The Basics of Google Cloud Compute
Create a Virtual Machine
Step 1 Create a new instance from the Cloud console
- In the Cloud Console, open the Navigation menu (☰), click Compute Engine → VM Instances.
⏳ This may take a minute to initialize the first time.
-
To create a new instance, click Create Instance.
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In the Machine configuration section, fill in the following fields:
| Field | Value | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Name | gcelab | Name for the VM instance |
| Region | <REGION> | See Compute Engine documentation: Regions and Zones |
| Zone | <ZONE> | Remember the selected zone for later use |
| Series | E2 | Cost-optimized machine family |
| Machine type | e2-medium | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM |
⚠️ Note: A new project has a default resource quota which may limit the number of CPU cores. You can request more quota when working outside this lab.
- Click OS and storage. Click Change to configure the boot disk. Set the following values:
- Operating system: Debian
- Version: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
- Boot disk type: Balanced persistent disk
- Size: 10 GB
ℹ️ Several images are available, including Debian, Ubuntu, CoreOS, and premium images such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows Server.
- Click Networking.
In the Firewall section, enable:
- ✅ Allow HTTP traffic
🛡️ Note: This automatically creates a firewall rule to allow HTTP traffic on port 80.
- Once all sections are configured, scroll down and click Create.
The VM instance gcelab will be created in about one minute.
After creation, it will appear on the VM Instances page.
- On the VM Instances page, click SSH next to the instance name
gcelab.
This will open an SSH session directly in your browser.
📘 Note: For more information, see the Compute Engine guide:
Connect to Linux VMs using Google tools
Step 2 Install an NGINX web server
- Run the following command to update the OS:
sudo apt-get update
- Run the following command to install NGINX:
sudo apt-get install -y nginx
- Run the following command to confirm that NGINX is running:
ps auwx | grep nginx
- To see the web page, return to the Cloud console and click the External IP link in the row for your machine, or add the External IP value to http://EXTERNAL_IP/ in a new browser window or tab.