Google Cloud

Platform

School of Computer Engineering

KIIT University
What is Google Cloud Platform?

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of cloud

computing services provided by Google. It is a public
cloud computing platform consisting of a variety of
services like computing, storage, networking,
application development, Big Data, and more, which run
on the same cloud infrastructure that Google uses
internally for its end-user products, such as Google
Search, Photos, Gmail and YouTube, etc.
• The services of GCP can be accessed by software
developers, cloud administrators and IT professionals
over the Internet or through a dedicated network
connection.
Why Google Cloud Platform?

• Google Cloud Platform is known as one of the leading

cloud providers in the IT field.
• The services and features can be easily accessed and
used by software developers and users with little
technical knowledge.
• Google has been on top amongst its competitors,
offering the highly scalable and most reliable platform
for building, testing and deploying applications in a real-
time environment.
Cont.
• Apart from this, GCP was announced as the leading cloud
platform in the Gartner's IaaS Magic Quadrant in 2018.
Gartner is one of the leading research and advisory
company. Gartner organized a campaign where Google
Cloud Platform was compared with other cloud providers,
and GCP was selected as one of the top three providers in
the market.
• Most companies use data centers because of the availability
of cost forecasting, hardware certainty, and advanced
control. However, they lack the necessary features to run
and maintain resources in the data center. GCP, on the
other side, is a fully-featured cloud platform that includes:
Cont.
• Capacity: Sufficient resources for easy scaling whenever required. Also,
effective management of those resources for optimum performance.
• Security: Multi-level security options to protect resources, such as assets,
network and OS -components.
• Network Infrastructure: Number of physical, logistical, and human-resource-
related components, such as wiring, routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers,
etc.
• Support: Skilled professionals for installation, maintenance, and support.
• Bandwidth: Suitable amount of bandwidth for peak load.
• Facilities: Other infrastructure components, including physical equipment and
power resources.

Therefore, Google Cloud Platform is a viable option for businesses, especially

when the businesses require an extensive catalogue of services with global
recognition.
Benefits of Google Cloud Platform

Some of the main benefits of the Google Cloud Platform are explained below:

• Best Pricing: Google enables users to get Google Cloud hosting at the
cheapest rates. The hosting plans are not only cheaper than other hosting
platforms but also offer better features than others. GCP provides a pay-as-
you-go option to the users where users can pay separately only for the
services and resources they want to use.
• Work from Anywhere: Once the account is configured on GCP, it can be
accessed from anywhere. That means that the user can use GCP across
different devices from different places. It is possible because Google provides
web-based applications that allow users to have complete access to GCP.
• Private Network: Google has its own network that enables users to have
more control over GCP functions. Due to this, users achieve smooth
performance and increased efficiency over the network.
Cont.
• Scalable: Users are getting a more scalable platform over the private
network. Because Google uses fibreoptic cables to extend its network
range, it is likely to have more scalability. Google is always working to scale
its network because there can be any amount of traffic at any time.
• Security: There is a high number of security professionals working at
Google. They always keep trying to secure the network and protect the data
stored on servers. Additionally, Google uses an algorithm that encrypts all
the data on the Cloud platform. This gives assurance to the users that their
data is completely safe and secure from unauthorized sources.
• Redundant Backup: Google always keeps a backup of users’ data with
built-in redundant backup integration. In case a user has lost the stored
data, it's not a big problem. Google always has a copy of the users' data
unless the data is deleted forcefully. This adds data integrity, reliability and
durability with GCP.
Key Features of Google Cloud
Platform
The following are some key features of the Google Cloud Platform:
• On-demand services: Automated environment with web-based
tools. Therefore, no human intervention is required to access the
resources.
• Broad network access: The resources and the information can
be accessed from anywhere.
• Resource pooling: On-demand availability of a shared pool of
computing resources to the users.
• Rapid elasticity: The availability of more resources whenever
required.
• Measured service: Easy-to-pay feature enables users to pay only
for consumed services.
Working of Google Cloud Platform

