Google Cloud Platform for Developers

Container images

A relatively new addition to Compute Engine is the ability to run Docker containers on top of Compute Engine VMs. In this setup, developers specify a Docker image along with a number of optional configuration settings. To run the container, Google offers the Container-Optimised OS, which is a minimal operating system that provides an efficient and secure runtime environment for Docker containers.

A benefit of this setup is that the Docker image used can be easily developed and tested locally, and can be easily ported to other environments, including the App Engine flexible environment, Kubernetes Engine, or hosting platforms outside of Google Cloud. This also allows developers to leverage the full feature set of Compute Engine, ...