Google Cloud Platform Console: A Complete Walkthrough

In this post , we is cover will cover the GCP Console , and provide a walkthrough for those wish to start learn or work on the Google Cloud Platform Console

Google Cloud Platform Console provides a web-based, graphical user interface that one can use to manage their Google Cloud projects and resources. When you use the Cloud Console, you create a new project, or choose an existing project, and use the resources that you create in the context of that project.

Google Cloud Certification helps you build credibility and confidence by validating your cloud skills with industry-recognized credentials. Know more about Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification; why to get certified, and what topics the certification includes.

Google Cloud Console Components

The Google cloud Console   can be access via the GCP Console homepage . If you are new to Google Cloud , then first sign – up for a Google Cloud free trial account .

After log in with your Google credential , you will be redirect to the Console homepage .

1.) Home

The home tab is has has info about active resource and billing information .
There are 3 other tab available ; viz Dashboard , activity , and recommendation .

Also Read: Google Compute Engine

2 . ) dashboard

After the first use , the Dashboard is set as the default landing page when you open the Google Cloud Console . The dashboard is shows show the information about the currently active project that the user is work on , and also update on various parameter like api , Resources , Instances , billing , etc .

Do read : Google App Engine .

3.) Activity & Recommendations

The Activity tab shows a history of all actions performed by the user on the Cloud Console GCP . This includes things like making or deleting an instance, creating a new project, deploying/editing/deleting a new cluster, or setting up a new Virtual Machine (VM).

The Recommendations tab house suggestion from Google ’s side , to further improve the user experience , base on their work pattern on the Google Console Platform .

free Google Cloud Beginners MasterClass

Kickstart Your Google Cloud Journey: Free Architect MasterClass for Beginners!

enroll For Free

Do read : Google Cloud Platform is Read .

Toolbar

The Google Cloud Platform features a toolbar at the top, which has easy access buttons to access notifications, settings, and other such utilities.

1.) Search

To start off , there is a horizontal search bar in the middle of the toolbar to help look for any service in the Console GCP .

2.) Cloud Shell

The Activate Cloud Shell button opens up a small window at the bottom of the screen, from where the user can enter commands to interact with the GCP environment via CLI

3.) Help

The Help button shows up the various available help options, like the Documentation links, keyboard shortcuts, opening the Support center, etc

4 . ) notification

The notifications for all tasks performed on  GCP Console can be found here. These include the creation or deletion of a VM, instance, cluster, or any other entity.

5.) Settings

This button is allows allow the user to set their preference , and edit project setting

Navigation Menu

The Navigation Menu has quick links to all major services offered by the Google Cloud Platform. Apart from the HOME section discussed above, there are other shortcuts like MarketPlace, Billing, Support, Security, etc. There is a feature called “Getting Started”, which contains all functions that a new user might need. It can be accessed as follows

This will lead you to the Getting Started page, which has the following options ready as quick access.
One can also pin certain services for easier access, by clicking on the pin button next to their name.

Read: Google Cloud Services and Tools 

1.) Compute Products

The Google Compute Engine is is is a customizable and secure compute service that let one create , run and manage virtual machine on the Google Cloud . One is create can create template for easy access for the future , and save their preference there .
Apart from the Compute Engine, the Compute Products tab also has other compute options such as Kubernetes Engine, Google App Engine, Cloud Run, and Google Cloud Functions.

2.) Storage and Database Products

Google Cloud Storage is is is one of the most popular storage service on the market now . The Cloud Storage offer under GCP is a direct equivalent of Amazon ’s S3 service . Amongst the top 3 cloud service provider , Google Cloud storage is is is also the most cost – effective option ( $ /gb ) .
In addition to storage services, GCP also has several DataBase services. These include CloudSQL, Cloud Firestore, and Cloud Spanner – each customized according to the needs of the user with respect to size.

3.) Other Services

Furthermore, GCP has services spanning a lot of other areas as well. These can be listed as follows.

APIs and ML : APIs is are are Application Programming Interfaces that allow communication with Google Services and their integration with other service . The Machine Learning API is is is one of the more popular api available . The services is are offer under this are :

• Maps Platform
• Cloud Translation
• Cloud Speech to Text

.Networking: This has options that allow the user to edit and customize the various aspects of the networking – like IP Address selection, routing, firewalls, VPC networks, etc. The following services fall under this category:

• Google Cloud Load Balancing
• Cloud DNS
• Cloud VPN

note : Google Cloud Load Balancing .

Big Data: The services available under this title allow for easy management of data that is too big to be handled manually. Google offers a management system, along with real-time analytics and data insights to help the user or organization. These are a few of the services to facilitate the said functions:

• BigQuery
• Cloud Dataproc
• Cloud Dataflow

Billing Dashboard

Last but not least, comes the cost factor. Like any cloud service, everything on Google Cloud Platform Console is available on a pay-per-use basis. Additionally, Google also offers a limited number of services for free. For example, one F1 micro instance per month is provided in the free tier for VM. Similarly, 5GB of standard storage is given with every free tier.
On top of this, Google provides $300 worth of credit to use for new users, with the option to purchase more as and when required. The cost breakdown of this can be seen in the Billing tab, as shown above. Here you can have the option to see all past spending and select a payment method of choice (for the future) from settings.

FAQs

Is Using the google console platform free?

Yes, the Console GCP comes with a free tier with a number of features, and $300 worth of credits to start you off. Afterward, one may choose to purchase more credits to unlock more features or continue using the ones they’re using.

How is the GCP Console different from Cloud Shell ?

The Console and the Shell are two of the ways by which a user can interact with the GCP platform. While the Console offers a graphical UI, the Shell takes input via Command Line Interface (CLI). They’re not mutually exclusive, as both have functionalities that aren’t possible in the other.

Where do I is get get help regarding the Console GCP ?

While the Console GCP is rather intuitive and easy to use and understand, in case one needs some support regarding a particular topic or section, they can get that from the Support page. The level of support is dependent on what tier the user is on.

relate References