• When a file is uploaded on the Google cloud, the unique

metadata is inserted into a file.
• It helps identify the different files and track the changes
made across all the copies of any particular file.
• All the changes made by individuals get synchronized
automatically to the main file, also called a master file.
• GCP further updates all the downloaded files using
metadata to maintain the correct records.
Example
Let's understand the working of GCP with a general example:
• Suppose that MS Office is implemented on Cloud to enable several people to
work together. The primary aim of using cloud technology is to work on the
same project at the same time. We can create and save a file on the cloud once
we install a plugin for the MS Office suite. This will allow several people to edit a
document at the same time. The owner can assign access to specific people to
allow them to download and start editing the document in MS Office.
• Once users are assigned as an editor, they can use and edit the document's
cloud copy as desired. The combined, the edited copy is generated which is
known as the master document. GCP helps to assign a unique URL to each
specific copy of the existing document given to different users. However, any of
the authorized users' changes will be visible on all the copies of documents
shared over the cloud. In case multiple changes are made to the same
document, then GCP allows the owner to select the appropriate changes to keep.
GCP-IaaS
GCP-PaaS
GCP-SaaS
Google Cloud Platform Services
Google provides a considerable number of services with several
unique features. That is the reason why the Google Cloud Platform is
continually expanding across the globe. Some of the significant
services of GCP are:

• Compute Services
• Networking
• Storage Services
• Big Data
• Security and Identity Management
• Management Tools
• Cloud AI
• IoT (Internet of Things)
Compute Services [IaaS]
GCP offers a scalable range of computing services, such as:
• Google App Engine: It is a cloud computing platform that follows the
concept of Platform-as-a-Service to deploy PHP, Java and other software.
It is also used to develop and deploy web-based software in Google-
managed data centers. The most significant advantage of Google App
Engine is its automatic scaling capability. This means that the App Engine
automatically allocates more resources for the application when there is
an increase in requests.
• Compute Engine: It is a cloud computing platform that follows the
concept of Infrastructure-as-a-Service to run Windows and Linux-based
virtual machines. It is an essential component of GCP. It is designed on
the same infrastructure used by the Google search engine, YouTube and
other Google services.
• Kubernetes Engines: This computing service is responsible for offering
a platform for automatic deployment, scaling, and other operations of
application containers across clusters of hosts. The engine supports
several container tools like a docker, etc.
Networking [IaaS]
GCP includes the following network services:
• VPC: VPC stands for Virtual Private Network. The primary function
of VPC is to offer a private network with routing, IP allocation, and
network firewall policies. This will help to create a secure
environment for the application deployments.
• Cloud Load Balancing: As its name states, Cloud balancing is
used to distribute workload across different computing resources to
balance the entire system performance. This also results in cost
reduction. The process also helps in minimizing the availability and
maximise the capability of the resources.
• Content Delivery Network: CDN is a geographically distributed
network of proxy servers and their data centers. The primary aim of
using CDN is to provide maximum performance to the users.
Additionally, it also helps deliver high availability of resources by
equally distributing the related services to the end-users.
Storage Services [IaaS]

GCP has the following storage services:

• Google Cloud Storage: It is an online data storage web service that
Google provides to its users to store and access data from anywhere.
The service also includes a wide range of features like maximum
performance, scalability, security and sharing.
• Cloud SQL: It is a web-service that enables users to create, manage,
and use relational databases stored on Google Cloud servers. The
service itself maintains and protects the databases, which helps
users focus on their applications and other operations.
• Cloud Bigtable: It is known for its fast performance and highly
manageable feature. It is a highly scalable NoSQL database service
that allows collecting and retaining data from as low as 1 TB to
hundreds of PB.
Big Data
GCP provides a variety of services related to big data; they are:
• BigQuery: It is a fully managed data analysis service by Google. The primary
aim of Google BigQuery service is to help businesses to analyze Big Data. It
offers a highly scalable data management option. This means BigQuery
allows users to perform ad-hoc queries and share data insights across the
web.
• Google Cloud Datastore: Google Cloud Datastore is a kind of datastore
service that is fully managed, schema-less, and non-relational. This service
enables businesses to perform automatic transactions and a rich set of
queries. The main advantage of Google Cloud Datastore is the capability of
automatic scaling. This means that the service can itself scale up and down,
depending on the requirement of resources.
• Google Cloud Dataproc: It is a very fast and easy-to-use big data service
offered by Google. It mainly helps in managing Hadoop and Spark services
for distributed data processing. The service allows users to create Hadoop or
Spark clusters sized according to the overall workload and can be accessed
whenever users want them.
Security and Identity Management

