GCP’s Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): Creating, Configuring & Best Practices

As cloud computing continues to dominate the technology landscape, it has become increasingly important for businesses to deploy cloud-based infrastructure. The virtual private cloud (VPC) is a fundamental component of cloud computing that provides secure and private network access to cloud-based resources.

In this article, we will explore the Google Cloud Platform’s (GCP) Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) service, including its features, pricing, and the benefits of using it.

What is Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)?

The Virtual Private Cloud is an essential component of cloud computing that offers a wide range of benefits for businesses. A VPC provides a secure and isolated environment for cloud-based resources, ensuring that sensitive information and data are protected from unauthorized access. With a VPC, businesses can manage their network infrastructure and resources independently, which helps to improve performance and reduce network latency.

GCP’s Virtual Private Cloud

GCP’s Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a private network that is isolated from the public internet and provides a secure environment to host a company’s computing resources. It enables businesses to create and manage their virtual network, including subnets and IP addresses, to ensure that their resources are secure and isolated from the public internet. GCP’s VPC also offers a broad range of network services, such as load balancing, VPN, and DNS, which makes it easier to build and manage applications on the cloud.

Benefits and Features

The GCP VPC offers several benefits to businesses that are looking to deploy cloud-based resources.

• Designed to be highly available and fault-tolerant, ensuring that businesses can access their resources anytime and anywhere.
• Provides granular access control, enabling businesses to control who can access their resources, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
• Provides flexible and customizable networking solutions. Businesses can choose the best networking options that suit their needs, including the choice of IP address ranges, subnets, and routing options.
• Also provides private connectivity to GCP services, which makes it easier to deploy and manage applications in the cloud.

Example of VPC architecture –

GCP VPC Pricing

The pricing structure for VPC is designed to be straightforward and easy to understand, ensuring that you only pay for what you use.

VPC Network Pricing

The pricing for GCP VPC is based on the usage of VPC networks. The VPC network pricing is charged based on a flat rate per hour, which is billed monthly.

• The rate for VPC networks is $0.04 per hour, or $28.80 per month, per VPC network.
• This pricing includes the cost of using firewall rules, routes, and other features of VPC networking.

Pricing for Network Interconnect and VPN

Network Interconnect and GCP VPN pricing is based on the type of connection you choose. For Network interconnects, the pricing is based on the location of the interconnect, the speed of the connection, and the duration of the connection.

• The pricing starts at $0.10 per hour for a 50 Mbps connection and goes up to $3.00 per hour for a 10 Gbps connection.
• For VPN, the pricing is based on the amount of data transferred, with the rate starting at $0.05 per hour and $0.10 per GB of data transferred.

Data Transfer Pricing

Data transfer pricing for GCP VPC is based on the amount of data transferred and the source and destination of the transfer. The pricing is tiered, with a lower rate for larger volumes of data transfer.

• For transfers within the same region, the pricing starts at $0.01 per GB and it goes up to $0.08 per GB for the first 10 TB, and then drops down to $0.04 per GB for transfers above 150 TB.
• For transfers between regions, the pricing starts at $0.08 per GB and it goes up to $0.16 per GB for the first 10 TB and then drops down to $0.08 per GB for transfers above 150 TB.
• It is important to note that pricing may vary depending on the specific features and services you choose, so it is recommended to review the pricing details carefully before making any decisions.

Users can also use Google’s pricing calculator to get estimates according to their predicted usage.

GCP Private Service Connect Pricing

Google Cloud’s Private Service Connect lets users access managed services privately within their VPC network. It works both ways: consumers can reach services hosted in separate VPC networks, and service providers can offer private connections. This eliminates the need to expose services to the public internet. Consumers use internal IP addresses and all traffic stays within Google Cloud, with granular control over service access.

• Google Cloud’s Private Service Connect pricing depends on your configuration. It’s generally free for basic setups within a region like endpoints, service attachments. Using private service connect endpoint costs around $0.01 per hour.
• Data transfer charges apply when accessing services across regions or using load balancers. Consumers pay for data processing and potentially load balancer fees. Consumer data processing costs between $0.04 – $0.01 per hour depending on the monthly usage
• Service producers typically pay nothing except for potential load-balancing costs on published services. There are additional charges for Service Directory usage and service connection maps deployments (consumer side).

How to create a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) on GCP?

Creating a VPC is relatively simple, users just need to ensure they meet the requirements and can begin creating their VPC.

Requirements for creating a VPC

Before creating a Virtual Private Cloud on Google Cloud Platform, you need to ensure you have met the following requirements:

1. Google Cloud Platform Account: You will need to have a valid GCP account to be able to create a Virtual Private Cloud. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for a free trial account that includes a $300 credit to use for a period of 90 days.
2. Project Creation: To create a Virtual Private Cloud, you need to have a project on Google Cloud Platform. A project is a container for resources such as VPC networks, VM instances, and storage. If you don’t have a project, you will need to create one before creating a Virtual Private Cloud.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a VPC

Follow the steps below to create a Virtual Private Cloud on GCP:

• Go to the Google Cloud Console: To create a Virtual Private Cloud, you will need to access the Google Cloud Console.
• Create a New Project: If you don’t have a project, create one by clicking the “Select a Project” button in the top navigation bar and clicking “New Project”. Fill in the project details and click “Create”.
• Open the VPC Networks Page: On the Cloud Console, click on the “VPC networks” option on the left-hand menu.
  
• Create a New VPC Network: Click on the “Create VPC Network” button at the top of the VPC networks page.
• Name your VPC: Enter a name for your VPC in the “Name” field.
• Configure Subnets: Under “Subnets”, you can create a subnet for each region you want to use. Choose a region and enter a name for the subnet. You can add more subnets by clicking on “Add subnet”.
• Set Private IP Ranges: Configure the private IP address range for the VPC by entering the starting and ending IP addresses.
• Set Up Firewall Rules: Create firewall rules to allow or deny incoming traffic from specified IP addresses.
• Click “Create”: Click the “Create” button to create your new Virtual Private Cloud.

Configuring VPC Networks

Once you have created your Virtual Private Cloud, you can configure it to suit your needs. You can add, modify, or delete subnets, modify firewall rules, and configure VPN and Network Interconnect connections.

To configure your Virtual Private Cloud:

• Go to the Google Cloud Console and click on the “VPC networks” option on the left-hand menu.

• Select the VPC you want to configure and click on “Edit”.
• Modify the VPC configuration as needed.
• Click “Save” to apply your changes.