Google LLC today added a set of specialized instance options to its cloud platform that will cater to enterprises with Kubernetes workloads and large installations of software from SAP SE. 

The first addition is Shielded GKE Nodes, a mode that can be enabled on regular instances to make them more secure. It’s based on an existing feature called Shielded VMs. The difference between the two capabilities is that Shielded GKE Nodes is built for Google Cloud’s Kubernetes Engine service, which enables companies to run software containers without manually managing the underlying infrastructure.

The feature provides protection against rootkits and bootkits that work by hijacking a server’s operating system. A Kubernetes node with Shielded GKE Nodes enabled performs multiple security checks every time it boots up to stave off hacking attempts. The instance confirms it’s in fact running on Google Cloud, verifies that none of the operating system components have been tampered with and even checks the order in which those components launch. 

GKE Nodes aims to kill two birds with one stone for Google customers. In addition to making Kubernetes nodes more secure, it can remove the need for certain supplementary security systems that companies have to use in their environments.

“Shopify’s thousands of nodes must each run a proxy to prevent metadata servers from divulging kubelet bootstrap credentials,” said Shane Lawrence, a security engineer with the e-commerce firm. Spotify hosts the bulk of its systems on Google Cloud. “The change allows us to turn off the proxies to save resources, and limiting the capabilities of the bootstrap credentials eliminates an attack vector, so our platform is even more secure.”

Google today also introduced two supersized cloud instances specifically built with SAP applications in mind. The first offers 208 virtual processing cores and 5.8 terabytes of memory, while the other packs twice as many cores with a staggering 11.7 terabytes of memory.

That’s enough hardware for companies to host SAP workloads which would  normally have to be spread out over multiple servers in just a single instance. Consolidating deployments in this way makes maintenance considerably easier for administrators. The new instances will help make Google Cloud more competitive versus Microsoft Corp.’s rival Azure platform, which already provides supersized virtual machines geared toward SAP users. 

Image: Google