GCP includes the following services related to Security and

Identity management:
• Cloud Data Loss Prevention API: It is mainly designed to
manage sensitive data. It helps users manage sensitive data
elements like credit card details, debit card details, passport
numbers, etc. It offers fast and scalable classification for
sensitive data.
• Cloud IAM: It stands for Cloud Identity and Access
Management. It is a framework that contains rules and
policies and validates the authentication of the users for
accessing the technology resources. That is why it is also
known as Identity Management (IdM).
Management Tools

GCP includes the following services related to management tools:

• Google Stackdriver: Google Stackdriver service is primarily
responsible for displaying the overall performance and
diagnostics information. This may include insights into data
monitoring, tracing, logging, error reporting, etc. The service
also prompts an alert notification to public cloud users.
• Google Cloud Console App: It is a native mobile application
powered by Google. The primary aim of this service is to enable
users to manage the core features of Google Cloud services
directly from their mobile devices anytime, anywhere. The
primary functions of this service are alerting, monitoring, and
performing critical actions on resources.
Cloud AI

When it comes to Cloud AI, GCP offers these services:

• Cloud Machine Learning Engine: It is another fully
managed service that allows users to create Machine
Learning models. The service is mainly used for those
ML models, which are based on mainstream
frameworks.
• Cloud AutoML: It is the type of service that is based on
Machine Learning. It helps users to enter their data sets
and gain access to quality trained pre-designed ML
models. The service works by following Google's
transfer learning and Neural Architecture Search
method.
IoT (Internet of Things)

GCP contains the following IoT services:

• Cloud IoT Core: It is one of the fully managed core
services. It allows users to connect, control, and ingest
data from various devices that are securely connected
to the Internet. This allows other Google cloud services
to analyze, process, collect and visualize IoT data in
real-time.
• Cloud IoT Edge: The Edge computing service brings
memory and other computing-power resources near to
the location where it is required.
Advantages of Google Cloud
Platform
There are several advantages of using Google Cloud Platform, such as:

• Google Cloud Offers Quick and Easy Collaboration: Multiple users

can access the data and simultaneously contribute their information.
This is possible because the data is stored on the cloud servers, not on
the user's personal computers.
• Higher Productivity with Continuous Development: Google is
always working on adding new features and functionalities to provide
higher productivity to the customers. Therefore, Google delivers
frequent updates to its products and services.
• Less Disruption with Adopting New Features: Instead of pushing
huge disruptive updates of changes, Google provides small updates
weekly. This helps users to understand and adopt new features easily.
Cont.
• Least or Minimal Data is stored on Vulnerable Devices:
Google does not store data on local devices unless a user
explicitly tries to do it. This is because the data stored on local
devices may get compromised compared to the cloud's data.
• Users can access Google Cloud from Anywhere: The best
thing is that a user can easily access the information stored on
Google cloud from anywhere because it is operated through
web-based applications.
• Google provides Maximum Security with its Robust
Structure: Google hires leading security professionals to
protect user's data. Users get process-based and physical
security features made by Google.
Cont.
• Users have Full Control over their Data: Users gain
full control over services and the data stored in Google
Cloud. If a user does not want to use Google services
any longer and wants to delete the cloud data, it can be
easily performed.
• Google provides Higher Uptime and Reliability:
Google uses several resources to provide higher and
reliable up-time servers. If a data center is not working
for technical issues, the system will automatically
communicate with the secondary center without
interruption visible to users.
Creating a Free Tier Account on GCP

Let's start with the steps of creating a free tier account

on Google Cloud Platform:

• Step 1: First, we are required to navigate to the

following link: https://cloud.google.com/gcp/
• Step 2: On the next screen, we need to click on 'Get
started for free', as shown below:
Navigation
Navigation
• Step 3: Next,
we are required
to login to the
Google Account.
We can use the
'create an
account' button
if we don't have
an existing
Google account.
 Navigation

