GCP - VPC & Networking

👉 Overview

👀 What ?

Google Cloud Platform's Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) provides networking functionality for the cloud-based services in a virtual network. It enables users to define a logical isolated network that is private to their cloud resources, providing them with control over their networking environment, including selection of IP address ranges, creation of subnets, and configuration of route tables and network gateways.

🧐 Why ?

In the era of digital transformation, the need to secure, scalable, and efficient networking is paramount for any organization. GCP VPC provides a robust and flexible networking solution that allows businesses to leverage the benefits of cloud computing while maintaining high levels of security and control over their network infrastructure. Understanding the fundamentals of GCP VPC and networking is crucial to optimize the use of cloud resources, facilitate secure communication between services, and ensure the operational efficiency of cloud-based applications.

⛏️ How ?

To set up a VPC in GCP, you'll first need to define the VPC itself and its IP address range. Then, you can create subnets within your VPC, each with its own IP address range within the larger VPC CIDR block. Configure routing rules to control the path of outbound traffic and firewall rules to control inbound and outbound traffic. Finally, you can connect your VPC to on-premises networks, other VPCs, or the internet using various connectivity options like VPN, VPC peering, or Cloud Interconnect.

⏳ When ?

The concept of VPC was introduced to improve the security of cloud environments by providing a private, isolated network space. With the rise of cloud computing and the need for more advanced and flexible networking options, VPCs have become a standard feature of most cloud platforms, including Google Cloud Platform.

⚙️ Technical Explanations

A GCP VPC is a multi-layered structure, consisting of the global network, regional subnets, and zones. The global network is the highest level, spanning all regions. Each VPC network is a global entity spanning all GCP regions and is made up of regional virtual subnets. A subnet is a range of IP addresses in your VPC. It can span multiple zones or a single zone, providing flexibility in how resources are distributed. The IP address range of the subnets should be within the overall VPC IP address range. The VPC uses internal DNS, global DNS, and private DNS to resolve domain names. The routes and firewall rules in a VPC determine how packets are directed and which packets are allowed to move in and out of a network.