Creating and starting a VM instance

This document explains how to create a virtual machine (VM) instance by using a boot disk image, a boot disk snapshot, or a container image. Some images support Shielded VM features, which offer security features such as UEFI-compliant firmware, Secure Boot, and vTPM-protected Measured Boot. On Shielded VMs, vTPM and integrity monitoring are enabled by default.

While creating your VM, you can create one or more disks for it. You can also add more disks to the VM after it's created. Compute Engine automatically starts the VM instance after you create it.

While creating a VM, you can also add multiple network interfaces. To mitigate your VM's exposure to threats on the internet, you can omit the external IP address when you add a network interface to the instance. In such cases, the VM is accessible only from other VMs in the same VPC network or a linked network unless you configure Cloud NAT.

If you are creating a VM for the first time, see Quickstart using a Linux VM or Quickstart using a Windows Server VM.

For more specific or complicated VM creation, see the following resources:

If you are bringing an existing license, see Bringing your own license with sole-tenant nodes.

Before you begin

  • If you want to use the command-line examples in this guide, do the following:
    1. Install or update to the latest version of the gcloud command-line tool.
    2. Set a default region and zone.
  • If you want to use the API examples in this guide, set up API access.
  • When creating VMs from images or disks by using the gcloud command-line tool or the Compute Engine API, there's a limit of 20 VM instances per second. If you need to create a higher number of VMs per second, request a higher quota limit for the Images resource.

Create a VM instance from an image

This section explains how to create a VM from a public OS image or a custom image. A VM contains a bootloader, a boot file system, and an OS image.

View a list of public images available on Compute Engine

Before you create a VM by using a public image, review the list of public images that are available on Compute Engine.

For more information about the features available with each public image, see Feature support by operating system.

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the Images page.

    Go to Images

gcloud

  1. Run the following command:

    gcloud compute images list

  2. Make a note of the name of the image or image family and the name of the project containing the image.

  3. Optional: To determine whether the image supports Shielded VM features, run the following command:

    gcloud compute images describe IMAGE_NAME \
    --project=IMAGE_PROJECT

    Replace the following:

    • IMAGE_NAME: name of the image to check for support of Shielded VM features
    • IMAGE_PROJECT: project containing the image

    If the image supports Shielded VM features, the following line appears in the output: type: UEFI_COMPATIBLE.

API

  1. Run the following command:

    GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/

  2. Make a note of the name of the image or image family and the name of the project containing the image.

  3. Optional: To determine whether the image supports Shielded VM features, run the following command:

    GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/IMAGE_NAME

    Replace the following:

    • IMAGE_PROJECT: project containing the image
    • IMAGE_NAME: name of the image to check for support of Shielded VM features

    If the image supports Shielded VM features, the following line appears in the output: type: UEFI_COMPATIBLE.

C#

compute/api/Compute.Samples/ListImagesAsync.cs 

using Google.Cloud.Compute.V1;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class ListImagesAsyncSample
{
    public async Task ListImagesAsync(
        // TODO(developer): Set your own default values for these parameters or pass different values when calling this method.
        string projectId = "your-project-id")
    {
        // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
        // once, and can be reused for multiple requests.
        ImagesClient client = await ImagesClient.CreateAsync();

        // Make the request to list all non-deprecated images in a project.
        ListImagesRequest request = new ListImagesRequest
        {
            Project = projectId,
            // Listing only non-deprecated images to reduce the size of the reply.
            Filter = "deprecated.state != DEPRECATED",
            // MaxResults indicates the maximum number of items that will be returned per page.
            MaxResults = 100
        };

        // Although the MaxResults parameter is specified in the request, the sequence returned
        // by the ListAsync() method hides the pagination mechanic. The library makes multiple
        // requests to the API for you, so you can simply iterate over all the images.
        await foreach (var image in client.ListAsync(request))
        {
            // The result is an Image collection.
            Console.WriteLine($"Image: {image.Name}");
        }
    }
}

Go

compute/print_images_list.go 
import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	"google.golang.org/api/iterator"
	computepb "google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/cloud/compute/v1"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
)

// printImagesList prints a list of all non-deprecated image names available in given project.
func printImagesList(w io.Writer, projectID string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	ctx := context.Background()
	imagesClient, err := compute.NewImagesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewImagesRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer imagesClient.Close()

	// Listing only non-deprecated images to reduce the size of the reply.
	req := &computepb.ListImagesRequest{
		Project:    projectID,
		MaxResults: proto.Uint32(3),
		Filter:     proto.String("deprecated.state != DEPRECATED"),
	}

	// Although the `MaxResults` parameter is specified in the request, the iterator returned
	// by the `list()` method hides the pagination mechanic. The library makes multiple
	// requests to the API for you, so you can simply iterate over all the images.
	it := imagesClient.List(ctx, req)
	for {
		image, err := it.Next()
		if err == iterator.Done {
			break
		}
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		fmt.Fprintf(w, "- %s\n", image.GetName())
	}
	return nil
}

Java

compute/cloud-client/src/main/java/compute/ListImages.java 

import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Image;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ImagesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ImagesClient.ListPage;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ListImagesRequest;
import java.io.IOException;
  // Prints a list of all non-deprecated image names available in given project.
  public static void listImages(String project) throws IOException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the `instancesClient.close()` method on the client to
    // safely clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (ImagesClient imagesClient = ImagesClient.create()) {

      // Listing only non-deprecated images to reduce the size of the reply.
      ListImagesRequest imagesRequest = ListImagesRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(project)
          .setMaxResults(100)
          .setFilter("deprecated.state != DEPRECATED")
          .build();

      // Although the `setMaxResults` parameter is specified in the request, the iterable returned
      // by the `list()` method hides the pagination mechanic. The library makes multiple
      // requests to the API for you, so you can simply iterate over all the images.
      int imageCount = 0;
      for (Image image : imagesClient.list(imagesRequest).iterateAll()) {
        imageCount++;
        System.out.println(image.getName());
      }
      System.out.printf("Image count in %s is: %s", project, imageCount);
    }
  }

Node.js

samples/listImages.js 
/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

async function listImages() {
  const imagesClient = new compute.ImagesClient();

  // Listing only non-deprecated images to reduce the size of the reply.
  const images = imagesClient.listAsync({
    project: projectId,
    maxResults: 3,
    filter: 'deprecated.state != DEPRECATED',
  });

  // Although the `maxResults` parameter is specified in the request, the iterable returned
  // by the `listAsync()` method hides the pagination mechanic. The library makes multiple
  // requests to the API for you, so you can simply iterate over all the images.
  for await (const image of images) {
    console.log(` - ${image.name}`);
  }
}

listImages();

PHP

compute/cloud-client/instances/src/list_all_images.php 
use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\ImagesClient;

/**
 * Prints a list of all non-deprecated image names available in given project.
 * Example:
 * ```
 * list_all_images($projectId);
 * ```
 *
 * @param string $projectId Project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to list images from.
 *
 * @throws \Google\ApiCore\ApiException if the remote call fails.
 */
function list_all_images(string $projectId)
{
    $imagesClient = new ImagesClient();
    // Listing only non-deprecated images to reduce the size of the reply.
    $optionalArgs = ['maxResults' => 100, 'filter' => 'deprecated.state != DEPRECATED'];

    /**
     * Although the maxResults parameter is specified in the request, the iterateAllElements() method
     * hides the pagination mechanic. The library makes multiple requests to the API for you,
     * so you can simply iterate over all the images.
     */
    $pagedResponse = $imagesClient->list($projectId, $optionalArgs);
    print('=================== Flat list of images ===================' . PHP_EOL);
    foreach ($pagedResponse->iterateAllElements() as $element) {
        printf(' - %s' . PHP_EOL, $element->getName());
    }
}

Python

samples/snippets/sample_pagination.py 
import google.cloud.compute_v1 as compute_v1

def print_images_list(project: str) -> None:
    """
    Prints a list of all non-deprecated image names available in given project.

    Args:
        project: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to list images from.

    Returns:
        None.
    """
    images_client = compute_v1.ImagesClient()
    # Listing only non-deprecated images to reduce the size of the reply.
    images_list_request = compute_v1.ListImagesRequest(
        project=project, max_results=100, filter="deprecated.state != DEPRECATED"
    )

    # Although the `max_results` parameter is specified in the request, the iterable returned
    # by the `list()` method hides the pagination mechanic. The library makes multiple
    # requests to the API for you, so you can simply iterate over all the images.
    for img in images_client.list(request=images_list_request):
        print(f" -  {img.name}")

Ruby

google-cloud-compute-v1/samples/pagination.rb 

require "google/cloud/compute/v1"

# Prints a list of all non-deprecated image names available in given project.
#
# @param [String] project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to list images from.
def print_images_list project:
  client = ::Google::Cloud::Compute::V1::Images::Rest::Client.new

  # Make the request to list all non-deprecated images in a project.
  request = {
    project: project,
    # max_results indicates the maximum number of items that will be returned per page.
    max_results: 100,
    # Listing only non-deprecated images to reduce the size of the reply.
    filter: "deprecated.state != DEPRECATED"
  }

  # Although the `max_results` parameter is specified in the request, the iterable returned
  # by the `list` method hides the pagination mechanic. The library makes multiple
  # requests to the API for you, so you can simply iterate over all the images.
  client.list(request).each do |image|
    puts " - #{image.name}"
  end
end

Create a VM instance from a public image

Google, open source communities, and third-party vendors provide and maintain public OS images. By default, all Google Cloud projects can create VMs from public OS images. However, if your Cloud project has a defined list of trusted images, you can use only the images on that list to create a VM.

If you create a Shielded VM image with a local SSD, you can't shield data with integrity monitoring or the virtual platform trusted module (vTPM).

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. Select your project and click Continue.

  3. Click Create instance.

  4. Specify a Name for your VM. For more information, see Resource naming convention.

  5. Optional: Change the Zone for this VM. Compute Engine randomizes the list of zones within each region to encourage use across multiple zones.

  6. Select a Machine configuration for your VM.

  7. In the Boot disk section, click Change, and then do the following:

    1. On the Public images tab, choose the following:
      • Operating system
      • OS version
      • Boot disk type
      • Boot disk size
    2. Optional: For advanced configuration options, click Show advanced configuration.
    3. To confirm your boot disk options, click Select.