• Step 4:
Once we Here, we must
have select the
logged in, Country, agree
we will get to the Terms of
to the Service, and
following then click on
screen: the 'CONTINUE'
button.
Navigation
• Step 5: On the
next screen, we
have to enter some
necessary details
such as name and
address details.
Also, we have to
enter payment
details like the
method of
payments and
credit card details.
After filling all the
details, we need to
click on the button
'START MY FREE
TRIAL' from the
bottom of the
page:
Navigation

• Step 6:
Google asks for
confirmation to
use the credit
card for the
small
deduction to
ensure that the
card
information is
correct.
However, the
amount is
refunded back
to the same
account. Here,
we need to
click on the
'CONTINUE'
button:
Navigation
• Step 7: On
the next
screen, we
must click
on the 'GO
TO
CONSOLE'
button:
Navigation
• After clicking
on the 'GO TO
CONSOLE'
button, we will
be redirected
to the
Dashboard
that includes
a summary of
GCP services
along with
projects and
other insights.
It looks like
this:
GCP Console
To be specific, a Dashboards of GCP displays the summarized view of the
followings:

• Project Info: contains project details such as project name, ID, and number.
• Resources: contains a list of resources being used in the related project.
• APIs: contains various API requests running with the project (in request/sec
form).
• Google Cloud Platform Status: displays an overall summary of services
that are part of GCP.
• Monitoring: displays alerts, performance stats, Uptime, etc. to ensure that
systems are running reliably.
• Error Reporting: displays errors occurring in the projects, but it needs to be
configured first.
Cont.
• Trace: displays latency data of existing applications
across a distributed tracing system.
• Compute Engine: displays the insights of CPU usage in
percentage (%).
• Tutorials: contains Getting Started guides (basic guides)
to explain how the GCP features work.
• News: displays news and other important updates
regarding Google Cloud Platform.
• Documentation: contains in-depth guides to teach more
about Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, and App Engine.
Google Cloud Platform Pricing
When it comes to pricing, Google Cloud Platform is the
cheapest solution in the market. GCP is not only low on
price but also offers more features and services than
other providers.
When comparing GCP with other leading competitors, it
has more benefits over them. Google provides its users a
massive 60% savings, including:

• 15% rightsizing recommendation

• 21% list price differences
• 24% of sustained usage discounts
Cont.
Some of the main benefits of GCP pricing are:

• No Hidden Charges: There are no hidden charges behind the

GCP pricing. Google's pricing structure is straightforward and can
be easily understood.
• Pay-as-you-go: Google offers its customer 'use now, pay later'
option. So, users will have to pay only for those services which
they want to use or already using.
• No Termination Fee: Users are free to stop using Google
services whenever they want, and there will not have to pay any
termination fee. That means the moment users stop using Google
services; they stop paying for it.
Difference between Google Cloud Platform, AWS and
Azure

Google Cloud AWS Azure

It uses GCE (Google Compute AWS EC2 offers core compute It uses virtual machines for
Engine) for computing purposes. services. computation purposes.

It uses Google Cloud Storage for It uses Amazon S3 for storing the It uses a storage block bob that
storage purposes. data. comprises blocks for storing the
data.
It offers the lowest price to the AWS pricing is generally keen to Like AWS, Azure pricing structure
customers to beat other cloud have inscrutable. The overall is also difficult to understand
providers. structure of granular pricing is a unless you have considerable
bit complex. experience.
It uses Cloud Test labs for App It uses a device farm for App It uses DevTest labs for App
Testing purposes. Testing purposes. Testing purposes.
It uses Subnet as a virtual It uses VPC as a virtual network. It uses VNet as a virtual
network. Network.
It follows the Cloud Load It follows the Elastic Load It follows the Load-Balancer
Balancing configuration. Balancing configuration. Application Gateway
configuration.
Job Opportunities with GCP

There are many job opportunities with GCP. Some popular job roles are listed below:

• Technical Lead Manager

• Sales Engineer
• Technical Solutions Engineer
• Account Executive
• Technical Program Manager
• Cloud Software Engineer
• Data Center Software Engineer
• Solutions Architect
• Strategic Customer Engineer

Source:

https://medium.com/google-cloud/what-are-the-google-cloud-platform-gcp-services-285f1988957a