Probably Google Cloud is the third most popular provider for cloud infrastructure after AWS and Azure. As its name suggests, Google Cloud is provided by Google. In this article, we will learn how to install WordPress on Google Cloud Compute Engine. Before going into the details, there are few things to look.
SOME TECHNICAL SUGAR
There are a few basic terms we need to learn before we get with the tutorial. The idea behind this is to inform you of all the various products Google Cloud has to offer. Once you develop and interest in something you see, you can start building your own apps in them!
BILLING ACCOUNTS
Each project that you create must be linked to a billing account. Google Cloud allows you the flexibility of having multiple billing accounts – each of which can use a different credit/debit card. The idea behind this is to implement the pay-as-you-go policy of the cloud computing environment.
NOTE 1: You cannot use a prepaid credit/cash card in your billing account. I’ve tried this and my account along with all projects linked it was temporarily blocked. I immediately removed the prepaid card and changed it to a valid credit card. The account was re-enabled after a few working days.
NOTE 2: Google is currently offering a $300 USD trial to anyone who signs-up for Google Cloud. Now you’ve got no excuse to not try Google Cloud haha!
GOOGLE APP ENGINE
Most software is built using a particular language and (optionally) based on a framework. A classic example would be a to-do list app, which is built on JavaScript and based on the jQuery framework. jQuery, as you can guess, is a framework for JavaScript, which is the language.
Similarly, loads of apps are written in popular languages like Python, Java and PHP. Each of these languages requires an initial setup on the host system, in order to run the apps written in that particular language. For example, apps written in Java requires the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to be installed in the target system.
Google App Engine takes care of this very task. It installs and configures these languages in its cloud infrastructure, so you can simply upload your code and get on with the development process. You don’t have to worry about setting up the language or scaling the host system for your app. Google Cloud’s load balancing algorithms automatically take care of it. With Google App Engine, you simply need to select which language you need and deploy your app in it.
GOOGLE COMPUTE ENGINE
Google Compute Engine (GCE) is another name for virtual machines in the cloud. Each VM is treated as an instance of a GCE. VMs can run almost any software you want it to. It offers more flexibility than App Engine and is intended for personalized environments.
GOOGLE API
Google has over 100 APIs for its multitude of products. This cloud feature allows you to access these APIs.
CLOUD STORAGE
As the name suggests, Cloud Storage allows you to save large volumes of unstructured and semi-structured data, called datasets, with high-availability (basically geeky terms for Big Data applications).
BIGQUERY
BigQuery is Google’s own implementation of a language suitable for handling big data. Although this is not even remotely related to our tutorial, it is a fascinating thing to experiment with!
PRE-BUILT SOFTWARE PACKAGES
This is where the fun begins! Forget all those complicated terms. Google has compiled a list of the most popular software, frameworks and languages and offered them as pre-built software packages. Guess what?
Remember we discussed that each of these languages is installed in a virtual machine (or an instance of Compute Engine)? Well, the same holds here as well. When you create or a WordPress software package, you’ll first have to select a virtual machine, its size and region in order to proceed with the installation. The software package is essentially a set of instructions that installs the respective software in a newly created virtual machine.
AND WORDPRESS IS ONE OF THEM!
INSTALL WORDPRESS ON GOOGLE CLOUD
Learning how to install WordPress on Google Cloud is a bit more involved than with other web hosts. However, it’s not as intimidating as it might seem. Let’s jump right in!
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