  8. In the Firewall section, to permit HTTP or HTTPS traffic to the VM, select Allow HTTP traffic or Allow HTTPS traffic. When you select one of these, Compute Engine adds a network tag to your VM, which associates the firewall rule with the VM. Then, Compute Engine creates the corresponding ingress firewall rule that allows all incoming traffic on tcp:80 (HTTP) or tcp:443 (HTTPS).

  9. Optional: If you chose an OS image that supports Shielded VM features, you can modify the Shielded VM settings. To modify shielded VM settings, expand the Security section in the Networking, disks, security, management, sole tenancy section and do the following, as required:

  10. To create and start the VM, click Create.

gcloud

  1. Select a public image. Make a note of the name of the image or image family and the name of the project containing the image.

  2. Use the gcloud compute instances create command to create a VM from an image family or from a specific version of an OS image.

    If you specify the optional --shielded-secure-boot flag, Compute Engine creates a VM with all three of the Shielded VM features enabled:

    After Compute Engine starts your VM, you must stop the VM to modify Shielded VM options.

    gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME \
    [--image=IMAGE | --image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY] \
    --image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT
    --machine-type=MACHINE_TYPE

    Replace the following:

    • VM_NAME: name of the new VM

    • IMAGE or IMAGE_FAMILY: specify one of the following:

      • IMAGE: a specific version of a public image

        For example, --image=debian-10-buster-v20200309.

      • IMAGE_FAMILY: an image family.

        This creates the VM from the most recent, non-deprecated OS image. For example, if you specify --image-family=debian-10, Compute Engine creates a VM from the latest version of the OS image in the Debian 10 image family.

    • IMAGE_PROJECT: project containing the image

    • MACHINE_TYPE: machine type, predefined or custom, for the new VM

      To get a list of the machine types available in a zone, use the gcloud compute machine-types list command with the --zones flag.

  3. Verify that Compute Engine created the VM:

    gcloud compute instances describe VM_NAME

    Replace VM_NAME with the name of the VM.

API

  1. Select a public image. Make a note of the name of the image or image family and the name of the project containing the image.

  2. Use the instances.insert method to create a VM from an image family or from a specific version of an OS image:

    POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances

{
 "machineType": "zones/MACHINE_TYPE_ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
 "name": "VM_NAME",
 "disks": [
   {
     "initializeParams": {
       "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/IMAGE"
     },
     "boot": true
   }
 ],
 "shieldedInstanceConfig": {
   "enableSecureBoot": ENABLE_SECURE_BOOT
 }
}

    Replace the following:

    • PROJECT_ID: ID of the project to create the VM in
    • ZONE: zone to create the VM in
    • MACHINE_TYPE_ZONE: zone containing the machine type to use for the new VM
    • MACHINE_TYPE: machine type, predefined or custom, for the new VM
    • VM_NAME: name of the new VM

    • IMAGE_PROJECT: project containing the image

      For example, if you specify debian-10 as the image family, specify debian-cloud as the image project.

    • IMAGE or IMAGE_FAMILY: specify one of the following:

      • IMAGE: a specific version of a public image

        For example, "sourceImage": "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/debian-10-buster-v20200309"

      • IMAGE_FAMILY: an image family

        This creates the VM from the most recent, non-deprecated OS image. For example, if you specify "sourceImage": "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10", Compute Engine creates a VM from the latest version of the OS image in the Debian 10 image family.

    • ENABLE_SECURE_BOOT: Optional: If you chose an image that supports Shielded VM features, Compute Engine, by default, enables the virtual trusted platform module (vTPM) and integrity monitoring. Compute Engine does not enable Secure Boot by default.

      If you specify true for enableSecureBoot, Compute Engine creates a VM with all three Shielded VM features enabled. After Compute Engine starts your VM, to modify Shielded VM options, you must stop the VM.

C#

compute/api/Compute.Samples/CreateInstanceAsync.cs 

using Google.Cloud.Compute.V1;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class CreateInstanceAsyncSample
{
    public async Task CreateInstanceAsync(
        // TODO(developer): Set your own default values for these parameters or pass different values when calling this method.
        string projectId = "your-project-id",
        string zone = "us-central1-a",
        string machineName = "test-machine",
        string machineType = "n1-standard-1",
        string diskImage = "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10",
        long diskSizeGb = 10,
        string networkName = "default")
    {
        Instance instance = new Instance
        {
            Name = machineName,
            // See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/machine-types for more information on machine types.
            MachineType = $"zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machineType}",
            // Instance creation requires at least one persistent disk.
            Disks =
            {
                new AttachedDisk
                {
                    AutoDelete = true,
                    Boot = true,
                    Type = ComputeEnumConstants.AttachedDisk.Type.Persistent,
                    InitializeParams = new AttachedDiskInitializeParams 
                    {
                        // See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images for more information on available images.
                        SourceImage = diskImage,
                        DiskSizeGb = diskSizeGb
                    }
                }
            },
            NetworkInterfaces = { new NetworkInterface { Name = networkName } }
        };

        // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
        // once, and can be reused for multiple requests.
        InstancesClient client = await InstancesClient.CreateAsync();

        // Insert the instance in the specified project and zone.
        var instanceCreation = await client.InsertAsync(projectId, zone, instance);

        // Wait for the operation to complete using client-side polling.
        // The server-side operation is not affected by polling,
        // and might finish successfully even if polling times out.
        await instanceCreation.PollUntilCompletedAsync();
    }
}

Go

compute/create_instance.go 
import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/cloud/compute/v1"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
)

// createInstance sends an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and waits for it to complete.
func createInstance(w io.Writer, projectID, zone, instanceName, machineType, sourceImage, networkName string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
	// machineType := "n1-standard-1"
	// sourceImage := "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10"
	// networkName := "global/networks/default"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instancesClient, err := compute.NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstancesRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer instancesClient.Close()

	req := &computepb.InsertInstanceRequest{
		Project: projectID,
		Zone:    zone,
		InstanceResource: &computepb.Instance{
			Name: proto.String(instanceName),
			Disks: []*computepb.AttachedDisk{
				{
					InitializeParams: &computepb.AttachedDiskInitializeParams{
						DiskSizeGb:  proto.Int64(10),
						SourceImage: proto.String(sourceImage),
					},
					AutoDelete: proto.Bool(true),
					Boot:       proto.Bool(true),
					Type:       proto.String(computepb.AttachedDisk_PERSISTENT.String()),
				},
			},
			MachineType: proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/machineTypes/%s", zone, machineType)),
			NetworkInterfaces: []*computepb.NetworkInterface{
				{
					Name: proto.String(networkName),
				},
			},
		},
	}

	op, err := instancesClient.Insert(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create instance: %v", err)
	}

	zoneOperationsClient, err := compute.NewZoneOperationsRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewZoneOperationsRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer zoneOperationsClient.Close()

	for {
		waitReq := &computepb.WaitZoneOperationRequest{
			Operation: op.Proto().GetName(),
			Project:   projectID,
			Zone:      zone,
		}
		zoneOp, err := zoneOperationsClient.Wait(ctx, waitReq)
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %v", err)
		}

		if *zoneOp.Status.Enum() == computepb.Operation_DONE {
			fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance created\n")
			break
		}
	}

	return nil
}

Java

compute/cloud-client/src/main/java/compute/CreateInstance.java 

import com.google.api.gax.longrunning.OperationFuture;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.Type;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class CreateInstance {

  public static void main(String[] args)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String project = "your-project-id";
    String zone = "zone-name";
    String instanceName = "instance-name";
    createInstance(project, zone, instanceName);
  }


  // Create a new instance with the provided "instanceName" value in the specified project and zone.
  public static void createInstance(String project, String zone, String instanceName)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    // Below are sample values that can be replaced.
    // machineType: machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the format zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}. For a list of machine types, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/machine-types
    // sourceImage: path to the operating system image to mount. For details about images you can mount, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images
    // diskSizeGb: storage size of the boot disk to attach to the instance.
    // networkName: network interface to associate with the instance.
    String machineType = String.format("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone);
    String sourceImage = String
        .format("projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/%s", "debian-10");
    long diskSizeGb = 10L;
    String networkName = "default";

    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the `instancesClient.close()` method on the client to safely
    // clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create()) {
      // Instance creation requires at least one persistent disk and one network interface.
      AttachedDisk disk =
          AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
              .setBoot(true)
              .setAutoDelete(true)
              .setType(Type.PERSISTENT.toString())
              .setDeviceName("disk-1")
              .setInitializeParams(
                  AttachedDiskInitializeParams.newBuilder().setSourceImage(sourceImage)
                      .setDiskSizeGb(diskSizeGb).build())
              .build();

      // Use the network interface provided in the networkName argument.
      NetworkInterface networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder().setName(networkName)
          .build();

      // Bind `instanceName`, `machineType`, `disk`, and `networkInterface` to an instance.
      Instance instanceResource =
          Instance.newBuilder()
              .setName(instanceName)
              .setMachineType(machineType)
              .addDisks(disk)
              .addNetworkInterfaces(networkInterface)
              .build();

      System.out.printf("Creating instance: %s at %s %n", instanceName, zone);

      // Insert the instance in the specified project and zone.
      InsertInstanceRequest insertInstanceRequest = InsertInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(project)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstanceResource(instanceResource).build();

      OperationFuture<Operation, Operation> operation = instancesClient.insertAsync(
          insertInstanceRequest);

      // Wait for the operation to complete.
      Operation response = operation.get();

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance creation failed ! ! " + response);
        return;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

samples/createInstance.js 
/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const zone = 'europe-central2-b'
// const instanceName = 'YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME'
// const machineType = 'n1-standard-1';
// const sourceImage = 'projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10';
// const networkName = 'global/networks/default';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Create a new instance with the values provided above in the specified project and zone.
async function createInstance() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();

  console.log(`Creating the ${instanceName} instance in ${zone}...`);

  const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
    instanceResource: {
      name: instanceName,
      disks: [
        {
          // Describe the size and source image of the boot disk to attach to the instance.
          initializeParams: {
            diskSizeGb: '10',
            sourceImage,
          },
          autoDelete: true,
          boot: true,
          type: 'PERSISTENT',
        },
      ],
      machineType: `zones/${zone}/machineTypes/${machineType}`,
      networkInterfaces: [
        {
          // Use the network interface provided in the networkName argument.
          name: networkName,
        },
      ],
    },
    project: projectId,
    zone,
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // Wait for the create operation to complete.
  while (operation.status !== 'DONE') {
    [operation] = await operationsClient.wait({
      operation: operation.name,
      project: projectId,
      zone: operation.zone.split('/').pop(),
    });
  }

  console.log('Instance created.');
}

createInstance();

