Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure

Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure

• Google Cloud provides instructor-led training on core infrastructure
• The training covers cloud computing basics, Google Cloud's structure, and unique features
• Cloud computing is a way of using information technology with five equally important traits.

What is Cloud Computing?

• The term "cloud computing" was coined by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
• It's a way of using information technology (IT) that has five key traits.

Five Equally Important Traits of Cloud Computing

• On-demand and self-service: Customers get computing resources easily and independently through a web interface
• Access over the internet: Resources are accessible from anywhere via the internet.
• Resource pooling: Providers allocate resources from a shared pool. Customers don't need to know the physical location.
• Elasticity: Resources can be quickly scaled up or down as needed.
• Pay-per-use: Customers pay only for the resources they use or reserve

History of Cloud Computing

• First wave: Colocation-users lease physical space in data centers.
• Second wave: Virtualized data centers-virtualized components of private data centers.
• Third wave: Container-based architecture-fully automated, scalable cloud based on services and data.

Enterprises Still Maintain Infrastructure

• Enterprises maintain their user-controlled and user-configured environment with virtualization.

Google Cloud's Architecture: The Three Waves

• The first wave of cloud computing was based on colocation. This was a simple model where businesses renting space in server racks.
• The second wave of cloud computing brought virtualization, which allowed businesses to have virtualized servers in common data centers improving efficiency. The virtualization model is efficient.
• The third wave of cloud computing introduced containers in order to provide a more scalable, efficient and faster cloud computing services.

Third-Wave Cloud

• Google makes this third-wave cloud available to customers.
• Google believes that in the future all companies will differentiate themselves through technology in the form of software, based on high-quality data.

Cloud Service Offerings

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): On-demand infrastructure resources, including raw compute, storage, and networking; Compute Engine is an example.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): Manages hardware and software; App Engine is an example that allows developers focus on application logic.

Payment Models

• IaaS: Users pay for allocated resources in advance.
• PaaS: Users pay for actual resource use.

The Evolution of Cloud Computing

• From managed resources and services to serverless
• Businesses concentrate on business goals through managed services.
• Serverless technologies, like Cloud Run, manage infrastructure and services.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

• Provides a complete application stack. It is not installed on a local computer.
• Examples: Gmail, Docs, and Drive from Google Workspace.

Google Cloud Network

• The largest network - involves billions of dollars in investment
• Designed for high throughput and low latency.
• Features content caching nodes across the globe.
• Location of resources impacts factors such as availability, durability, and latency.

Infrastructure Locations

• Google Cloud’s infrastructure is based in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia
• The locations affect qualities like: availability, and latency

Geographic Locations

• Locations are divided into regions and zones. Regions comprise multiple zones.
• Each zone is an area where Google Cloud resources are deployed.

Zones

• Where resources are deployed (e.g., virtual machines).
• Ensure resource redundancy.
• Resources run in different regions to provide protection against issues with an entire region (e.g., natural disaster.)
• Some services can run in multiple geographic locations. (e.g., using multiple locations for data replication.)

Resources in Different Regions

• Useful for bringing applications closer to users globally.
• Offers protection against issues with individual regions, such as natural disasters
• Google's cloud services are supported by 121 zones in 40 regions.

Data Center Energy Consumption

• Google Cloud's physical infrastructure uses a significant amount of energy.
• It strives to make data centers as efficient as possible; Data centers in Finland with sea-water cooling are considered efficient.
• Google aims to achieve 100% renewable energy use and be carbon-free by 2030.

Google's Commitment to Sustainability

• Data centers use up to 2% of the world’s electricity.
• Became the first major company to achieve carbon neutrality.
• First to achieve 100% renewable energy.
• Aim to operate with zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Google Cloud Security

• Google Cloud is designed with security in mind, and these ideas are applied on several levels.
• A design for security is prevalent throughout the infrastructure, impacting how Google Cloud and related services function.

Hardware Level Security

• Custom server boards, chips, and networking equipment. Optimized security.
• Secure boot stack that encrypts all software.
• Multi-layer physical security measures in data centers.

Service Level Security

• Encryption of inter-service communication. All traffic between data centers is encrypted.
• Security measures are provided through Hardware and Software to protect against attacks.

User Identity Level Security

• Google's central identity service challenges users with additional information based on risk.
• Employing secondary factors such as U2F (Universal 2nd Factor); this is designed to combat sophisticated threats.

Storage Service Level Security

• Encryption at rest using centrally managed keys.
• Hardware encryption support in drives and SSDs.

Internet Communication Level Security

• Google Front End (GFE) ensures TLS connections use the correct certificates.
• Protection against Denial of Service (DoS) attacks.

Operational Security Level

• Rules and machine intelligence identify potential incidents.

• Insider risk reduction through active monitoring of employee activities.

• Requirements to use U2F-compatible security keys for all employee accounts.

• Two-party review of new code.

• Vulnerability Rewards Program incentivizes security bug discoveries.

Billing Tools

• Budgets: Fixed limits or based on metrics to control spending.
• Alerts: When costs approach the budget limit.
• Reports: Visual tools for monitoring expenditure.
• Quotas: Prevent over-consumption of resources due to errors or malicious activities

Quotas

• Two types of quotas: rate quotas and allocation quotas, applied at the project level.

Module Quiz

• This was at the end of the module.

This quiz explores the foundational concepts of Google Cloud and cloud computing. Participants will learn about the basic structure of Google Cloud, its unique features, and the five essential traits of cloud computing. Test your knowledge and deepen your understanding of cloud technology.