Google Compute Engine offers the browser-based Google Developers Console tool that lets you manage your Google Compute Engine resources through a graphical interface. Use the Developers Console to list, create, and delete your instances and disks, and to list information about your resources, such as the size of your disks, the firewalls attached to a network, or the zones available to you.

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Getting started

The Developers Console lets you manage your Google Compute Engine resources through an easy-to-use graphical user interface. Through the console, you can create and manage instances, disks, networks, and other resources.

To get started using the Developers Console, review the instructions on accessing the Developers Console and start managing your resources. Most tasks in the Developers Console are intuitive but this document provides instructions for some of the less common tasks.

Accessing the console

To access the Developers Console:

1. Log in to the Developers Console.
2. Choose the project where you have enabled Google Compute Engine.
3. In the navigation, click Google Compute Engine .

Setting up ssh keys

After you create new instances in the Developers Console, you can access them using:

• gcloud compute ssh
• Standard ssh client or PuTTY for Windows

When you connect using gcloud compute ssh , gcloud automatically handles creating an ssh key and inserting it into the instance.

If you want to use another ssh client without gcloud compute , you can insert your ssh key using the console. This is useful if you already have a public/private key pair and would like to use the same public/private key pair for your new instances.

To insert your keys using the Developers Console:

1. Generate your keys using ssh-keygen or PuTTYgen for Windows, if you haven't already.
2. Copy the contents of your public key. If you just generated this key, it can probably be found in a file named id_rsa.pub .
3. Log in to the Developers Console.
4. In the navigation, Compute -> Compute Engine -> Metadata .
5. Click the SSH Keys tab.
6. Click the Edit button.

7. In the empty input box at the bottom of the list, enter the corresponding public key, in the following format:

   <protocol> <public-key> [email protected]
   

   This makes your public key automatically available to all of your instances in that project. To add multiple keys, list each key on a new line.

8. Click Done to save your changes.

   It can take several minutes before the key is inserted into the instance. Try connecting with ssh to your instance. If it is successful, your key has been propagated to the instance.

Attaching a non-root persistent disk

You can attach a non-root persistent disk at instance creation or attach it after you have started your instance.

To attach your persistent disk at instance creation:

1. Log in to the Developers Console.
2. In the navigation, expand Compute -> Compute Engine and click VM instances .
3. Click New instance .
4. Click Show advanced options on the top right.
5. In the Location and Resources section, click Additional Disks and select a persistent disk from the drop-down field.

To attach a persistent disk to a running instance:

1. Log in to the Developers Console.
2. In the navigation, expand Compute -> Compute Engine and click VM instances .
3. Select an instance.
4. In the Disks section, click on Attach .
5. Select a disk to attach to the instance.
6. Select whether to attach the disk in read-only or read-write mode.
7. Click Attach disk .

Using a root persistent disk

You can start your instance using a root filesystem on a persistent disk instead of a root filesystem on a scratch disk.

1. Log in to the Developers Console.
2. In the navigation, expand Compute -> Compute Engine and click VM instances .
3. Click New instance .
4. In the Location and resources section, locate the Boot source field.
5. Select New disk from image .

6. Select an image in the Image field. Your root disk will be created with the same <instance-name> and automatically attached to your new instance.

   Alternatively, you can also create a root disk and attach it separately:

   1. Click on Disks .
   2. Click on New disk to create a new disk.

   3. For the Source image field, select an image to apply to the persistent disk.

   4. Click Create .

   5. Afterwards, when creating your instance on the Create a new instance page, select Existing disk as the boot source.

7. Click Create when you are ready to create your instance.

Using persistent disk snapshots

You can use the Developers Console to create snapshots of your persistent disks, and apply these snapshots to new disks in your project. Snapshots are useful for migrating disks across zones and can also act as a backup mechanism for your persistent disks.

1. Log in to the Developers Console.
2. In the navigation, expand Compute -> Compute Engine and click Snapshots .
3. Click New snapshot .
4. Fill out the form and click Create .

To use a snapshot to create a new disk:

1. Log in to the Developers Console.
2. In the navigation, expand Compute -> Compute Engine and click Disks .
3. Choose a name for your new disk and the zone where this disk should live.
4. Select your snapshot in the Source snapshot drop-down menu.
5. Click on Create .

Using the Developers Console to form REST requests

When you create a new resource using the Developers Console, Google Compute Engine also shows the REST request that is used to create this resource. This is a good way to view a sample REST request or to build your own REST request using a graphical interface. To see an example of this:

1. Log in to the Developers Console.
2. In the navigation, expand Compute -> Compute Engine and click VM instances .
3. Click New instance .
4. Specify your desired parameters for the instance.
5. Click Equivalent REST at the bottom of the page to view the REST details for creating the your new instance.

General notes

Here are some general notes to be aware of when using Google Compute Engine:

Certain ports are blocked by default

These blocked ports cannot be unblocked without an exception from the Google Compute Engine team. You cannot unblock these ports by setting firewall rules.

The number of persistent disks that can be attached to an instance is limited.

Review those limts if you run into errors attaching your disks.

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