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Google Cloud Platform Essentials

Building Resilient, Scalable, and Cost-Efficient Cloud Solutions on GCP

This book is 100% completeLast updated on 2026-07-13
Steve T. Publications
Google Cloud Platform Essentials is a practical, end-to-end guide for anyone looking to build expertise in Google Cloud. From core infrastructure services such as compute, storage, networking, and databases to advanced topics including Kubernetes, serverless architectures, security, AI/ML, monitoring, and cost optimization, this book provides clear explanations, hands-on examples, and proven best…

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About

About the Book

This is a comprehensive guide to Google Cloud Platform, designed for beginners learning their first cloud platform and IT professionals transitioning to the cloud. It covers every major GCP service category from compute and storage through networking, databases, security, Kubernetes, serverless, AI/ML, monitoring, and cost optimization. Each chapter includes practical examples, best practices, and real-world context drawn from current documentation and industry data. Whether you are preparing for a GCP certification exam or architecting your next cloud deployment, this book gives you the knowledge to build with confidence.

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Steve T. Publications

Steve T. Publications is a specialized book publishing company dedicated to delivering high-quality technical resources for IT professionals, students, educators, and technology enthusiasts. Our mission is to make complex technology concepts accessible through well-structured, practical, and industry-relevant publications.

We focus on publishing books across a wide range of information technology disciplines, including software development, cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data science, networking, DevOps, databases, and enterprise technologies. Every publication is designed to bridge the gap between theory and real-world application, helping readers build the skills needed to succeed in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.

At Steve T. Publications, we collaborate with experienced industry experts, educators, and technology professionals to produce accurate, up-to-date, and engaging content. We are committed to maintaining the highest editorial standards while empowering learners and professionals with trusted technical knowledge.

Whether you're beginning your IT journey, preparing for professional certifications, or advancing your expertise in emerging technologies, Steve T. Publications is your trusted source for authoritative and practical technical books.

Contents

Table of Contents

Building Resilient, Scalable, and Cost-Efficient Cloud Solutions on GCP

  1. Introduction: Why Google Cloud?

Chapter 1: Getting Started with Google Cloud

  1. Creating Your First Account and Project
  2. Project Structure and Naming
  3. The Google Cloud Console
  4. The gcloud CLI: Your Command-Line Workbench
  5. Installation and Authentication
  6. Cloud Shell: Your Browser-Based Terminal
  7. Essential gcloud Commands
  8. Understanding gcloud Output Formats
  9. Billing, Free Tier, and Budgets
  10. The Free Trial
  11. Always Free Tier
  12. Setting Up Budgets and Alerts
  13. Pricing Models: Pay-as-You-Go, Committed Use, and Spot
  14. Deployment Strategy: Regions, Zones, and Machine Types
  15. Regions and Zones
  16. Why Region and Zone Selection Matters
  17. Machine Types and CPU Architectures
  18. Hands-On: Your First Compute Engine VM
  19. Step 1: Set Up Your Project
  20. Step 2: Enable Required APIs
  21. Step 3: Create a VM Instance
  22. Step 4: Create a Firewall Rule
  23. Step 5: Get the External IP and Test
  24. Step 6: SSH into Your VM and Install a Web Server
  25. Step 7: Clean Up
  26. What You Just Learned

Chapter 2: Cloud Architecture Principles

  1. The Well-Architected Framework: Six Pillars
  2. Core Architectural Principles
  3. Design for Failure and Resilience
  4. Scalability and Elasticity Patterns
  5. Security by Design
  6. Sustainability as an Architectural Goal
  7. Review Questions

Chapter 3: Networking Fundamentals on GCP

  1. VPC Networks, Subnets, and IP Addressing
  2. Firewall Rules and Network Policies
  3. Cloud NAT and Outbound Connectivity
  4. HA VPN and Cloud Interconnect: Hybrid Connectivity
  5. Cloud Armor: DDoS Protection and Web Application Firewall
  6. Service Perimeters and Load Balancing
  7. Review Questions