PHP

compute/cloud-client/instances/src/create_instance.php 
use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\InstancesClient;
use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\AttachedDisk;
use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\AttachedDiskInitializeParams;
use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\Instance;
use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\NetworkInterface;

/**
 * To correctly handle string enums in Cloud Compute library
 * use constants defined in the Enums subfolder.
 */
use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\Enums\AttachedDisk\Type;

/**
 * Creates an instance in the specified project and zone.
 * Example:
 * ```
 * create_instance($projectId, $zone, $instanceName);
 * ```
 *
 * @param string $projectId Project ID of the Cloud project to create the instance in.
 * @param string $zone Zone to create the instance in (like "us-central1-a").
 * @param string $instanceName Unique name for this Compute Engine instance.
 * @param string $machineType Machine type of the instance being created.
 * @param string $sourceImage Boot disk image name or family.
 * @param string $networkName Network interface to associate with the instance.
 *
 * @throws \Google\ApiCore\ApiException if the remote call fails.
 * @throws \Google\ApiCore\ValidationException if local error occurs before remote call.
 */
function create_instance(
    string $projectId,
    string $zone,
    string $instanceName,
    string $machineType = 'n1-standard-1',
    string $sourceImage = 'projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10',
    string $networkName = 'global/networks/default'
) {
    // Set the machine type using the specified zone.
    $machineTypeFullName = sprintf('zones/%s/machineTypes/%s', $zone, $machineType);

    // Describe the source image of the boot disk to attach to the instance.
    $diskInitializeParams = (new AttachedDiskInitializeParams())
        ->setSourceImage($sourceImage);
    $disk = (new AttachedDisk())
        ->setBoot(true)
        ->setAutoDelete(true)
        ->setType(Type::PERSISTENT)
        ->setInitializeParams($diskInitializeParams);

    // Use the network interface provided in the $networkName argument.
    $network = (new NetworkInterface())
        ->setName($networkName);

    // Create the Instance object.
    $instance = (new Instance())
        ->setName($instanceName)
        ->setDisks([$disk])
        ->setMachineType($machineTypeFullName)
        ->setNetworkInterfaces([$network]);

    // Insert the new Compute Engine instance using InstancesClient.
    $instancesClient = new InstancesClient();
    $operation = $instancesClient->insert($instance, $projectId, $zone);

    // Wait for the operation to complete.
    $operation->pollUntilComplete();
    if ($operation->operationSucceeded()) {
        printf('Created instance %s' . PHP_EOL, $instanceName);
    } else {
        $error = $operation->getError();
        printf('Instance creation failed: %s' . PHP_EOL, $error->getMessage());
    }
}

Python

samples/snippets/quickstart.py 
import re
import sys

import typing

import google.cloud.compute_v1 as compute_v1

def create_instance(
    project_id: str,
    zone: str,
    instance_name: str,
    machine_type: str = "n1-standard-1",
    source_image: str = "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10",
    network_name: str = "global/networks/default",
) -> compute_v1.Instance:
    """
    Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone you want to use. For example: “us-west3-b”
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine.
        machine_type: machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the
            following format: "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
            For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
        source_image: path to the operating system image to mount on your boot
            disk. This can be one of the public images
            (like "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10")
            or a private image you have access to.
        network_name: name of the network you want the new instance to use.
            For example: "global/networks/default" represents the `default`
            network interface, which is created automatically for each project.
    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    instance_client = compute_v1.InstancesClient()
    operation_client = compute_v1.ZoneOperationsClient()

    # Describe the size and source image of the boot disk to attach to the instance.
    disk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
    initialize_params = compute_v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams()
    initialize_params.source_image = (
        source_image  # "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10"
    )
    initialize_params.disk_size_gb = 10
    disk.initialize_params = initialize_params
    disk.auto_delete = True
    disk.boot = True
    disk.type_ = "PERSISTENT"

    # Use the network interface provided in the network_name argument.
    network_interface = compute_v1.NetworkInterface()
    network_interface.name = network_name

    # Collect information into the Instance object.
    instance = compute_v1.Instance()
    instance.name = instance_name
    instance.disks = [disk]
    if re.match(r"^zones/[a-z\d\-]+/machineTypes/[a-z\d\-]+$", machine_type):
        instance.machine_type = machine_type
    else:
        instance.machine_type = f"zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machine_type}"
    instance.network_interfaces = [network_interface]

    # Prepare the request to insert an instance.
    request = compute_v1.InsertInstanceRequest()
    request.zone = zone
    request.project = project_id
    request.instance_resource = instance

    # Wait for the create operation to complete.
    print(f"Creating the {instance_name} instance in {zone}...")
    operation = instance_client.insert_unary(request=request)
    while operation.status != compute_v1.Operation.Status.DONE:
        operation = operation_client.wait(
            operation=operation.name, zone=zone, project=project_id
        )
    if operation.error:
        print("Error during creation:", operation.error, file=sys.stderr)
    if operation.warnings:
        print("Warning during creation:", operation.warnings, file=sys.stderr)
    print(f"Instance {instance_name} created.")
    return instance

Ruby

google-cloud-compute-v1/samples/quickstart.rb 

require "google/cloud/compute/v1"

# Sends an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and waits for it to complete.
#
# @param [String] project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
# @param [String] zone name of the zone you want to use. For example: "us-west3-b"
# @param [String] instance_name name of the new virtual machine.
# @param [String] machine_type machine type of the VM being created. For example: "e2-standard-2"
#         See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/machine-types for more information
#         on machine types.
# @param [String] source_image path to the operating system image to mount on your boot
#         disk. This can be one of the public images
#         (like "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10")
#         or a private image you have access to.
#         See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images for more information on available images.
# @param [String] network_name name of the network you want the new instance to use.
#         For example: "global/networks/default" represents the `default`
#         network interface, which is created automatically for each project.
def create_instance project:, zone:, instance_name:,
                    machine_type: "n2-standard-2",
                    source_image: "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10",
                    network_name: "global/networks/default"
  # Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
  # once, and can be reused for multiple requests.
  client = ::Google::Cloud::Compute::V1::Instances::Rest::Client.new

  # Construct the instance object.
  # It can be either a hash or ::Google::Cloud::Compute::V1::Instance instance.
  instance = {
    name: instance_name,
    machine_type: "zones/#{zone}/machineTypes/#{machine_type}",
    # Instance creation requires at least one persistent disk.
    disks: [{
      auto_delete: true,
      boot: true,
      type: :PERSISTENT,
      initialize_params: {
        source_image: source_image,
        disk_size_gb: 10
      }
    }],
    network_interfaces: [{ name: network_name }]
  }

  # Prepare a request to create the instance in the specified project and zone.
  request = { project: project, zone: zone, instance_resource: instance }

  puts "Creating the #{instance_name} instance in #{zone}..."
  begin
    # Send the insert request.
    operation = client.insert request
    # Wait for the create operation to complete.
    operation = wait_until_done operation: operation.operation, project: project

    if operation.error.nil?
      warn "Warning during creation:", operation.warnings unless operation.warnings.empty?
      puts "Instance #{instance_name} created."
    else
      warn "Error during creation:", operation.error
    end
  rescue ::Google::Cloud::Error => e
    warn "Exception during creation:", e
  end
end

Create a VM from a custom image

A custom image belongs only to your project. To create a VM with a custom image, you must first create a custom image if you don't already have one.

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. Select your project and click Continue.

  3. Click Create instance.

  4. Specify a Name for your VM. For more information, see Resource naming convention.

  5. Optional: Change the Zone for this VM. Compute Engine randomizes the list of zones within each region to encourage use across multiple zones.

  6. Select a Machine configuration for your VM.

  7. In the Boot disk section, click Change, and then do the following:

    1. Select the Custom Images tab.
    2. To select the image project, click Select a project, and then do the following:
      1. Select the project that contains the image.
      2. Click Open.
    3. In the Image list, click the image that you want to import.
    4. Select the type and size of your boot disk.
    5. Optional: For advanced configuration options, click Show advanced configuration.
    6. To confirm your boot disk options, click Select.

  8. In the Firewall section, to permit HTTP or HTTPS traffic to the VM, select Allow HTTP traffic or Allow HTTPS traffic.

    The Cloud Console adds a network tag to your VM and creates the corresponding ingress firewall rule that allows all incoming traffic on tcp:80 (HTTP) or tcp:443 (HTTPS). The network tag associates the firewall rule with the VM. For more information, see Firewall rules overview in the Virtual Private Cloud documentation.

  9. To create and start the VM, click Create.

gcloud

Run the gcloud compute instances create command to create a VM with a custom image:

gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME \
    --image-project IMAGE_PROJECT \
    [--image IMAGE | --image-family IMAGE_FAMILY]

Replace the following:

  • VM_NAME: name of the VM
  • IMAGE_PROJECT: name of the project that contains the image
  • IMAGE or IMAGE_FAMILY: specify one of the following:
    • IMAGE: name of your custom image

      For example, --image=my-debian-image-v2.

    • IMAGE_FAMILY: if you created your custom images as part of a custom image family, specify that custom image family.

      This creates the VM from the most recent, non-deprecated OS image and OS version in your custom image family. For example, if you specify --image-family=my-debian-family, Compute Engine creates a VM from the latest OS image in your custom my-debian-family image family.

API

The process for creating a VM with a custom image in the API is the same as if you were creating a VM with a publicly available image.

To create the VM from a custom image, use the instances.insert method.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances

{
 "machineType": "zones/MACHINE_TYPE_ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
 "name": "VM_NAME",
 "disks": [
   {
     "initializeParams": {
       "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/IMAGE"
     },
     "boot": true
   }
 ],
 .....
}

Replace the following:

  • PROJECT_ID: ID of the project to create the VM in
  • ZONE: zone to create the VM in
  • MACHINE_TYPE_ZONE: zone containing the machine type to use for the new VM
  • MACHINE_TYPE: machine type, predefined or custom, for the new VM
  • VM_NAME: name of the new VM
  • IMAGE_PROJECT: name of the project that contains the custom image

  • IMAGE or IMAGE_FAMILY: specify one of the following:

    • IMAGE: name of your custom image

      For example, "sourceImage": "projects/my-project-1234/global/images/my-debian-image-v2".

