts which VMs can have external IPs - gcp.resourceLocations: Limits where resources can be created geographically - iam.allowedPolicyMemberDomains: Restricts which domains can be granted IAM roles - compute.disableSerialPortAccess: Prevents serial port access to VMs
5. Setting Policies: Use the Google Cloud Console, gcloud CLI, or Terraform to apply policies. Example gcloud command: gcloud resource-manager org-policies set-policy policy.yaml --organization=ORGANIZATION_ID
How to Answer Exam Questions
When facing questions about organizational policies:
1. Identify the requirement: Is the question about restricting resources, locations, or behaviors?
2. Consider scope: Determine whether the policy should apply at the organization, folder, or project level based on the scenario requirements.
3. Distinguish from IAM: Remember that organizational policies restrict what actions are possible, while IAM controls who can perform actions.
4. Think about inheritance: Policies flow downward through the hierarchy. Child resources inherit parent policies unless explicitly overridden (when allowed).
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Applying Organizational Policies
- Know the difference between IAM and Org Policies: If a question asks about restricting resource configurations or locations, think organizational policies. If it asks about user permissions, think IAM.
- Remember hierarchy inheritance: Policies set higher in the hierarchy affect all resources below. Choose the appropriate level based on scope requirements.
- Recognize common constraints: Familiarize yourself with frequently tested constraints like external IP restrictions, resource location constraints, and domain restrictions.
- Watch for keywords: Terms like 'enforce,' 'restrict,' 'constrain,' 'compliance,' and 'governance' often indicate organizational policy solutions.
- Understand boolean vs. list constraints: Boolean constraints are on/off toggles, while list constraints allow specific values to be permitted or denied.
- Consider least privilege: Apply policies at the most specific level needed to achieve the goal while minimizing unintended restrictions on other resources.