Google Cloud Platform
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of cloud computing services provided by Google LLC. As part of the larger Alphabet Inc. umbrella, GCP offers a variety of services including computing, data storage, data analytics, and machine learning, all of which run on the same infrastructure that Google uses internally for its end-user products, such as Google Search, Gmail, and YouTube.
Core Services
Google Compute Engine
Google Compute Engine (GCE) is the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) component of GCP, which allows users to launch virtual machines on demand. It provides a scalable range of options from shared virtual machines to high-performance computer clusters.
Google App Engine
Google App Engine is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) that allows developers to build and host applications on Google-managed infrastructure. It automatically handles application scaling, load balancing, and other server maintenance tasks.
Google Cloud Storage
Google Cloud Storage offers scalable, durable, and secure object storage for developers and enterprises. It is used extensively for storing and serving large amounts of unstructured data, particularly for use with machine learning models, data analysis, and backup and archive solutions.
Google Cloud Dataflow
Google Cloud Dataflow is a fully managed service for executing Apache Beam pipelines. It is designed for stream and batch processing of data and provides real-time analysis capabilities, making it ideal for operations that require fast data processing.
Google Cloud Datastore
Google Cloud Datastore is a highly scalable NoSQL database service. It is optimized for web and mobile applications and can handle massive amounts of data while providing strong consistency and high availability.
Google Cloud Shell
Google Cloud Shell offers an online integrated development environment (IDE) that is pre-configured with all the necessary tools to manage GCP resources directly from a web browser. It provides a command-line interface for managing cloud resources, running scripts, and deploying applications.
Security Services
Cloud IDS
Cloud IDS is a managed Intrusion Detection System (IDS) that helps detect security threats such as malware and spyware. It integrates seamlessly with GCP services to provide a comprehensive security solution across the platform.
Additional Features
Google Cloud Connect
Formerly known as Google Cloud Connect, this service was a cloud computing plug-in for Microsoft Office that enabled file synchronization between Office programs and Google Docs. Though now deprecated, it laid the foundation for seamless integration between cloud services and desktop applications.
Memorystore
Memorystore, including Memorystore for Redis and Memorystore for Memcached, provides a fully managed in-memory data store service. It enables the deployment of distributed caches for sub-millisecond data access.
Cloud Interconnect
Cloud Interconnect delivers premium connections between an enterprise's on-premises network and GCP's infrastructure. This service is particularly useful for organizations that require low-latency, high-bandwidth connections for data-intensive operations.