    • IMAGE_FAMILY: if you created your custom images as part of a custom image family, specify that custom image family.

      This creates the VM from the most recent, non-deprecated OS image in your custom image family. For example, if you specify "sourceImage": "projects/my-project-1234/global/images/family/my-debian-family", Compute Engine creates a VM from the latest version of the OS image in the custom my-debian-family image family.

Go

compute/create_instance.go 
import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/cloud/compute/v1"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
)

// createInstance sends an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and waits for it to complete.
func createInstance(w io.Writer, projectID, zone, instanceName, machineType, sourceImage, networkName string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
	// machineType := "n1-standard-1"
	// sourceImage := "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-10"
	// networkName := "global/networks/default"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instancesClient, err := compute.NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstancesRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer instancesClient.Close()

	req := &computepb.InsertInstanceRequest{
		Project: projectID,
		Zone:    zone,
		InstanceResource: &computepb.Instance{
			Name: proto.String(instanceName),
			Disks: []*computepb.AttachedDisk{
				{
					InitializeParams: &computepb.AttachedDiskInitializeParams{
						DiskSizeGb:  proto.Int64(10),
						SourceImage: proto.String(sourceImage),
					},
					AutoDelete: proto.Bool(true),
					Boot:       proto.Bool(true),
					Type:       proto.String(computepb.AttachedDisk_PERSISTENT.String()),
				},
			},
			MachineType: proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/machineTypes/%s", zone, machineType)),
			NetworkInterfaces: []*computepb.NetworkInterface{
				{
					Name: proto.String(networkName),
				},
			},
		},
	}

	op, err := instancesClient.Insert(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create instance: %v", err)
	}

	zoneOperationsClient, err := compute.NewZoneOperationsRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewZoneOperationsRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer zoneOperationsClient.Close()

	for {
		waitReq := &computepb.WaitZoneOperationRequest{
			Operation: op.Proto().GetName(),
			Project:   projectID,
			Zone:      zone,
		}
		zoneOp, err := zoneOperationsClient.Wait(ctx, waitReq)
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %v", err)
		}

		if *zoneOp.Status.Enum() == computepb.Operation_DONE {
			fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance created\n")
			break
		}
	}

	return nil
}

Java

compute/cloud-client/src/main/java/compute/CreateInstancesAdvanced.java 

import com.google.api.gax.longrunning.OperationFuture;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.Type;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Image;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ImagesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Vector;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class CreateInstancesAdvanced {

  /**
   * Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses an image as the source
   * for the new disk.
   *
   * @param diskType the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)". For example:
   * "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
   * @param diskSizeGb size of the new disk in gigabytes
   * @param boot boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an
   * instance
   * @param sourceImage source image to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to
   * this disk. This can be one of the publicly available images or an image from one of your
   * projects. This value uses the following format:
   * "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"
   * @return AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified image.
   */
  private static AttachedDisk diskFromImage(String diskType, int diskSizeGb, boolean boot,
      String sourceImage) {
    AttachedDisk disk =
        AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
            .setBoot(boot)
            // Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when
            // you delete your VM instance.
            .setAutoDelete(true)
            .setType(Type.PERSISTENT.toString())
            .setInitializeParams(
                AttachedDiskInitializeParams.newBuilder()
                    .setSourceImage(sourceImage)
                    .setDiskSizeGb(diskSizeGb)
                    .setDiskType(diskType)
                    .build())
            .build();
    return disk;
  }


  /**
   * Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.
   *
   * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
   * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
   * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
   * @param disks a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks you want to attach
   * to your new instance.
   * @param machineType machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
   * For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
   * @param network name of the network you want the new instance to use. For example:
   * "global/networks/default" represents the network named "default", which is created
   * automatically for each project.
   * @param subnetwork name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use. This value uses the
   * following format: "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
   * @return Instance object.
   */
  private static Instance createWithDisks(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
      Vector<AttachedDisk> disks, String machineType, String network, String subnetwork)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create()) {
      // Use the network interface provided in the networkName argument.
      NetworkInterface networkInterface;
      if (subnetwork != null) {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).setSubnetwork(subnetwork)
            .build();
      } else {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).build();
      }

      machineType = String.format("zones/%s/machineTypes/%s", zone, machineType);

      // Bind `instanceName`, `machineType`, `disk`, and `networkInterface` to an instance.
      Instance instanceResource =
          Instance.newBuilder()
              .setName(instanceName)
              .setMachineType(machineType)
              .addAllDisks(disks)
              .addNetworkInterfaces(networkInterface)
              .build();

      System.out.printf("Creating instance: %s at %s ", instanceName, zone);

      // Insert the instance in the specified project and zone.
      InsertInstanceRequest insertInstanceRequest = InsertInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(project)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstanceResource(instanceResource).build();

      OperationFuture<Operation, Operation> operation = instancesClient.insertAsync(
          insertInstanceRequest);

      // Wait for the operation to complete.
      Operation response = operation.get();

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance creation failed ! ! " + response);
        return null;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());

      return instancesClient.get(project, zone, instanceName);
    }
  }

  /**
   * Create a new VM instance with custom image used as its boot disk.
   *
   * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
   * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
   * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
   * @param customImage link to the custom image you want to use in the form of:
   * "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"
   * @return Instance object.
   */
  public static Instance createFromCustomImage(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
      String customImage)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    String diskType = String.format("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone);
    Vector<AttachedDisk> disks = new Vector<>();
    disks.add(diskFromImage(diskType, 10, true, customImage));
    return createWithDisks(project, zone, instanceName, disks, "n1-standard-1",
        "global/networks/default", null);
  }

Node.js

samples/instances/create-start-instance/createInstanceFromCustomImage.js 
/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const zone = 'europe-central2-b';
// const instanceName = 'YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME';
// const customImageLink = 'projects/YOUR_PROJECT/global/images/YOUR_IMAGE_NAME';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Creates a new VM instance with custom image used as its boot disk.
async function createInstanceFromSnapshot() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();

  const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    instanceResource: {
      name: instanceName,
      disks: [
        {
          initializeParams: {
            diskSizeGb: '10',
            sourceImage: customImageLink,
            diskType: `zones/${zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard`,
          },
          autoDelete: true,
          boot: true,
          type: 'PERSISTENT',
        },
      ],
      machineType: `zones/${zone}/machineTypes/n1-standard-1`,
      networkInterfaces: [
        {
          name: 'global/networks/default',
        },
      ],
    },
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // Wait for the create operation to complete.
  while (operation.status !== 'DONE') {
    [operation] = await operationsClient.wait({
      operation: operation.name,
      project: projectId,
      zone: operation.zone.split('/').pop(),
    });
  }

  console.log('Instance created.');
}

createInstanceFromSnapshot();

Python

samples/snippets/sample_create_vm.py 
from google.cloud import compute_v1


def disk_from_image(
    disk_type: str, disk_size_gb: int, boot: bool, source_image: str
) -> compute_v1.AttachedDisk:
    """
    Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses an image as the
    source for the new disk.

    Args:
         disk_type: the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
            "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)".
            For example: "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
        disk_size_gb: size of the new disk in gigabytes
        boot: boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an instance
        source_image: source image to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to this disk. This can be one
            of the publicly available images or an image from one of your projects.
            This value uses the following format: "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"

    Returns:
        AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified image.
    """
    boot_disk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
    initialize_params = compute_v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams()
    initialize_params.source_image = source_image
    initialize_params.disk_size_gb = disk_size_gb
    initialize_params.disk_type = disk_type
    boot_disk.initialize_params = initialize_params
    # Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when you delete
    # your VM instance.
    boot_disk.auto_delete = True
    boot_disk.boot = boot
    return boot_disk


def create_with_disks(
    project_id: str,
    zone: str,
    instance_name: str,
    disks: List[compute_v1.AttachedDisk],
    machine_type: str = "n1-standard-1",
    network_link: str = "global/networks/default",
    subnetwork_link: str = None,
) -> compute_v1.Instance:
    """
    Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        machine_type: machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the
            following format: "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
            For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
        disks: a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks
            you want to attach to your new instance.
        network_link: name of the network you want the new instance to use.
            For example: "global/networks/default" represents the network
            named "default", which is created automatically for each project.
        subnetwork_link: name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use.
            This value uses the following format:
            "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    instance_client = compute_v1.InstancesClient()
    operation_client = compute_v1.ZoneOperationsClient()

    # Use the network interface provided in the network_link argument.
    network_interface = compute_v1.NetworkInterface()
    network_interface.name = network_link
    if subnetwork_link:
        network_interface.subnetwork = subnetwork_link

    # Collect information into the Instance object.
    instance = compute_v1.Instance()
    instance.name = instance_name
    instance.disks = disks
    if re.match(r"^zones/[a-z\d\-]+/machineTypes/[a-z\d\-]+$", machine_type):
        instance.machine_type = machine_type
    else:
        instance.machine_type = f"zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machine_type}"
    instance.network_interfaces = [network_interface]

    # Shielded Instance settings
    # Values presented here are the defaults.
    # instance.shielded_instance_config = compute_v1.ShieldedInstanceConfig()
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_secure_boot = False
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_vtpm = True
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_integrity_monitoring = True

    # Prepare the request to insert an instance.
    request = compute_v1.InsertInstanceRequest()
    request.zone = zone
    request.project = project_id
    request.instance_resource = instance

    # Wait for the create operation to complete.
    print(f"Creating the {instance_name} instance in {zone}...")

    operation = instance_client.insert_unary(request=request)
    while operation.status != compute_v1.Operation.Status.DONE:
        operation = operation_client.wait(
            operation=operation.name, zone=zone, project=project_id
        )
    if operation.error:
        print("Error during creation:", operation.error, file=sys.stderr)
    if operation.warnings:
        print("Warning during creation:", operation.warnings, file=sys.stderr)
    print(f"Instance {instance_name} created.")
    return instance


def create_from_custom_image(
    project_id: str, zone: str, instance_name: str, custom_image_link: str
):
    """
    Create a new VM instance with custom image used as its boot disk.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        custom_image_link: link to the custom image you want to use in the form of:
            "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"

    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    disk_type = f"zones/{zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard"
    disks = [disk_from_image(disk_type, 10, True, custom_image_link)]
    instance = create_with_disks(project_id, zone, instance_name, disks)
    return instance

Create a VM instance with additional non-boot disks

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. Select your project and click Continue.

