Google Updates Open Infrastructure Cloud at Google Cloud Next

At the Google Cloud Next 2022 event today, the public cloud provider announced a series of updates to its Open Infrastructure Cloud portfolio of services.

Among the infrastructure cloud updates are new C3 virtual machine instances, which make use of the latest Intel Xeon processors. Google is also demonstrating at the event its new Dual Run services that help organizations move mainframe applications to the cloud. In addition, Google is providing details on how it is expanding its cloud footprint as it adds new regions to deliver cloud services around the world.

"Running in the cloud isn't so simple, and it has been getting more complex every day," Sachin Gupta, vice president and general manager of infrastructure at Google Cloud, said during a press briefing. "The burden of picking the right combinations of infrastructure components from a really large array of choices falls on IT, and at Google Cloud we are removing that burden."

Google Accelerates Performance, Enterprise Computing Workloads in Cloud

One of the key announcements being made at Google Cloud Next is a preview of the C3 compute instance. The C3 uses the latest generation Intel Sapphire Rapids processor, Gupta said. It also integrates with a custom-designed infrastructure processing unit (IPU) that enables 200 gigabits per second of low latency networking.

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"C3 VMs [virtual machines] enable much higher performance workloads, delivering four times the throughput than the previous generation C2 VMs," he said.

Google is also looking to make it easier for enterprises to run VMware-based workloads in the Google Cloud. The Google Cloud VMware engine was first announced in June 2020 as a way to help enterprises migrate existing VMware workloads into Google's cloud. At Google Cloud Next 2022, Gupta said Google is announcing a VMware universal integration capability, which enables enterprise customers to initiate the creation of a new VMware instance in Google Cloud from the VMware console.

Bringing Mainframe Apps to the Cloud with Dual Run

VMware isn't the only enterprise workload Google wants its users to bring to the cloud. Google also wants to help its users migrate mainframe applications with its new Dual Run service.

"Ten years ago it was unimaginable for a company to run legacy mainframe workloads on Google. We have made it a priority to remove roadblocks companies face," Gupta said.

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Dual Run enables parallel processing, so organizations can make a digital copy of their mainframe systems and run it simultaneously on Google Cloud without affecting their core business or negatively impacting the end-user experience, Gupta said. Dual Run will help organizations prove both to themselves and to regulators that their systems are running securely in the cloud before taking any mainframes offline, he added.

Google built the Dual Run service on top of technology that was initially developed by Banco Santander, one of the largest banks in the world.

What's Next for Google Cloud Regions

At the foundation of Google Cloud is its global deployment across regions.

Google Cloud currently operates in 35 regions and 106 availability zones, which bring services closer to wherever end users might be, according to Gupta.

"As our customer base grows, we work hard to scale out our network to meet demand," he said.

This has been a particularly busy year for Google Cloud, opening new regions in Milan, Italy, Paris; Madrid; Columbus, Ohio; and Dallas. At Google Next, Gupta said that Google is further expanding, with new regions in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Norway, South Africa, and Sweden.

"According to research that we commissioned, the new Google Cloud regions that we have announced this year are collectively expected to contribute a cumulative $41.1 billion US dollars to GDP by 2030 and support the creation of more than 320,000 jobs in that year," Gupta said.