Google Compute Engine in Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Duong Hoang
Jun 12, 2024
3 min read

In the past, hosting website services or creating a game server required physical servers and infrastructure setup. However, with the remarkable development of cloud technology today, that's no longer necessary. In this post, I will introduce Google Compute Engine (GCE), a service of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that helps set up a virtual server to carry out your tasks.

A. Introduction to Google Compute Engine

Google Cloud, also known as Google Cloud Platform (GCP), is a cloud computing platform that allows you to build, develop, and operate applications on the software system created by Google. Popular applications include Chrome browser, Google Maps, Google Apps, YouTube, and more.

Google Compute Engine (GCE) is a GCP service that allows you to build a virtual server on Google’s platform, enabling you to develop and deploy your applications efficiently.

B. Features of Google Compute Engine

Machine Type: Google Compute Engine provides three types of virtual machines (VMs). Depending on your needs, you can choose an appropriate VM type to save costs. a. On-demand: Besides AWS and Azure, only Google Cloud allows you to customize hardware configurations and attach a graphics card. Cost: GCP offers a discount mechanism for customers running VMs continuously for 730 hours per month, offering a 30% discount. Committing to a VM usage period with Google can provide additional discounts, up to 70%. Google Compute Engine offers several server types such as: b. Preemptible VM: All features of on-demand servers are supported in Preemptible VMs, with additional benefits: c. Sole Tenant Node: All features of on-demand servers are supported in Sole Tenant Nodes, ideal for customers with high security requirements. Typically, a Google server runs multiple customers' VMs on the same physical server, ensuring security so that one customer’s VM cannot access another’s. Sole Tenant Nodes allow your VM to run on a separate physical server, also enabling you to bring your Windows licenses to Google Compute Engine.

General Purpose (E2, N1, N2, N2D) Machines: Ideal for building websites and storing ordinary databases; choose VM N1.
Compute Optimized (C2) Machines: Perfect for systems requiring high CPU usage, such as training models and machine learning.
Memory Optimized (M2) Machines: Suitable for systems with high memory demands.
Accelerator Optimized (A2) Machines: Designed for tasks requiring AI and machine learning processing power.

VM Images: Google Compute Engine supports popular operating systems like Linux, Windows, and special enterprise OSs like Red Hat and SAP.

Linux: Supports CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, Container-OS.
Windows: Supports Windows Server versions from 2008 to 2019.
SQL Server: Can be installed on Compute Engine. All operating systems can be installed with a single click by Google.

Persistent Disk: Google offers four types of persistent disks: Features of Persistent Disk:

Standard Persistent Disk HDD: Larger HDD sizes provide higher read/write speeds.
Standard Persistent Disk SSD
Local SSD: A physical SSD attached to your virtual server.
Local NVMe

Cloud GPUs vs TPUs: Google Compute Engine allows attaching graphics cards to the compute engine. Google also designed a TPU chip for AI and Machine Learning processing.

C. Benefits of Using Google Compute Engine

For Business:

Competitive Pricing: Compared to other cloud services.
Security: VMs run on Google’s infrastructure, ensuring maximum security support.
Scalability: Flexible scalability with just a few clicks.
Maintenance: VMs remain operational during Google’s infrastructure maintenance.
High Storage Capacity: Up to 257TB with high read/write speeds.

For Technical Users:

User-friendly Interface: Supports both UI and terminal.
Easy VM Configuration: Configure VMs easily through the interface.
Cost-saving with Preemptible VM
Easy Integration: With related product services for analysis.
Enhanced Security: Port, IP, and user access permissions.

D. Google Compute Engine Demo

Here is a demo on creating a VM on Google Compute Engine:

First, visit this link: Google Cloud Console
Go to Compute Engine => VM instances => Create instances.
Then configure the VM according to your needs and click create.

After creating, you will get the following result:

Conclusion

The above overview highlights the features and benefits of using Google Compute Engine. By considering your needs, you can use Google Compute Engine efficiently and economically.