  3. Click Create instance.

  4. Specify a Name for your VM. For more information, see Resource naming convention.

  5. Optional: Change the Zone for this VM. Compute Engine randomizes the list of zones within each region to encourage use across multiple zones.

  6. Select a Machine configuration for your VM.

  7. In the Boot disk section, click Change, and then do the following:

    1. In the Public images tab, choose the following:
      • Operating system
      • OS version
      • Boot disk type
      • Boot disk size
    2. Optional: For advanced configuration options, click Show advanced configuration.
    3. To confirm your boot disk options, click Select.

  8. In the Firewall section, to permit HTTP or HTTPS traffic to the VM, select Allow HTTP traffic or Allow HTTPS traffic. When you select one of these, Compute Engine adds a network tag to your VM, which associates the firewall rule with the VM. Then, Compute Engine creates the corresponding ingress firewall rule that allows all incoming traffic on tcp:80 (HTTP) or tcp:443 (HTTPS).

  9. To add non-boot disks to your VM, expand the Networking, disks, security, management, sole tenancy section, and then do the following:

    1. Expand the Disks section.
    2. Click Add new disk, and then do the following:
      1. Specify a disk Name, Type, Source type, and Size.
      2. In the Attachment settings section, select disk's attachment Mode and the Deletion rule. For more information about adding new disks, see Creating and attaching a disk.
      3. Click Save.

  10. To create and start the VM, click Create.

gcloud

Run the gcloud compute instances create command to create a VM with additional non-boot disks.

You can add up to 128 non-boot disks while you're creating your VM. Specify the --create-disk flag for each non-boot disk you create.

To create non-boot disks from a public or stock image, specify the image or image-family and image-project properties with the --create-disk flag. To create a blank disk, don't include these properties. You can optionally include properties for the disk size and type.

gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME \
    [--image=IMAGE | --image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY] \
    --image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT \
    --create-disk [image=DISK_IMAGE | image-family=DISK_IMAGE_FAMILY ],image-project=DISK_IMAGE_PROJECT,size=SIZE_GB,type=DISK_TYPE

Replace the following:

  • VM_NAME: name of the new VM

  • IMAGE or IMAGE_FAMILY. Specify one of the following:

    • IMAGE: a specific version of a public image

      For example, --image=debian-10-buster-v20200309.

    • IMAGE_FAMILY: an image family

      This creates the VM from the most recent, non-deprecated OS image. For example, if you specify --image-family=debian-10, Compute Engine creates a VM from the latest version of the OS image in the Debian 10 image family.

  • IMAGE_PROJECT: project containing the image

  • For additional disks, replace the following:

    • DISK_IMAGE or DISK_IMAGE_FAMILY: Specify one of the following:
      • DISK_IMAGE: name of the image that you want to use as a non-boot disk
      • DISK_IMAGE_FAMILY: an image family to use as a non-boot disk
    • DISK_IMAGE_PROJECT: an image project to which the disk image belongs
    • SIZE_GB: Optional: size of the non-boot disk

    • DISK_TYPE: Optional: full or partial URL for the type of the persistent disk

      For example, https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd. To view the available disk types, run the gcloud compute disk-types list command.

    For blank disks, don't specify the DISK_IMAGE, DISK_IMAGE_FAMILY, or DISK_IMAGE_PROJECT parameters.

API

You can create up to 128 non-boot disks at the time you create a VM by using the initializeParams property for each additional disk. Create additional disks with a public or private image. To add a blank disk, define the initializeParams entry with no sourceImage value.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances

{
 "machineType": "zones/MACHINE_TYPE_ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
 "name": "VM_NAME",
 "disks": [
   {
     "initializeParams": {
       "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/IMAGE"
     },
     "boot": true
   },
   {
     "initializeParams": {
       "diskSizeGb": "SIZE_GB",
       "sourceImage": "projects/DISK_IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/DISK_IMAGE",
       "diskType": "DISK_TYPE"
   },
   {
     "initializeParams": {
     "diskSizeGb": "SIZE_GB",
     "diskType": "DISK_TYPE"
   }
    }...]

Replace the following:

  • PROJECT_ID: ID of the project to create the VM in
  • ZONE: zone to create the VM in
  • MACHINE_TYPE_ZONE: zone containing the machine type to use for the new VM
  • MACHINE_TYPE: machine type, predefined or custom, for the new VM
  • VM_NAME: name of the new VM
  • IMAGE_PROJECT: name of the project that contains the custom image

  • IMAGE or IMAGE_FAMILY: specify one of the following:

    • IMAGE: name of your custom image

      For example, "sourceImage": "projects/my-project-1234/global/images/my-debian-image-v2".

    • IMAGE_FAMILY: if you created your custom images as part of a custom image family, specify that custom image family.

      This creates the VM from the most recent, non-deprecated OS image OS version in your custom image family. For example, if you specify "sourceImage": "projects/my-project-1234/global/images/family/my-debian-family", Compute Engine creates a VM from the latest version of the OS image in the custom my-debian-family image family.

  • For additional disks, replace the following:

    • SIZE_GB: disk size

    • DISK_IMAGE or DISK_IMAGE_FAMILY: Specify either a source image or image family for the non-boot disk:

      • DISK_IMAGE: name of the image that you want to use as a non-boot disk

        For example, "sourceImage": "projects/DISK_IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/DISK_IMAGE".

      • DISK_IMAGE_FAMILY: an image family to use as a non-boot disk

        For example, "sourceImage": "projects/DISK_IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/family/DISK_IMAGE_FAMILY".

    • DISK_TYPE: full or partial URL for the type of the persistent disk

    For example, https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd.

    For blank disks, don't specify the DISK_IMAGE, DISK_IMAGE_FAMILY, or DISK_IMAGE_PROJECT parameters.

Go

compute/instances/create-start-instance/create_instance_with_additional_disk.go 
import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/cloud/compute/v1"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
)

// createWithAdditionalDisk create a new VM instance with Debian 10 operating system and a 11 GB additional empty disk.
func createWithAdditionalDisk(w io.Writer, projectID, zone, instanceName string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instancesClient, err := compute.NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstancesRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer instancesClient.Close()

	imagesClient, err := compute.NewImagesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewImagesRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer imagesClient.Close()

	// List of public operating system (OS) images: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details.
	newestDebianReq := &computepb.GetFromFamilyImageRequest{
		Project: "debian-cloud",
		Family:  "debian-10",
	}
	newestDebian, err := imagesClient.GetFromFamily(ctx, newestDebianReq)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to get image from family: %v", err)
	}

	req := &computepb.InsertInstanceRequest{
		Project: projectID,
		Zone:    zone,
		InstanceResource: &computepb.Instance{
			Name: proto.String(instanceName),
			Disks: []*computepb.AttachedDisk{
				{
					InitializeParams: &computepb.AttachedDiskInitializeParams{
						DiskSizeGb:  proto.Int64(10),
						SourceImage: newestDebian.SelfLink,
						DiskType:    proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone)),
					},
					AutoDelete: proto.Bool(true),
					Boot:       proto.Bool(true),
					Type:       proto.String(computepb.AttachedDisk_PERSISTENT.String()),
				},
				{
					InitializeParams: &computepb.AttachedDiskInitializeParams{
						DiskSizeGb: proto.Int64(11),
						DiskType:   proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone)),
					},
					AutoDelete: proto.Bool(true),
					Boot:       proto.Bool(false),
					Type:       proto.String(computepb.AttachedDisk_PERSISTENT.String()),
				},
			},
			MachineType: proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone)),
			NetworkInterfaces: []*computepb.NetworkInterface{
				{
					Name: proto.String("global/networks/default"),
				},
			},
		},
	}

	op, err := instancesClient.Insert(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create instance: %v", err)
	}

	zoneOperationsClient, err := compute.NewZoneOperationsRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewZoneOperationsRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer zoneOperationsClient.Close()

	for {
		waitReq := &computepb.WaitZoneOperationRequest{
			Operation: op.Proto().GetName(),
			Project:   projectID,
			Zone:      zone,
		}
		zoneOp, err := zoneOperationsClient.Wait(ctx, waitReq)
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %v", err)
		}

		if *zoneOp.Status.Enum() == computepb.Operation_DONE {
			fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance created\n")
			break
		}
	}

	return nil
}

Java

compute/cloud-client/src/main/java/compute/CreateInstancesAdvanced.java 

import com.google.api.gax.longrunning.OperationFuture;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.Type;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Image;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ImagesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Vector;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class CreateInstancesAdvanced {

  /**
   * Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses an image as the source
   * for the new disk.
   *
   * @param diskType the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)". For example:
   * "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
   * @param diskSizeGb size of the new disk in gigabytes
   * @param boot boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an
   * instance
   * @param sourceImage source image to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to
   * this disk. This can be one of the publicly available images or an image from one of your
   * projects. This value uses the following format:
   * "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"
   * @return AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified image.
   */
  private static AttachedDisk diskFromImage(String diskType, int diskSizeGb, boolean boot,
      String sourceImage) {
    AttachedDisk disk =
        AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
            .setBoot(boot)
            // Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when
            // you delete your VM instance.
            .setAutoDelete(true)
            .setType(Type.PERSISTENT.toString())
            .setInitializeParams(
                AttachedDiskInitializeParams.newBuilder()
                    .setSourceImage(sourceImage)
                    .setDiskSizeGb(diskSizeGb)
                    .setDiskType(diskType)
                    .build())
            .build();
    return disk;
  }


  /**
   * Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. The created disk contains no
   * data and requires formatting before it can be used.
   *
   * @param diskType the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)". For example:
   * "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
   * @param diskSizeGb size of the new disk in gigabytes
   * @return AttachedDisk object configured to be created as an empty disk.
   */
  private static AttachedDisk emptyDisk(String diskType, int diskSizeGb) {
    AttachedDisk disk =
        AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
            .setBoot(false)
            // Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when
            // you delete your VM instance.
            .setAutoDelete(true)
            .setType(Type.PERSISTENT.toString())
            .setInitializeParams(
                AttachedDiskInitializeParams.newBuilder()
                    .setDiskSizeGb(diskSizeGb)
                    .setDiskType(diskType)
                    .build())
            .build();
    return disk;
  }

