Google Cloud Platform: A cheat sheet - TechRepublic

Some of the latest products added to Google Cloud Platform are Cloud Inference API, allowing developers to run large-scale correlations over ... by TechRepublicStaff in Cloud onFebruary19,2021,12:20PMPST ThiscomprehensiveguidecoversthehistoryofGoogleCloudPlatform,theproductsandservicesGCPoffers,andwhereitfitsintheoverallcloudmarket. GoogleCloudPlatforminlessthantwominutes WatchNow GoogleCloudPlatform(GCP)isaportfolioofcloudcomputingservicesthatgrewaroundtheinitialGoogleAppEngineframeworkforhostingwebapplicationsfromGoogle'sdatacenters.SincethelaunchofGoogleAppEnginein2008,GCPhasgrownintooneofthepremiercloudcomputingplatformsonthemarket,thoughitstilltrailsAmazonWebServices(AWS)andMicrosoftAzureintermsofmarketshare.Thatsaid,GooglecontinuestoholditsowninthecloudwarsandcontinuestomakeinvestmentsinGCPtomakeitcompetitivewithotherpubliccloudproviders,andmoreattractivetobigcustomers.(Note:ThisarticleabouttheGoogleCloudPlatformisalsoavailableasafreePDFdownload.)TohelpCXOs,ITleaders,operationsadministrators,anddevelopersbetterunderstandGoogle'sroleasacloudprovider,we'veputtogetherthemostimportantdetailsandresourcesinthischeatsheet.Thisisa"living"articlethatwillbeupdatedandrefreshedasnew,relevantinformationbecomespublic. SEE:Abusinesspro'sguidetoGoogleCloudPlatform(GCP)(freePDF)(TechRepublic) Executivesummary WhatisGoogleCloudPlatform?GoogleCloudPlatform,asthenameimplies,isacloudcomputingplatformthatprovidesinfrastructuretoolsandservicesforuserstobuildapplicationsandservicesontopof.WhydoesGoogleCloudPlatformmatter?GoogleCloudPlatformisregardedasthethirdbiggestcloudproviderintermsofrevenuebehindAWSinfirstplaceandMicrosoftAzureinsecond.WhodoesGoogleCloudPlatformaffect?AnyorganizationinneedofcloudcomputingshouldconsiderGoogleCloudPlatformfortheirneeds--especiallySMBs,whichtheplatformwasinitiallygearedtoward.WhenwasGoogleCloudPlatformannounced?Googleannounceditsfirstcloudtool,GoogleAppEngine,backin2008,anditcontinuedtoaddmoretoolsandservicesuntiltheycollectivelybecameknownastheGoogleCloudPlatformlateron.HowcanIuseGoogleCloudPlatform?GooglehasprovideddocumentationforgettingstartedandafrequentlyaskedquestionspagefordevelopersandITleaderstoinvestigatetheplatform.SEE:AllofTechRepublic'scheatsheetsandsmartperson'sguides WhatisGoogleCloudPlatform?Tocapturethegrowinginterestinwebapplications,GoogleAppEnginewaslaunchedinApril2008asaPlatformasaService(PaaS)resourceallowingdeveloperstobuildandhostappsonGoogle'sinfrastructure.AppEnginecameoutofpreviewinSeptember2011,andtheGoogleCloudPlatformnamewasformallyadoptedin2013.SincetheintroductionofGoogleAppEngine,thecompanysubsequentlyreleasedavarietyofcomplementarytools,suchasitsdatastoragelayer,anditsInfrastructureasaService(IaaS)componentknownastheGoogleComputeEngine,whichsupportstheuseofvirtualmachines.AftergrowingasanIaaSprovider,Googleaddedadditionalproductsincludingaloadbalancer,DNS,monitoringtools,anddataanalysisservices,bringingGCPclosertofeatureparitywithAWSandAzure,makingitbetterabletocompeteinthecloudmarket.SEE:Interviewquestions:Cloudengineer(TechRepublicPremium) GoogleCloudPlatformproductsspanthefollowingcategories:Artificialintelligence&machinelearning:AIbuildingblocks,AutoML,CloudTPU,Mediatranslation(beta),DiagflowEnterpriseEdition,CloudNaturalLanguage,Speech-to-Text,Text-to-Speech,Translation,VisionAI,VideoAI,CloudInferenceAPI(alpha),andmoreAPImanagement:APIAnalytics,APIMonetization,CloudEndpoints,DeveloperPortal,CloudHealthcareAPI,andmoreCompute:ComputeEngine,ShieldedVMs,BareMetal,CloudRun,AppEngine,CloudFunctions,CloudGPU,andmoreContainers:ArtifactRegistry,CloudBuild,ContainerRegistry,ContainerSecurity,GoogleKubernetesEngine,andmoreDataanalytics:BigQuery,Dataflow,Dataproc,Dataflow,Dataprep,CloudComposer,andmoreDatabases:CloudSQL,CloudBigtable,CloudSpanner,Firestore, Memorystore,andmoreDevelopertools:CloudSDK,ContainerRegistry,CloudBuild,CloudSourceRepositories,CloudTasks,andmore,aswellasCloudToolsforPowerShellandEclipseHealthcareandlifesciences:ApigeeHealthcareAPIx,CloudHealthcareAPI,CloudLifeSciences(beta),andHealthcareNaturalLanguageAIInternetofThings(IoT):IoTCore,EdgeTPU Hybridandmulticloud:Anthos,ApigeeAPImanagement,CloudBuild,Looker,andMigrateforAnthosManagementTools:AnthosServiceMesh,CloudAPIs,CloudConsole,CloudDeploymentManager,CloudMobileApp,CloudShell,andmoreMedia:GameServers,OpenCue,andTranscoderAPI(beta)Migration:CloudDataTransfer,TransferAppliance,BigQueryDataTransferService,Applicationmigrate,StorageTransferService,andmoreNetworking:VirtualPrivateCloud(VPC),CloudLoadBalancing,CloudArmor,CloudCDN,CloudNAT,CloudDNS,NetworkServiceTiers,NetworkTelemetry,NetworkIntelligenceCenter,andmoreOperations:CloudDebugger,CloudLogging,CloudMonitoring,CloudTrace,CloudProfiler,andKubernetesEngineMonitoringSecurityandIdentity:AccessTransparency,CloudIdentity,CloudDataLossPrevention,CloudKeyManagement,Identity-AwareProxy,reCAPTCHAEnterprise,andmoreServerlesscomputing:AppEngine,CloudFunctions,CloudRun,andWorkflowsStorage:CloudStorage,PersistentDisk,Filestore,ArchiveStorage,andmoreAdditionalservices:GoogleWorkspace,Meet,ChromeEnterprise,andGoogleMapsPlatformGoogleprovidesothercloudservices,whicharenotstrictlypartofCloudPlatform,suchasitsGSuiteproductivityandcollaborationapps,mobileandwebapplicationdevelopmentplatformFirebase,andOrbiteramanagesmulticloudbillingandcostmanagement.SEE:Managingthemulticloud(ZDNet/TechRepublicspecialfeature)|DownloadthefreePDFversion(TechRepublic)GoogleCloudPlatformisprimarilyapubliccloudprovider,thoughGooglehasdramaticallyincreaseditsfocusonhybridandmulticloudworkloadsusingAnthos,allowinguserstomanageworkloadsonGCPandGoogleKubernetesEngine(andGKEOn-Prem)aswellasonAWSandAzure.Thoughthecloudpricewarshavecooledoverthelastfewyears,Googlefollowsitsownpricingpatternandroutinelyboaststhatitoffersthelowestcostofthetopthreeproviders.However,Googlereallydifferentiatesitselfinitsservices. AdditionalresourcesTheGoogleCloudPlatform:10thingsyouneedtoknow(TechRepublic)Google'smastercloudplan:Buymoreinfrastructure,chargelessforit(TechRepublic)Googleoncloudstoragepricing:'FollowMoore'sLaw'(CNET)Cloudservicesspendingjumpsby$10billioninfinalquarterof2020(TechRepublic)Cloudmigrationdecisiontool(TechRepublicPremium)GoogleCloudVPCFlowLogsallowadminstotracknetworkflowsin'nearreal-time' (TechRepublic) WhydoesGoogleCloudPlatformmatter? Must-readcloud