The Ultimate Guide to Building a Google Cloud Foundation: A one-on-one tutorial with one of Google's top trainers
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Author
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Packt Publishing
From data ingestion and storage, through data processing and data analytics, to application hosting and even machine learning, whatever your IT infrastructural need, there's a good chance that Google Cloud has a service that can help. But instant, self-serve access to a virtually limitless pool of IT resources has its drawbacks. More and more organizations are running into cost overruns, security problems, and simple "why is this not working?" headaches.
This book has been written by one of Google's top trainers as a tutorial on how to create your infrastructural foundation in Google Cloud the right way. By following Google's ten-step checklist and Google's security blueprint, you will learn how to set up your initial identity provider and create an organization. Further on, you will configure your users and groups, enable administrative access, and set up billing. Next, you will create a resource hierarchy, configure and control access, and enable a cloud network. Later chapters will guide you through configuring monitoring and logging, adding additional security measures, and enabling a support plan with Google.
By the end of this book, you will have an understanding of what it takes to leverage Terraform for properly building a Google Cloud foundational layer that engenders security, flexibility, and extensibility from the ground up.
Review
Book Overview
"Google Cloud (GCP) is a subject I know very little, if anything about;, however, straight away I can see that this book is aimed at people with little to no pre-existing knowledge of GCP as it states clearly in the 'Who this book is for' section. It is a foundation- level book aimed at readers who have maybe done a little experimenting with Google, and this book will walk- through the essential parts of GCP and show a best practice approach to building and securing an environment.
The book has 8 chapters in total, so it is a relatively small book in comparison to some of the 'Master' type books, which can be twice the size. However, I do not believe a book at the 'foundation' level needs to be much bigger. From this perspective, I feel the author has sized the book and chapter lengths appropriately, so it does not give more information than needed. It is important for books to stick with the blueprint they have printed on the front cover, and this book is meant to be foundation level, so it should not move away from this.
The chapters are set out very methodically, with the author starting with an introduction to Google Cloud in Chapter 1, and then moving on to more complex subjects, such as Iidentity, billing, monitoring and logging, networking, and finally security. I would say these are the essential foundation topics for any cloud platform and they are covered in a good amount of detail.
With foundation- level books, it is easy to get caught up with too much theory and not enough practical output; However, the author gets the balance perfect with a blend of theory, diagrams, and practical walk-throughs that keep the reader engaged and interested.
The language used in the books is also very easy to understand and it does not use too much 'jargon'. I feel this is another important piece the author gets right because with it being a foundation- level book, some readers may not be familiar with the more complex phrases within the cloud and GCP. Throughout the book, the author explains any complex terms clearly, but in general keeps the language very simple to read and follow."
Final thoughts
"This book is a fun and very informative read and essential if you want to get started with Google Cloud. The biggest compliment I can give this book is that it has really piqued my interest in GCP as a subject, and I look forward to learning more!"
--Shabaz Dar, Infrastructure Master, NetCompany
--This text refers to the paperback edition.About the Author
Patrick Haggerty was never quite sure what he wanted to be when he grew up, so he decided hed just try things until he figured it out. Thrown out of college at 20, he spent 4 years in the USMC learning responsibility (and to be a better apex predator). Out on a disability, he turned wrenches in a mechanic shop, worked tech support, studied Actuarial Science, and coded in more languages than he wants to remember. When a job asked him to run some internal training, he discovered a lifelong passion: helping people learn.
Patrick has worked as a professional trainer for 25+ years and spends most of his days working for ROI Training and Google, helping people learn to leverage Google Cloud
--This text refers to the paperback edition.- Create an organizational resource hierarchy in Google Cloud
- Configure user access, permissions, and key Google Cloud Platform (GCP) security groups
- Construct well thought out, scalable, and secure virtual networks
- Stay informed about the latest logging and monitoring best practices
- Leverage Terraform infrastructure as code automation to eliminate toil
- Limit access with IAM policy bindings and organizational policies
- Implement Google's secure foundation blueprint
This book is for anyone looking to implement a secure foundational layer in Google Cloud, including cloud engineers, DevOps engineers, cloud security practitioners, developers, infrastructural management personnel, and other technical leads. A basic understanding of what the cloud is and how it works, as well as a strong desire to build out Google Cloud infrastructure the right way will help you make the most of this book. Knowledge of working in the terminal window from the command line will be beneficial.
- Getting to Know Google's Cloud
- IAM, Users, Groups, and Admin Access
- Setting Up Billing and Cost Controls
- Terraforming a Resource Hierarchy
- Controlling Access with IAM Roles
- Laying the Network
- Foundational Monitoring and Logging
- Augmenting Security and Registering for Support