  /**
   * Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.
   *
   * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
   * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
   * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
   * @param disks a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks you want to attach
   * to your new instance.
   * @param machineType machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
   * For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
   * @param network name of the network you want the new instance to use. For example:
   * "global/networks/default" represents the network named "default", which is created
   * automatically for each project.
   * @param subnetwork name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use. This value uses the
   * following format: "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
   * @return Instance object.
   */
  private static Instance createWithDisks(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
      Vector<AttachedDisk> disks, String machineType, String network, String subnetwork)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create()) {
      // Use the network interface provided in the networkName argument.
      NetworkInterface networkInterface;
      if (subnetwork != null) {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).setSubnetwork(subnetwork)
            .build();
      } else {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).build();
      }

      machineType = String.format("zones/%s/machineTypes/%s", zone, machineType);

      // Bind `instanceName`, `machineType`, `disk`, and `networkInterface` to an instance.
      Instance instanceResource =
          Instance.newBuilder()
              .setName(instanceName)
              .setMachineType(machineType)
              .addAllDisks(disks)
              .addNetworkInterfaces(networkInterface)
              .build();

      System.out.printf("Creating instance: %s at %s ", instanceName, zone);

      // Insert the instance in the specified project and zone.
      InsertInstanceRequest insertInstanceRequest = InsertInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(project)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstanceResource(instanceResource).build();

      OperationFuture<Operation, Operation> operation = instancesClient.insertAsync(
          insertInstanceRequest);

      // Wait for the operation to complete.
      Operation response = operation.get();

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance creation failed ! ! " + response);
        return null;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());

      return instancesClient.get(project, zone, instanceName);
    }
  }

  /**
   * Create a new VM instance with Debian 10 operating system and a 11 GB additional empty disk.
   *
   * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
   * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
   * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
   * @return Instance object.
   */
  public static Instance createWithAdditionalDisk(String project, String zone, String instanceName)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    try (ImagesClient imagesClient = ImagesClient.create()) {
      // List of public operating system (OS) images: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details
      Image image = imagesClient.getFromFamily("debian-cloud", "debian-10");
      String diskType = String.format("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone);
      Vector<AttachedDisk> disks = new Vector<>();
      disks.add(diskFromImage(diskType, 10, true, image.getSelfLink()));
      disks.add(emptyDisk(diskType, 11));
      return createWithDisks(project, zone, instanceName, disks, "n1-standard-1",
          "global/networks/default", null);
    }
  }

Node.js

samples/instances/create-start-instance/createInstanceWithAdditionalDisk.js 
/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const zone = 'europe-central2-b';
// const instanceName = 'YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Create a new VM instance with Debian 10 operating system and a 11 GB additional empty disk.
async function createWithAdditionalDisk() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();
  const imagesClient = new compute.ImagesClient();

  // List of public operating system (OS) images: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details.
  const [newestDebian] = await imagesClient.getFromFamily({
    project: 'debian-cloud',
    family: 'debian-10',
  });

  const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    instanceResource: {
      name: instanceName,
      disks: [
        {
          initializeParams: {
            diskSizeGb: '10',
            sourceImage: newestDebian.selfLink,
            diskType: `zones/${zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard`,
          },
          autoDelete: true,
          boot: true,
          type: 'PERSISTENT',
        },
        {
          initializeParams: {
            diskSizeGb: '11',
            diskType: `zones/${zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard`,
          },
          autoDelete: true,
          boot: false,
          type: 'PERSISTENT',
        },
      ],
      machineType: `zones/${zone}/machineTypes/n1-standard-1`,
      networkInterfaces: [
        {
          name: 'global/networks/default',
        },
      ],
    },
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // Wait for the create operation to complete.
  while (operation.status !== 'DONE') {
    [operation] = await operationsClient.wait({
      operation: operation.name,
      project: projectId,
      zone: operation.zone.split('/').pop(),
    });
  }

  console.log('Instance created.');
}

createWithAdditionalDisk();

Python

samples/snippets/sample_create_vm.py 
from google.cloud import compute_v1


def disk_from_image(
    disk_type: str, disk_size_gb: int, boot: bool, source_image: str
) -> compute_v1.AttachedDisk:
    """
    Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses an image as the
    source for the new disk.

    Args:
         disk_type: the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
            "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)".
            For example: "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
        disk_size_gb: size of the new disk in gigabytes
        boot: boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an instance
        source_image: source image to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to this disk. This can be one
            of the publicly available images or an image from one of your projects.
            This value uses the following format: "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"

    Returns:
        AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified image.
    """
    boot_disk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
    initialize_params = compute_v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams()
    initialize_params.source_image = source_image
    initialize_params.disk_size_gb = disk_size_gb
    initialize_params.disk_type = disk_type
    boot_disk.initialize_params = initialize_params
    # Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when you delete
    # your VM instance.
    boot_disk.auto_delete = True
    boot_disk.boot = boot
    return boot_disk


def empty_disk(disk_type: str, disk_size_gb: int) -> compute_v1.AttachedDisk():
    """
    Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. The created disk contains
    no data and requires formatting before it can be used.

    Args:
         disk_type: the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
            "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)".
            For example: "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
        disk_size_gb: size of the new disk in gigabytes

    Returns:
        AttachedDisk object configured to be created as an empty disk.
    """
    disk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
    initialize_params = compute_v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams()
    initialize_params.disk_type = disk_type
    initialize_params.disk_size_gb = disk_size_gb
    disk.initialize_params = initialize_params
    # Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when you delete
    # your VM instance.
    disk.auto_delete = True
    disk.boot = False
    return disk


def create_with_disks(
    project_id: str,
    zone: str,
    instance_name: str,
    disks: List[compute_v1.AttachedDisk],
    machine_type: str = "n1-standard-1",
    network_link: str = "global/networks/default",
    subnetwork_link: str = None,
) -> compute_v1.Instance:
    """
    Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        machine_type: machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the
            following format: "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
            For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
        disks: a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks
            you want to attach to your new instance.
        network_link: name of the network you want the new instance to use.
            For example: "global/networks/default" represents the network
            named "default", which is created automatically for each project.
        subnetwork_link: name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use.
            This value uses the following format:
            "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    instance_client = compute_v1.InstancesClient()
    operation_client = compute_v1.ZoneOperationsClient()

    # Use the network interface provided in the network_link argument.
    network_interface = compute_v1.NetworkInterface()
    network_interface.name = network_link
    if subnetwork_link:
        network_interface.subnetwork = subnetwork_link

    # Collect information into the Instance object.
    instance = compute_v1.Instance()
    instance.name = instance_name
    instance.disks = disks
    if re.match(r"^zones/[a-z\d\-]+/machineTypes/[a-z\d\-]+$", machine_type):
        instance.machine_type = machine_type
    else:
        instance.machine_type = f"zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machine_type}"
    instance.network_interfaces = [network_interface]

    # Shielded Instance settings
    # Values presented here are the defaults.
    # instance.shielded_instance_config = compute_v1.ShieldedInstanceConfig()
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_secure_boot = False
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_vtpm = True
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_integrity_monitoring = True

    # Prepare the request to insert an instance.
    request = compute_v1.InsertInstanceRequest()
    request.zone = zone
    request.project = project_id
    request.instance_resource = instance

    # Wait for the create operation to complete.
    print(f"Creating the {instance_name} instance in {zone}...")

    operation = instance_client.insert_unary(request=request)
    while operation.status != compute_v1.Operation.Status.DONE:
        operation = operation_client.wait(
            operation=operation.name, zone=zone, project=project_id
        )
    if operation.error:
        print("Error during creation:", operation.error, file=sys.stderr)
    if operation.warnings:
        print("Warning during creation:", operation.warnings, file=sys.stderr)
    print(f"Instance {instance_name} created.")
    return instance


def create_with_additional_disk(project_id: str, zone: str, instance_name: str):
    """
    Create a new VM instance with Debian 10 operating system and a 11 GB additional
    empty disk.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.

    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    image_client = compute_v1.ImagesClient()
    # List of public operating system (OS) images: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details
    newest_debian = image_client.get_from_family(
        project="debian-cloud", family="debian-10"
    )
    disk_type = f"zones/{zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard"
    disks = [
        disk_from_image(disk_type, 10, True, newest_debian.self_link),
        empty_disk(disk_type, 11),
    ]
    instance = create_with_disks(project_id, zone, instance_name, disks)
    return instance

Format and mount the disks before using them.

Create a VM instance from a shared image

If another user has shared an image with you, you can use the image to create a VM.

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the Create an instance page.

    Go to Create an instance

  2. Specify a Name for your VM. For more information, see Resource naming convention.
  3. Optional: Change the Zone for this VM. Compute Engine randomizes the list of zones within each region to encourage use across multiple zones.
  4. Select a Machine configuration for your VM.
  5. In the Boot disk section, click Change to configure your boot disk, and then do the following:
    1. Select the Custom Images tab.
    2. To select the image project, click Select a project, and then do the following:
      1. Select the project that contains the image.
      2. Click Open.
    3. In the Image list, click the image that you want to import.
    4. Select the type and size of your boot disk.
    5. To confirm your boot disk options, click Select.

  6. To permit HTTP or HTTPS traffic to the VM, in the Firewall section, select Allow HTTP traffic or Allow HTTPS traffic.

    The Cloud Console adds a network tag to your VM and creates the corresponding ingress firewall rule that allows all incoming traffic on tcp:80 (HTTP) or tcp:443 (HTTPS). The network tag associates the firewall rule with the VM. For more information, see Firewall rules overview in the Virtual Private Cloud documentation.