AdayinthelifeofaCloudOpsdirector Windows365isthelong-awaitedMicrosoftCloudPCservice AWSLambda,aserverlesscomputingframework:Acheatsheet(freePDF) Clouddatawarehouseguideandchecklist(TechRepublicPremium) GoogleCloudPlatformoffersthesamecoredatastorageandvirtualmachinefunctionalityofAWSandAzure,oranyothercloudprovider.Google'sstrengthliesinbigdataprocessingtools,artificialintelligence(AI)andmachinelearninginitiatives,andcontainersupport.Google'sBigQueryandDataflowbringstronganalyticsandprocessingcapabilitiesforcompaniesthatworkheavilywithdata,whileGoogle'sKubernetescontainertechnologyallowsforcontainerclustermanagementandeasescontainerdeployment.Google'sCloudMachineLearningEngineandvariousmachinelearningAPIsmakeiteasierforbusinessestoleverageAIinthecloud.Googleisacompanythatthrivesonthecollectionandsubsequentleveragingofdata.Whetherthatisuserdata,machinedata,orgeographicdataisirrelevant--ifanenterprisewantstoexperimentwithdata,GoogleCloudPlatformmaybeagoodoptionasacloudprovider.DataprivacyandsecurityfeaturesarealsoverymatureinGoogleCloudPlatform.AccessTransparencycreatesnear-realtimelogsofwhenGCPsupportrepresentativesorsystemengineersinteractwithyourdata.Similarly,AccessApproval--availableinbeta--allowsclientstoactivelyapproveordenyaccesstostoreddataorconfigurationstoGoogleadministrators.Bypopulardemand,Googleoffersmanagedinstancesofopen-sourcesoftwarefrompartnersincludingMongoDB,Confluent,DataStax,Elastic,InfluxData,Neo4j,andRedisLabs.Googlealsohasmatureserverlesscomputinginfrastructure,eliminatingapreviousgapbetweenitandAmazon'sAWSLambda.GoogleCloudPlatform'sserverlesssolutionscoveravarietyofareasincludeappdevelopment,analytics,workflowcreation,andmore.ItalsohasanintegrationwithElasticCloudtosupportopensourcesearchandanalytics.AdditionalresourcesHowGoogleCloudPlatformsupportsIoTdevelopment(TechRepublic)Databrickswins"triplecrown"withlaunchonGoogleCloud(ZDNet)HowdeveloperscantakeadvantageofmachinelearningonGoogleCloudPlatform(TechRepublic)Keywaystoembracethehybridcloud(TechRepublic)The3technologiesthatarecriticaltotheevolutionofcloudcomputing(TechRepublic)GoogleCloudPlatformaddsmoremanageddatabaseservices(TechRepublic)GoogletransformsAndroidphonesintosecuritykeys (ZDNet) WhodoesGoogleCloudPlatformaffect?AswithmanyofGoogle'sinnovations,thesetoftoolsthatGoogleCloudPlatformcompriseswereoriginallyinternaltoolsbuiltforinternaluse.Thiseventuallyprovedproblematic.GoogleoriginallytargetedcloudservicesforstartupsandSMBs,offeringupto$100,000ofCloudPlatformandFirebasecreditstostartups.However,limiteduptakepromptedGoogletomakeGCPmoreadaptablefordiverseusecases.Attheoutset,GoogleexpecteduserstobuildappsthesamewayGoogledid,thoughthisphilosophyiscountertothewayenterpriseappdevelopmenttendstooccur.In2016,Googlepivoted,admittingthiswasthewrongapproach,withthen-AlphabetexecutivechairmanEricSchmidtstatingthat"Wedecidedtomeetyouwhereyouare,asopposedtowherewethinkyoushouldbe."GooglesubsequentlyaddedmoreutilitiestoeasethetransitiontoCloudPlatform,makingtheplatformmoreaccessibletobusinessesofanysizelookingtodecommissionsomeoralloftheirdatacenters.Itseemsthatlargecorporationsarepayingattention.In2016,GoogleaddedbignamestoitsCloudPlatformroster,includingDisney,Coca-Cola,Spotify,Apple,Colgate-Palmolive,andHomeDepot,amongothers,provingthatitcancatertotheneedsofmajorplayers.In2018,TwitterannounceditsadoptionofGoogleCloudPlatform,migrating300petabytesofdatatotheplatform.AccentureandDeloitteannouncedexpansionsoftheirGCPalliancesin2019,withGooglefocusingonGCPcapabilitiestotransformshoppingexperiences.Byearly2021,Google'slistofhigh-profileCloudclientsincludessimplytoomanytolistindividually.ManyofthesecompaniesalsouseotherplatformssuchasAWSorAzure,whichmeansthatGCPcouldalsoactasacomplementaryproviderforexistingAWSorAzurecustomerswhoneedadditionalcapabilitiesorflexibility.Sinceitisaplatformonwhichapplicationsarebuiltandhosted,thechoiceofacloudprovideralsoaffectsdevelopers.Fordevelopers,GoogleCloudPlatformsupportsGo,Node.js,Python,Ruby,PHP,.NET,andJava.Developersshouldmakesuretheyareinvolvedinanyconversationsaboutselectingacloudprovidertoensureitisaplatformthatthey,andtheirteam,arecomfortableworkingin.AsGooglecontinuestoexpanditscloudofferingstocompetewithotherprovidersand"acceleratedigitaltransformation,"therangeofwhoitaffectswillcontinuetogrow.Anybusinesswithplansforlarge-scaledataanalytics,AIorMLdevelopment,remotecollaboration,oroneofthemanyX-as-a-ServiceproductsavailableinthecloudcanexpectGoogleCloudtohavesomeimpactonthemintheyearstocome.  AdditionalresourcesHere'swhatdevelopersreallythinkaboutAWS,MicrosoftAzure,andGoogleCloud(TechRepublic)Googleadmitsoriginalenterprisecloudstrategywaswrong,whyit'sgoneinadifferentdirection(TechRepublic)Twittersignsmulti-yeardealwithGoogleCloud(ZDNet)Remoteworkingisheretostay:Theseeightstrategiescanmakeitmoresuccessfulforeveryone(TechRepublic)GoogleCloudaddsnewhybridfilestoragepartnershipwithNasuni (ZDNet) WhenwasGoogleCloudPlatformannounced?Asmentioned,Google'sfirstforayintocloudserviceswastheGoogleAppEnginebackin2008.Twoyearslater,Googleannouncedthatitwasaddingastoragelayerand,in2012,thecompanybeganitspartnerprogramfortheplatform.ThencameBigQuery,theComputeEngine,CloudSQL,andtherestofthetoolsthatmakeuptoday'sGoogleCloudPlatform.However,likeallproviders,Googleconstantlyaddsnewtoolsandfeaturesinpreview,alpha,orbeta,whichwilllikelymakeittothegeneralpublic.SomeofthelatestproductsaddedtoGoogleCloudPlatformareCloudInferenceAPI,allowingdeveloperstorunlarge-scalecorrelationsoverdatasets,ShieldedVMs,CloudTasks,CloudIoTEdge,CloudAutoML,andtheAIHub,allowingdeveloperstoshareanddeployAItechnologiesonGoogleCloud.AtGoogleCloudNext2019,furtherenhancementstoGCP'sAIcapabilitieswereannounced.AIPlatformallowsdevelopers,datascientists,anddataengineerstocollaborateonmachinelearningprojects.NewcapabilitieswereaddedtoCloudAutoML,nowallowingfordatafromstructuredtablesandvideocontenttobeclassifiedautomatically.Likewise,theexistingAutoMLVisionhasan