GCP for DevOps — Cost Optimization
Cost Optimization
Managing cloud costs is a core DevOps responsibility. This chapter covers GCP billing and budgets, resource rightsizing, committed use discounts, cost analysis tools, and automation strategies to optimize spend.
Cost Optimization Pillars
Cost Optimization Pillars:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Visibility │ │ Rightsizing │ │
│ │ • Billing reports │ │ • VM recommender │ │
│ │ • Budgets/alerts │ │ • Idle resources │ │
│ │ • Cost breakdown │ │ • Auto-scaling │ │
│ │ • Labels │ │ • Spot VMs │ │
│ └──────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Commitments │ │ Architecture │ │
│ │ • CUDs (1yr/3yr) │ │ • Serverless │ │
│ │ • Sustained use │ │ • Managed services │ │
│ │ • Flat-rate BQ │ │ • Data lifecycle │ │
│ └──────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
What You Will Learn
- Set up billing accounts, budgets, and alerts
- Use recommenders to rightsize VMs and resources
- Leverage committed use discounts and Spot VMs
- Analyze costs with BigQuery billing export
- Automate cost controls with Cloud Functions
Chapter Contents
| # | Topic | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billing & Budgets | Billing accounts, budgets, alerts |
| 2 | Rightsizing & Recommenders | VM/disk rightsizing, idle cleanup |
| 3 | Discounts & Pricing | CUDs, Spot VMs, sustained use |
| 4 | Cost Analysis & Automation | BigQuery export, automation |
| 5 | Resource Labels & Governance | Labels, asset inventory, enforcement |
| 6 | Practice Exercises | Hands-on cost optimization labs |
Start with → Billing & Budgets