  7. To start and create a VM, click Create.

gcloud

Create a VM by using the gcloud compute instances create command, and use the --image and --image-project flags to specify the image name and the project where the image resides: 

 gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME \
        --image=IMAGE \
        --image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT

Replace the following:

  • VM_NAME: name for the new VM
  • IMAGE: name of the image
  • IMAGE_PROJECT: project to which the image belongs

If the command is successful, gcloud responds with the properties of the new VM: 

    Created [https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/myproject/zones/us-central1-b/instances/example-instance].
    NAME                 ZONE           MACHINE_TYPE   PREEMPTIBLE  INTERNAL_IP  EXTERNAL_IP    STATUS
    example-instance     us-central1-b  e2-standard-2               10.240.0.4   104.198.53.60  RUNNING

API

Follow the API instructions to create a VM from a public image, but specify the image field in the request body. To add blank disks, don't specify an image source. You can optionally specify the diskSizeGb, diskType, and labels properties. 

    [...
    image: "projects/PROJECT_ID/global/images/IMAGE_NAME
    {
     "initializeParams": {
        "diskSizeGb": "SIZE_GB",
        "sourceImage": "IMAGE"
           }
     }
     ...]

Replace the following:

  • PROJECT_ID: project containing the image
  • IMAGE_NAME: source image
  • SIZE_GB: disk size
  • IMAGE: source image for the non-boot disk

    • For blank disks, don't specify an image source.

Create a VM instance from a snapshot

If you backed up a boot persistent disk with a snapshot, you can use that snapshot to create a VM.

To quickly create more than one VM with the same boot disk, create a custom image and, then create VMs from that image rather than from the snapshot.

Create a VM instance boot disk from a snapshot

You can restore a snapshot of a boot disk to a new boot disk when you create a VM.

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. Select your project and click Continue.

  3. Click Create instance.

  4. Specify a Name for your VM. For more information, see Resource naming convention.

  5. Optional: Change the Zone for this VM. Compute Engine randomizes the list of zones within each region to encourage use across multiple zones.

  6. Select a Machine configuration for your VM.

  7. In the Boot disk section, click Change, and then do the following:

    1. Click the Snapshots tab.
    2. In the Snapshot list, click a snapshot.
    3. Specify the boot disk type and size.
    4. Optional: For advanced configuration options, click Show advanced configurations.
    5. To confirm your boot disk options, click Select.

  8. In the Firewall section, to permit HTTP or HTTPS traffic to the VM, select Allow HTTP traffic or Allow HTTPS traffic.

    The Cloud Console adds a network tag to your VM and creates the corresponding ingress firewall rule that allows all incoming traffic on tcp:80 (HTTP) or tcp:443 (HTTPS). The network tag associates the firewall rule with the VM. For more information, see Firewall rules overview in the Virtual Private Cloud documentation.

  9. To create and start the VM, click Create.

gcloud

Use the gcloud compute instances create command and include the --source-snapshot flag:

gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME \
    --source-snapshot=BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME \
    --boot-disk-size=BOOT_DISK_SIZE \
    --boot-disk-type=BOOT_DISK_TYPE \
    --boot-disk-device-name=BOOT_DISK_NAME

Replace the following:

  • VM_NAME: name for the new VM
  • BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME: name of the boot disk snapshot that you want to restore to the boot disk of the new VM.

  • BOOT_DISK_SIZE: Optional: size, in gigabytes, of the new boot disk

    The size must be equal to or larger than the size of the source disk from which the snapshot was made.

  • BOOT_DISK_TYPE: Optional: type of the boot persistent disk

    For example, pd-ssd.

  • BOOT_DISK_NAME: name of the new boot disk for this VM

API

When you use the API to create a VM from a snapshot, the following restrictions apply:

  • Only one persistent disk can be used as the boot persistent disk.
  • You must attach the boot persistent disk as the first disk for that VM.

  • If you specify the source property, you cannot also specify the initializeParams property. Providing a source indicates that the boot persistent disk exists already, but the initializeParams property indicates that Compute Engine should create a new boot persistent disk.

    To create a VM from a boot disk snapshot, specify the sourceSnapshot field under the disks property. Optional: specify the diskSizeGb and diskType properties for the new boot disk:

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances
{
  "name": "VM_NAME",
  "machineType": "machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE"
  "networkInterfaces": [{
    "accessConfigs": [{
      "type": "ONE_TO_ONE_NAT",
      "name": "External NAT"
    }],
    "network": "global/networks/default"
  }],
  "disks": [{
     "boot": true,
     "initializeParams": {
       "sourceSnapshot": "global/snapshots/BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME",
       "diskSizeGb": "BOOT_DISK_SIZE",
       "diskType": "BOOT_DISK_TYPE"
    }
   }],
 }

Replace the following:

  • PROJECT_ID: your project ID
  • ZONE: zone where you want to create the new VM
  • VM_NAME: name of the VM that you want to restore a snapshot to
  • MACHINE_TYPE: machine type of the VM
  • BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME: name of the snapshot that you want to use to create the boot disk of a new VM

  • BOOT_DISK_SIZE: Optional: size, in gigabytes, for the new boot disk

    The size must be equal to or larger than the size of the source disk from which the snapshot was made.

  • BOOT_DISK_TYPE: Optional: type of the boot disk

    For example, pd-ssd.

Go

compute/instances/create-start-instance/create_instance_from_snapshot.go 
import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/cloud/compute/v1"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
)

// createInstanceFromSnapshot creates a new VM instance with boot disk created from a snapshot.
func createInstanceFromSnapshot(w io.Writer, projectID, zone, instanceName, snapshotLink string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
	// snapshotLink := "projects/project_name/global/snapshots/snapshot_name"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instancesClient, err := compute.NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstancesRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer instancesClient.Close()

	req := &computepb.InsertInstanceRequest{
		Project: projectID,
		Zone:    zone,
		InstanceResource: &computepb.Instance{
			Name: proto.String(instanceName),
			Disks: []*computepb.AttachedDisk{
				{
					InitializeParams: &computepb.AttachedDiskInitializeParams{
						DiskSizeGb:     proto.Int64(11),
						SourceSnapshot: proto.String(snapshotLink),
						DiskType:       proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone)),
					},
					AutoDelete: proto.Bool(true),
					Boot:       proto.Bool(true),
					Type:       proto.String(computepb.AttachedDisk_PERSISTENT.String()),
				},
			},
			MachineType: proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone)),
			NetworkInterfaces: []*computepb.NetworkInterface{
				{
					Name: proto.String("global/networks/default"),
				},
			},
		},
	}

	op, err := instancesClient.Insert(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create instance: %v", err)
	}

	zoneOperationsClient, err := compute.NewZoneOperationsRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewZoneOperationsRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer zoneOperationsClient.Close()

	for {
		waitReq := &computepb.WaitZoneOperationRequest{
			Operation: op.Proto().GetName(),
			Project:   projectID,
			Zone:      zone,
		}
		zoneOp, err := zoneOperationsClient.Wait(ctx, waitReq)
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %v", err)
		}

		if *zoneOp.Status.Enum() == computepb.Operation_DONE {
			fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance created\n")
			break
		}
	}

	return nil
}

Java

compute/cloud-client/src/main/java/compute/CreateInstancesAdvanced.java 

import com.google.api.gax.longrunning.OperationFuture;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.Type;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Image;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ImagesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Vector;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class CreateInstancesAdvanced {

  /**
   * @param diskType the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)". For example:
   * "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
   * @param diskSizeGb size of the new disk in gigabytes
   * @param boot boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an
   * instance
   * @param diskSnapshot disk snapshot to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to
   * this disk. This value uses the following format:
   * "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_name}"
   * @return AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified snapshot.
   */
  private static AttachedDisk diskFromSnapshot(String diskType, int diskSizeGb, boolean boot,
      String diskSnapshot) {
    AttachedDisk disk =
        AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
            .setBoot(boot)
            // Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when
            // you delete your VM instance.
            .setAutoDelete(true)
            .setType(Type.PERSISTENT.toString())
            .setInitializeParams(
                AttachedDiskInitializeParams.newBuilder()
                    .setSourceSnapshot(diskSnapshot)
                    .setDiskSizeGb(diskSizeGb)
                    .setDiskType(diskType)
                    .build())
            .build();
    return disk;
  }


  /**
   * Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.
   *
   * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
   * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
   * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
   * @param disks a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks you want to attach
   * to your new instance.
   * @param machineType machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
   * For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
   * @param network name of the network you want the new instance to use. For example:
   * "global/networks/default" represents the network named "default", which is created
   * automatically for each project.
   * @param subnetwork name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use. This value uses the
   * following format: "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
   * @return Instance object.
   */
  private static Instance createWithDisks(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
      Vector<AttachedDisk> disks, String machineType, String network, String subnetwork)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create()) {
      // Use the network interface provided in the networkName argument.
      NetworkInterface networkInterface;
      if (subnetwork != null) {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).setSubnetwork(subnetwork)
            .build();
      } else {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).build();
      }

      machineType = String.format("zones/%s/machineTypes/%s", zone, machineType);

      // Bind `instanceName`, `machineType`, `disk`, and `networkInterface` to an instance.
      Instance instanceResource =
          Instance.newBuilder()
              .setName(instanceName)
              .setMachineType(machineType)
              .addAllDisks(disks)
              .addNetworkInterfaces(networkInterface)
              .build();

      System.out.printf("Creating instance: %s at %s ", instanceName, zone);

      // Insert the instance in the specified project and zone.
      InsertInstanceRequest insertInstanceRequest = InsertInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(project)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstanceResource(instanceResource).build();

      OperationFuture<Operation, Operation> operation = instancesClient.insertAsync(
          insertInstanceRequest);

      // Wait for the operation to complete.
      Operation response = operation.get();

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance creation failed ! ! " + response);
        return null;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());

      return instancesClient.get(project, zone, instanceName);
    }
  }

  /**
   * Create a new VM instance with boot disk created from a snapshot.
   *
   * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
   * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
   * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
   * @param snapshotName link to the snapshot you want to use as the source of your boot disk in the
   * form of: "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_name}"
   * @return Instance object.
   */
  public static Instance createFromSnapshot(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
      String snapshotName)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    String diskType = String.format("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone);
    Vector<AttachedDisk> disks = new Vector<>();
    disks.add(diskFromSnapshot(diskType, 11, true, snapshotName));
    return createWithDisks(project, zone, instanceName, disks, "n1-standard-1",
        "global/networks/default", null);
  }

Node.js

samples/instances/create-start-instance/createInstanceFromSnapshot.js 
/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const zone = 'europe-central2-b';
// const instanceName = 'YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME';
// const snapshotLink = 'projects/YOUR_PROJECT/global/snapshots/YOUR_SNAPSHOT_NAME';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Creates a new VM instance with boot disk created from a snapshot.
async function createInstanceFromSnapshot() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();

  const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    instanceResource: {
      name: instanceName,
      disks: [
        {
          initializeParams: {
            diskSizeGb: '11',
            sourceSnapshot: snapshotLink,
            diskType: `zones/${zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard`,
          },
          autoDelete: true,
          boot: true,
          type: 'PERSISTENT',
        },
      ],
      machineType: `zones/${zone}/machineTypes/n1-standard-1`,
      networkInterfaces: [
        {
          name: 'global/networks/default',
        },
      ],
    },
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // Wait for the create operation to complete.
  while (operation.status !== 'DONE') {
    [operation] = await operationsClient.wait({
      operation: operation.name,
      project: projectId,
      zone: operation.zone.split('/').pop(),
    });
  }

  console.log('Instance created.');
}

createInstanceFromSnapshot();

Python

samples/snippets/sample_create_vm.py 
from google.cloud import compute_v1


def disk_from_snapshot(
    disk_type: str, disk_size_gb: int, boot: bool, disk_snapshot: str
) -> compute_v1.AttachedDisk():
    """
    Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses a disk snapshot as the
    source for the new disk.