edgecomputingvariant.GoogleCloudNext2020,whichwasallonlineoverthecourseofeightweeksduetotheCOVID-19pandemic,broughttheannouncementofseveralnewfeatures,suchasbetatestingofConfidentialVMs,whichencryptdatainusewhilebeingprocessed.BigQueryOmni,across-platformcloudanalyticstool,wasalsoannounced,aswereotherminorannouncementsandupdatestoGoogle'svariouscloudservices. AdditionalresourcesGoogleCloudvs.AWS:Twovastlydifferentprofitpictures(ZDNet)Google'snewzerotrustproductiscompletelycloudnative(TechRepublic)GooglequietlylaunchesGitHubcloudrival(ZDNet)WhymachinelearninganddataanalysisarecriticaltoGoogle'ssuccessinthecloud(TechRepublic)GoogleCloudgivesopen-sourcedatavendorsabreak.Willthatsaveopensource? (ZDNet) HowcanIuseGoogleCloudPlatform?SinceGoogleCloudPlatformisapublicly-availableproduct,it'snotverydifficulttoacquireitsservices.Thebiggerissueistwo-fold:Decidingwhetherornottheplatformisthebestoptionforyourbusiness,andplanningyourmigration.ToeffectivelycompareGoogleCloudPlatformagainsttheotheroptionsoutthere,youneedtodoyourresearch.IfyouarelookingatcomparingitagainstAWSandMicrosoftAzure,trystartingwithourothersmartperson'sguidesforAWSandMicrosoftAzure,respectively.Alistofothergoodcloudvendorscanbefoundinthislistof15ofthetophybridcloudvendors.Asyourorganizationbeginstoplanitsdeployment,startbymakingalistofquestionsyouhaveabouttheserviceandcheckthemagainsttheFAQsectionontheGoogleCloudPlatformwebsite.TounderstandthespecificsofaGCPdeployment,makesureyoufamiliarizeyourselfwiththeproperdocumentation.GoogledoesofferafreetierforCloudPlatform,aswellasafree12-monthtrialwithcreditfororganizationsthatmayneedtodiptheirtoesinthewater.Googleoffersfreecreditstoselectstartupsworkingwithaffiliatedinvestors,incubators,oracceleratorsthroughtheGoogleCloudforStartupspromotion.Atoolforlivemigrationsisalsooffered(simplytitledLiveMigration),whichallowsavirtualmachineinstancetokeeprunningevenduringahostsystemevent.Additionaltutorialsandaquickstartguideareavailablehere.AdditionalresourcesGoogle,Amazon,Microsoft:Howdotheirfreemachine-learningcoursescompare?(TechRepublic)TwopartnersdevelopajobboardtohelpfindtalentfortheGoogleCloudpartnerecosystem(TechRepublic)MicrosoftAzure:Acheatsheet(TechRepublic)AmazonWebServices:Acheatsheet(TechRepublic)JusthowbigisGoogle'sdecisiontothrowitsweightbehindOpenStack? (ZDNet) CloudandEverythingasaServiceNewsletter Thisisyourgo-toresourceforXaaS,AWS,MicrosoftAzure,GoogleCloudPlatform,cloudengineeringjobs,andcloudsecuritynewsandtips. DeliveredMondays Signuptoday Editor'sPicks TechRepublicPremium:ThebestITpolicies,templates,andtools,fortodayandtomorrow. JustintimeforChristmas,KronospayrollandHRcloudsoftwaregoesofflineduetoransomware HowtotestifyourLinuxserverisvulnerabletoLog4j AWSoutage:YourresponsetoAWSgoingdownshouldn'tbemulticloud Docomputerusersreallyneedbluelight-filteringglasses? 2022techconferencesandeventstoaddtoyourcalendar Commentandshare:GoogleCloudPlatform:Acheatsheet RelatedTopics: Cloud Google EnterpriseSoftware Security Networking DataCenters Microsoft CloudonZDNet ShowComments HideComments LOGINTOCOMMENT MyProfile Logout |CommentingFAQs|CommunityGuidelines JoinDiscussion LOGINTOCOMMENT AddyourComment