Virtual Private Cloud Networking

Google Cloud Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a global, scalable, and flexible network resource that allows you to build secure and isolated networks within Google Cloud. Here’s an in-depth overview:

Key Features

1. Global Reach:

   • Global VPC: VPCs are global resources, enabling you to connect and manage resources across multiple regions seamlessly.

   • Private Global Connectivity: Instances in different regions can communicate with each other using internal (private) IP addresses.

2. Subnets:

   • Regional Subnets: Subnets are regional resources, meaning they span across all the zones in a region.

   • Automatic or Custom IP Ranges: You can specify IP address ranges for subnets, either manually or by using automatically assigned ranges.

3. Private Access:

   • Private Google Access: Allows instances with only internal IP addresses to reach Google APIs and services.

   • Private Service Connect: Securely connect to Google services and third-party services using private IPs.

4. Flexible IP Addressing:

   • Static and Dynamic IPs: Assign static or dynamic IP addresses to resources.

   • Alias IP Ranges: Assign multiple IP addresses to VM instances for running multiple services.

5. Routing:

   • Custom Routes: Create custom static and dynamic routes to direct traffic based on your network architecture.

   • Peering and Interconnects: Connect VPCs and on-premises networks using VPC Peering and Dedicated Interconnect.

6. Firewall Rules:

   • Network-Level Security: Define and enforce firewall rules to control incoming and outgoing traffic to your instances.

   • Hierarchical Firewalls: Apply firewall rules at different levels of the resource hierarchy (organization, folder, project).

7. Load Balancing:

   • Global Load Balancing: Distribute traffic across multiple regions and instances using Google Cloud Load Balancing.

   • Internal Load Balancing: Distribute traffic within your VPC for internal applications.

8. Shared VPC:

   • Centralized Network Management: Allows multiple projects to share the same VPC, enabling centralized network control and management.

9. VPC Peering:

   • Private Communication: Connect two VPCs privately using internal IP addresses without using public IPs.

   • Intra- and Inter-Organization Peering: Peering can be established within the same organization or across different organizations.

10. Security and Compliance:

    • IAM Integration: Use IAM roles and policies to control access to VPC resources.

    • Flow Logs: Enable VPC Flow Logs to capture and analyze network traffic for security and monitoring.