The latest articles on DEV Community by Alex Nyambura (@lxmwaniky). https://dev.to/lxmwaniky https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3072567%2Fa7e77240-8607-462d-81b5-b737e5501e4c.jpeg https://dev.to/lxmwaniky en Alex Nyambura Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:12:05 +0000 https://dev.to/lxmwaniky/google-cloud-vms-and-networking-1gl https://dev.to/lxmwaniky/google-cloud-vms-and-networking-1gl <p>In Google Cloud, every Virtual Machine (VM) must be connected to a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network. If there’s no VPC, you can’t launch a VM.</p> <h2> Basics </h2> <ol> <li>VPC - A global, isolated virtual network within your GCP project. It spans all regions.</li> <li>Subnets are regional; each region must have its own subnet to launch resources like VMs</li> <li>VMs are always launched inside a subnet, which belongs to a VPC.</li> </ol> <blockquote> <p>Even though subnets are regional, a VPC itself is global. That means VMs in different regions (but within the same VPC) can communicate with each other internally, without needing external IP addresses or a VPN.</p> </blockquote> <h2> Firewall Rules </h2> <ol> <li>Firewall rules in GCP apply at the network level, not the individual VM.</li> <li>Default behaviour: all incoming traffic is denied by default.</li> <li>You must explicitly allow traffic</li> </ol> <p><a href="https://www.cloudskillsboost.google/course_templates/60" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learn More</a></p> googlecloud cloudengineering cloudcomputing vpc