Visualizing Google Cloud

CHAPTER ONEInfrastructure

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computing resources—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet. It eliminates the need for enterprises to procure, configure, or manage these resources themselves, while enabling them to pay only for what they use. The benefits of cloud computing include:

• Flexibility: You can access cloud resources from anywhere and scale services up or down as needed.
• Efficiency: You can develop new applications and rapidly get them into production, without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.
• Strategic value: When you choose a cloud provider that stays on top of the latest innovations and offers them as services, it opens opportunities for you to seize competitive advantages and higher returns on investment.
• Security: The depth and breadth of the security mechanisms provided by cloud providers offer stronger security than many enterprise data centers. Plus, cloud providers also have top security experts working on their offerings.
• Cost-effectiveness: You only pay for the computing resources you use. Because you don't need to overbuild data center capacity to handle unexpected spikes in demand or sudden surges in business growth, you can deploy resources and IT staff on more strategic initiatives.

In this first chapter, you will learn about cloud computing models and dive into the various compute options that Google Cloud offers. The following ...