Hosting on Google Cloud Platform – what services does GCP offer?

When creating an application, it is necessary to decide where it will be hosted.

One of the most popular solutions is to have a machine in the cloud; it provides high availability, performance, or scalability. Learn more about fundamental Google Cloud Platform services and how you can host applications in the cloud.

What is Google Cloud Platform?

Google Cloud Platform is a set of cloud services for developers and administrators. GCP components can be selected freely to create infrastructure tailored to the business needs.

The same services are available to all users of the Google Cloud Platform – whether global corporations, medium and small companies or startups. Using Google Cloud Platform services, it is possible to host a simple website, maintain a complex application or develop an advanced system using artificial intelligence models.

Local Google Cloud Platform partner, FOTC company, identifies the most important groups of services:

• virtual machines and almost unlimited computing power,
• Kubernetes cluster management services,
• tools for rapid deployment, including containerised applications,
• cloud databases,
• data warehouses and BigData analytics,
• cloud storage,
• off-the-shelf machine learning and artificial intelligence models to create innovative products,
• a platform for the development of the Internet of Things projects.

Google Cloud Platform hosting services

With fundamental Google Cloud Platform services, you can set up an application. Main hosting services include Compute Engine, App Engine, Kubernetes Engine and Cloud Run.

Compute Engine

GCE is the most popular virtual machine service on the Google Cloud Platform. It allows you to flexibly adjust the parameters of the machine to suit your needs – disk size, RAM, CPU or GPU. You can choose the operating system of the machine, such as Debian, Ubuntu or Windows. On Compute Engine, migrating from on-premise is relatively easy – you don’t have to make big changes to your application, you can migrate in a lift-and-shift model. And if you want to scale automatically, you can create a MIG (managed instance group) consisting of several virtual machines. The group will scale up or down depending on the load. In addition to scalable cloud solutions, Google Drive provides a secure and integrated environment for storing and sharing files, enhancing team collaboration within the cloud.

App Engine

App Engine is a serverless service – it allows you to focus on writing code instead of maintaining the infrastructure. It is designed with developers in mind and you do not need advanced knowledge of systems administration to use it. It has a built-in load balancer and provides automatic up- and downscaling. App Engine has two types of environments:

• standard for applications written in supported programming languages, including Python, Java, Node.js, PHP, Ruby or Go,
• flexible for applications in containers, created using any technology, frameworks or libraries.

Google Kubernetes Engine

Kubernetes is a container orchestration platform and is probably familiar to anyone who has ever dealt with containerisation. Google Kubernetes Engine, on the other hand, is a managed k8s service in the Google Cloud that combines automation with a high level of application control and monitoring, including application performance and health checks, automated fixes, load balancing and scaling in response to usage levels. Google Kubernetes Engine supports the effective use of CI/CD methods and pipelines. GKE is good for users who already have an application in containers and want to move it to the cloud – because this can be done without much hassle.

Cloud Run

This is also a service for containerised applications but is much ‘simpler’ than Google Kubernetes Engine. GKE is used for orchestration (container management), while Cloud Run is used for setting up containers in the cloud. Cloud Run is a serverless service, so the user doesn’t need to run the configuration or maintenance of the infrastructure or have extensive systems administration knowledge. It is a service good for people who have a containerised application and want to make quick deployments or changes introduction.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Google Cloud Platform offers a comprehensive suite of hosting services suitable for a wide range of applications, from simple websites to complex, AI-driven systems. Whether you prefer the flexibility of managing virtual machines with Compute Engine, the simplicity of serverless deployment with App Engine, the control and automation of Kubernetes with Google Kubernetes Engine, or the ease of container deployment with Cloud Run, GCP has a solution to meet your needs.

By leveraging the power of Google’s infrastructure, developers can focus on writing code and innovating, rather than worrying about managing servers or infrastructure. With Google Cloud Platform, businesses of all sizes can benefit from high availability, scalability, and performance, enabling them to deliver seamless and reliable experiences to their users.

As technology continues to evolve, Google Cloud Platform remains at the forefront, providing cutting-edge solutions to help businesses thrive in the digital age. Whether you’re a startup looking to launch your first application or an enterprise seeking to modernize your infrastructure, GCP has the tools and services to support your journey to the cloud. With Google Cloud Platform, the possibilities are endless.

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