Data Backup Digest

With all of the major industry players making huge advances toward cloud technology, it was only a matter of time before the developers at Google introduced their own innovations to the mix. Officially released to the public in December 2013, the Google Compute Engine is the latest technology to hit the world of corporate cloud services. But what exactly does the Google Compute Engine offer, and, perhaps even more importantly, how is it expected to redefine cloud computer as we currently know it?

What Is The Google Compute Engine?

To put it simply, Google's new Compute Engine is meant to facilitate the processing of large workloads through various virtual machines. These performance-oriented virtual machines, which are based on the freeware Linux distributions of CentOS and Debian, allow for complete scalability to both smaller setups and larger, more complex networks.

David Schlesinger chimed in on an earlier Google blog post regarding the announcement of the Compute Engine. "We find that Compute Engine scales quickly, allowing us to easily meet the flow of new sequencing requests. Compute Engine has helped us scale with our demands and has been a key component to helping our physicians diagnose and cure genetic diseases in Brazil and around the world."

Access to Google's Private Network

One of the most unique and useful features of the Google Compute Engine is the level of access it provides to Google's own privatized, global network. Users can take advantage of this network to utilize cross-machine computing power, including bandwidth, as well as to access additional services offered through Google's fiber network.

Increased Performance

There are a number of ways that Google's Compute Engine can increase the performance of your network. For example, the proprietary load balancing protocol featured in the Compute Engine gives you the option of delegating incoming traffic to various nodes and instances, thereby allowing you to maintain free bandwidth and CPU power for executing vital operations while still preserving a high level of user accessibility.

System Management

System administrators, operators and managers can also benefit from the built-in tools featured in Google's new Compute Engine. With the option to implement large groups of virtual machines, as well as a bevy of command line and web-based tools at your fingertips, managing an entire network has never been easier.

Security

Security is always a big concern, especially when it comes to new technology. In order to put their potential clients at ease, the developers at Google using a highly complex AES-128-CBC level of encryption to maintain the security and confidentiality of all information that is written to a machine's disk. The Google Compute Engine is also certified to ISO 27001, SSAE-16, SOC 1, SOC 2 and SOC 3 regulations in order to meet the most stringent of industry standards.

Cost Convenience

Another big benefit of using Google's Compute Engine is their convenient payment schedule. By billing their customers by the minute, you'll never have to worry about paying for access or services that you aren't using. While there is a minimum charge of 10 minutes, there is no substantial investment involved to get started with the Compute Engine.