Provisioning a GCP Compute Engine Virtual Machine

Introduction

In this solution, we will provision a Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Compute Engine virtual machine (VM) using Pulumi and TypeScript. Pulumi is an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool that allows you to define and manage cloud resources using familiar programming languages. GCP Compute Engine is a service that provides scalable, high-performance virtual machines for various workloads.

Step-by-Step Explanation

Step 1: Set Up Pulumi and GCP

First, ensure that you have the Pulumi CLI installed and configured. You will also need to set up your GCP project and authenticate using the gcloud CLI.

Step 2: Create a New Pulumi Project

Create a new Pulumi project using TypeScript by running the following commands:

pulumi new typescript

Follow the prompts to set up your project.

Step 3: Install Pulumi GCP Provider

Install the Pulumi GCP provider by running the following command:

npm install @pulumi/gcp

Step 4: Define the GCP Compute Engine VM

In your index.ts file, import the necessary Pulumi and GCP modules and define the Compute Engine VM resource. Specify the required properties such as the machine type, boot disk image, and network configuration.

Step 5: Configure Networking

Ensure that you have a VPC network and a subnet configured for the VM. If not, create them using Pulumi resources.

Step 6: Deploy the VM

Run pulumi up to preview and deploy the changes. Confirm the deployment to create the VM in your GCP project.

Key Points

• Pulumi allows you to define cloud infrastructure using familiar programming languages.
• GCP Compute Engine provides scalable virtual machines for various workloads.
• Ensure that you have the necessary GCP project and authentication set up before deploying resources.
• Use Pulumi’s GCP provider to define and manage GCP resources.
• Follow best practices for network configuration and security when provisioning VMs.

Conclusion

By following this guide, you have successfully provisioned a GCP Compute Engine virtual machine using Pulumi and TypeScript. This approach allows you to leverage the power of Infrastructure as Code to manage your cloud resources efficiently and consistently.

Full Code Example

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as gcp from "@pulumi/gcp";

// Create a VPC network
const network = new gcp.compute.Network("my-network", {
    autoCreateSubnetworks: false,
});

// Create a subnet in the VPC network
const subnetwork = new gcp.compute.Subnetwork("my-subnetwork", {
    network: network.id,
    ipCidrRange: "10.0.0.0/24",
    region: "us-central1",
});

// Create a Compute Engine VM instance
const instance = new gcp.compute.Instance("my-instance", {
    machineType: "f1-micro",
    zone: "us-central1-a",
    bootDisk: {
        initializeParams: {
            image: "debian-cloud/debian-11"
        }
    },
    networkInterfaces: [{
        network: network.id,
        subnetwork: subnetwork.id,
        accessConfigs: [{
            // Ephemeral public IP
        }]
    }]
});

// Export the instance name, zone, and self link
export const instanceName = instance.name;
export const instanceZone = instance.zone;
export const instanceSelfLink = instance.selfLink;