Cloud Platform Infrastructure Foundations

Ready to take your first step into cloud computing? This course provides a clear, text-based path to understanding the essential building blocks of modern cloud infrastructure on a major cloud platform. You will move from basic concepts to practical application, learning how to configure and manage core cloud services through clear explanations and written exercises. By the end, you'll have the foundational knowledge to provision virtual machines, set up secure networks, and understand how cloud resources work together to power applications. What you'll learn: - Understand core cloud computing concepts, from regions and zones to billing and IAM. - Configure and manage virtual machines using Compute Engine for various workloads. - Design and implement secure Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) networks and firewall rules. - Learn the fundamentals of object and block storage to manage application data. - Explore the basics of containers and serverless computing with services like Cloud Run. - Grasp the principles of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for repeatable deployments. - Practice core skills using the command-line interface and management console through text-based exercises. The course starts with key terminology and architectural principles, then progresses through practical examples covering compute, storage, and networking services. You'll learn by reading and applying your knowledge directly. This course is designed for absolute beginners. No prior experience with cloud platforms is required to get started. Begin your journey to mastering cloud fundamentals today.