Google cloud network tools check links, firewalls, packet loss

Google has introduced several network monitoring tools to help companies pinpoint problems that could impact applications running on the Google Cloud Platform.

Google launched this week the first four modules of an online console called the Network Intelligence Center. The components for monitoring a Google cloud network include a network topology map, connectivity tests, a performance dashboard, and firewall metrics and insights. The first two are in beta, and the rest are in alpha, which means they are still in the early stages of development.

Here's a brief overview of each module, based on a Google blog post:

-- Google is providing Google Cloud Platform (GCP) subscribers with a graphical view of their network topology. The visualization shows how traffic is flowing between private data centers, load balancers, and applications running on computing environments within GCP. Companies can drill down on each element of the topology map to verify policies or identify and troubleshoot problems. They can also review changes in the network over the last six weeks.

-- The testing module lets companies diagnose problems with network connections within GCP or from GCP to an IP address in a private data center or another cloud provider. Along with checking links, companies can test the impact of network configuration changes to reduce the chance of an outage.

--The performance dashboard provides a current view of packet loss and latency between applications running on virtual machines. Google said the tool would help IT teams determine quickly whether a packet problem is in the network or an app.

--The firewall metrics component offers a view of rules that govern the security software. The module is designed to help companies optimize the use of firewalls in a Google cloud network.

Getting access to the performance dashboard and firewall metrics requires a GCP subscriber to sign up as an alpha customer. Google will incorporate the tools into the Network Intelligence Center once they reach the beta level.