Chapter 4: Compute Services

  1. Compute Engine: VMs and Instance Groups
  2. App Engine: Platform-as-a-Service
  3. Cloud Run: Serverless Containers
  4. Choosing the Right Compute Service
  5. Migration Patterns to GCP
  6. Review Questions

Chapter 5: Storage Solutions

  1. Cloud Storage: Buckets, Objects, and Storage Classes
  2. Persistent Disk: Standard, SSD, Balanced, and Extreme
  3. Filestore: Managed NFS for Shared Workloads
  4. Data Transfer and Migration Tools
  5. Review Questions

Chapter 6: Databases on Google Cloud

  1. Cloud SQL: MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server
  2. Cloud Spanner: Globally Distributed Relational Database
  3. Cloud Bigtable: Wide-Column for Analytics and IoT
  4. Firestore and Memorystore: NoSQL and Caching
  5. AlloyDB for PostgreSQL
  6. Choosing the Right Database
  7. Review Questions

Chapter 7: Security, Identity, and IAM

  1. Google’s Shared Responsibility Model
  2. IAM Roles, Policies, and the Resource Hierarchy
  3. Cloud KMS and Secret Manager
  4. Organization Policies and Access Context Manager
  5. Compliance and Certifications
  6. Review Questions

Chapter 8: DevOps and CI/CD on GCP

  1. Artifact Registry and Container Images
  2. Cloud Build: CI/CD Pipelines and Triggers
  3. Infrastructure as Code with Terraform
  4. Deployment Manager and GitOps Workflows
  5. Secure CI/CD: Attestation and Supply Chain Security
  6. Review Questions

Chapter 9: Kubernetes and Containers with GKE

  1. Google Kubernetes Engine Architecture
  2. Autopilot vs. Standard Clusters
  3. Node Pools, Autoscaling, and Compute Classes
  4. Workload Identity and Cluster Security
  5. Observability, Backups, and Upgrades
  6. Multi-Cluster Management with Fleets
  7. Review Questions

Chapter 10: Serverless Computing on GCP

  1. Cloud Functions 2nd Generation
  2. Eventarc: Event-Driven Architectures
  3. Cloud Run Services and Jobs
  4. Serverless vs. Containers vs. VMs: Making the Call
  5. Real-World Serverless Patterns
  6. Review Questions

Chapter 11: AI, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics

  1. Vertex AI: The Unified ML Platform
  2. AutoML for No-Code Model Building
  3. BigQuery ML and SQL-Based Machine Learning
  4. Pre-Trained APIs
  5. MLOps with Vertex AI Pipelines
  6. Review Questions

Chapter 12: Monitoring, Logging, and Observability

  1. Cloud Monitoring: Metrics, Dashboards, and Alerts
  2. Cloud Logging: Centralized Log Management
  3. Cloud Trace: Distributed Tracing
  4. SLOs, SLIs, and Error Budgets
  5. Managed Service for Prometheus and OpenTelemetry
  6. Review Questions

Chapter 13: Cost Optimization and FinOps

  1. Understanding GCP Pricing Models
  2. Committed Use Discounts and Savings Plans
  3. Spot VMs for Fault-Tolerant Workloads
  4. Rightsizing, Storage Tiering, and Budgets
  5. Real-World Cost Optimization Case Studies
  6. Review Questions

Chapter 14: Real-World Use Cases and Architecture Patterns

  1. E-Commerce Platform: Scalable and Resilient
  2. Healthcare Data Pipeline: HIPAA Compliance
  3. Media Streaming: Global Content Delivery
  4. IoT Data Ingestion: High-Throughput Analytics
  5. Disaster Recovery: Multi-Region Architectures
  6. Case Study Questions for Certification Preparation
  7. Review Questions
  8. Conclusion: The Future of Google Cloud
  9. References

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