    Args:
         disk_type: the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
            "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)".
            For example: "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
        disk_size_gb: size of the new disk in gigabytes
        boot: boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an instance
        disk_snapshot: disk snapshot to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to this disk.
            This value uses the following format: "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_name}"

    Returns:
        AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified snapshot.
    """
    disk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
    initialize_params = compute_v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams()
    initialize_params.source_snapshot = disk_snapshot
    initialize_params.disk_type = disk_type
    initialize_params.disk_size_gb = disk_size_gb
    disk.initialize_params = initialize_params
    # Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when you delete
    # your VM instance.
    disk.auto_delete = True
    disk.boot = boot
    return disk


def create_with_disks(
    project_id: str,
    zone: str,
    instance_name: str,
    disks: List[compute_v1.AttachedDisk],
    machine_type: str = "n1-standard-1",
    network_link: str = "global/networks/default",
    subnetwork_link: str = None,
) -> compute_v1.Instance:
    """
    Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        machine_type: machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the
            following format: "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
            For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
        disks: a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks
            you want to attach to your new instance.
        network_link: name of the network you want the new instance to use.
            For example: "global/networks/default" represents the network
            named "default", which is created automatically for each project.
        subnetwork_link: name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use.
            This value uses the following format:
            "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    instance_client = compute_v1.InstancesClient()
    operation_client = compute_v1.ZoneOperationsClient()

    # Use the network interface provided in the network_link argument.
    network_interface = compute_v1.NetworkInterface()
    network_interface.name = network_link
    if subnetwork_link:
        network_interface.subnetwork = subnetwork_link

    # Collect information into the Instance object.
    instance = compute_v1.Instance()
    instance.name = instance_name
    instance.disks = disks
    if re.match(r"^zones/[a-z\d\-]+/machineTypes/[a-z\d\-]+$", machine_type):
        instance.machine_type = machine_type
    else:
        instance.machine_type = f"zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machine_type}"
    instance.network_interfaces = [network_interface]

    # Shielded Instance settings
    # Values presented here are the defaults.
    # instance.shielded_instance_config = compute_v1.ShieldedInstanceConfig()
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_secure_boot = False
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_vtpm = True
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_integrity_monitoring = True

    # Prepare the request to insert an instance.
    request = compute_v1.InsertInstanceRequest()
    request.zone = zone
    request.project = project_id
    request.instance_resource = instance

    # Wait for the create operation to complete.
    print(f"Creating the {instance_name} instance in {zone}...")

    operation = instance_client.insert_unary(request=request)
    while operation.status != compute_v1.Operation.Status.DONE:
        operation = operation_client.wait(
            operation=operation.name, zone=zone, project=project_id
        )
    if operation.error:
        print("Error during creation:", operation.error, file=sys.stderr)
    if operation.warnings:
        print("Warning during creation:", operation.warnings, file=sys.stderr)
    print(f"Instance {instance_name} created.")
    return instance


def create_from_snapshot(
    project_id: str, zone: str, instance_name: str, snapshot_link: str
):
    """
    Create a new VM instance with boot disk created from a snapshot.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        snapshot_link: link to the snapshot you want to use as the source of your
            boot disk in the form of: "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_name}"

    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    disk_type = f"zones/{zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard"
    disks = [disk_from_snapshot(disk_type, 11, True, snapshot_link)]
    instance = create_with_disks(project_id, zone, instance_name, disks)
    return instance

Restore non-boot snapshots to a new VM instance

Non-boot snapshots are backups of secondary persistent disks that your VM uses only for data storage. You can restore non-boot snapshots to new disks whenever you create a VM. Alternatively, you can also restore non-boot snapshots to an existing VM.

To restore non-boot snapshots to a new VM, follow these additional steps when you create a VM.

Console

When restoring non-boot snapshots to a new VM from the console, first create a disk from each snapshot. Then, attach the new disks when you create the VM.

  1. Restore each non-boot snapshot to a new disk.

    1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the Disks page.

      Go to Disks

    2. Click Create disk.

    3. Specify a Name for your disk. For more information, see Resource naming convention.

    4. Select the Region and Zone for this disk. The disk and VM must be in the same zone.

    5. Select a disk Type.

    6. Under Source type, select Snapshot.

    7. Under the new Source snapshot field, select a non-boot snapshot that you want to restore to the new disk.

    8. To create the disk, click Create.

    Repeat these steps to create a disk from each snapshot that you want to restore. When creating a VM, you can add up to 15 non-boot disks.

  2. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  3. Select your project and click Continue.

  4. Click Create instance.

    1. Specify a Name for your VM. For more information, see Resource naming convention.
    2. Select the Region and Zone for this VM. The disk and VM must be in the same zone.
    3. Select a Machine type for your VM.
    4. If you want to allow incoming external traffic, change the Firewall rules for the VM.

    5. To attach disks to the VM, expand the Networking, disks, security, management, sole tenancy section, and then do the following:

      1. Expand the Disks section.
      2. Click Attach existing disk.
        1. In the Disk list, select a disk to attach to this VM.
        2. In the Attachment Setting section, select disk's attachment Mode and the Deletion rule. For more information about adding new disks, see Creating and attaching a disk.
      3. Click Save.

      Repeat these steps for each disk that you want to attach. When creating a VM, you can add up to 15 non-boot disks.

  5. To create and start the VM, click Create.

gcloud

Create a VM by using the gcloud compute instances create command. For each non-boot snapshot that you want to restore, include the --create-disk flag, and specify a source-snapshot. When creating a VM, you can add up to 15 non-boot disks.

For example, to restore two non-boot snapshots to a new VM, use the following command:

gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME \
    --create-disk source-snapshot=SNAPSHOT_1_NAME,name=DISK_1_NAME,size=DISK_1_SIZE,type=DISK_1_TYPE \
    --create-disk source-snapshot=SNAPSHOT_2_NAME,name=DISK_2_NAME,size=DISK_2_SIZE,type=DISK_2_TYPE

Replace the following:

  • VM_NAME: name for the new VM
  • SNAPSHOT_1_NAME and SNAPSHOT_2_NAME: names of non-boot snapshots that you want to restore
  • DISK_1_NAME and DISK_2_NAME: names of the new non-boot disks for this VM

  • DISK_1_SIZE and DISK_2_SIZE: Optional: sizes, in gigabytes, of each new non-boot disk

    The sizes must be equal to or larger than the sizes of the source disks from which the snapshot was made.

  • DISK_1_TYPE and DISK_2_TYPE: Optional: types of the persistent disks

    For example, https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd.

API

When using the API to restore a non-boot snapshot to a new VM, the following restrictions apply:

  • Only one persistent disk can be the boot persistent disk.
  • You must attach the boot persistent disk as the first disk for that VM.
  • If you specify the source property, you can't also specify the initializeParams property. Providing a source indicates that the boot persistent disk exists already, but the initializeParams property indicates that Compute Engine should create a new boot persistent disk.

Using the beta API, specify the sourceSnapshot field under the initializeParams property. You can add up to 15 non-boot disks by repeating the initializeParams property for every non-boot disk that you want to create. You can optionally specify the diskSizeGb and diskType properties for any of the disks that you create.

For example, to restore two non-boot snapshots to a new VM, make the following request:

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances
{
  "name": "VM_NAME",
  "machineType": "machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE"
  "networkInterfaces": [{
    "accessConfigs": [{
      "type": "ONE_TO_ONE_NAT",
      "name": "External NAT"
    }],
    "network": "global/networks/default"
  }],
  "disks": [{
     "autoDelete": "true",
     "boot": "true",
     "type": "PERSISTENT",
     "diskSizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
     "diskType": "DISK_TYPE"
   },
   {
     "initializeParams": {
        "sourceSnapshot": "global/snapshots/SNAPSHOT_1_NAME",
        "diskSizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
        "diskType": "DISK_TYPE"
     }
   },
   {
     "initializeParams": {
        "sourceSnapshot": "global/snapshots/SNAPSHOT_2_NAME",
        "diskSizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
        "diskType": "DISK_TYPE"
     }
  }]
 }

Replace the following:

  • PROJECT_ID: your project ID
  • ZONE: zone where you want to create the VM
  • VM_NAME: name of the VM that you want to restore a snapshot to
  • MACHINE_TYPE: machine type of the VM

  • DISK_SIZE: Optional: size, in gigabytes, of the corresponding disk

    When provided, this property must be equal to or larger than the size of the source disk from which the snapshot was made.

  • DISK_TYPE: Optional: full or partial URL for the type of the corresponding persistent disk

    For example, https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd.

  • SNAPSHOT_1_NAME and SNAPSHOT_2_NAME: names of non-boot snapshots that you want to restore to new, non-boot disks on the new VM

Create a VM instance from a container image

To deploy and launch a container on a Compute Engine VM, specify a container image name and optional configuration parameters when you create the VM. Compute Engine creates the VM by using the latest version of the Container-optimized OS public image, which has Docker installed. Then, Compute Engine launches the container when the VM starts. For more information, see Deploying containers on VMs.

To create a VM from a container image, you must use the Cloud Console or gcloud.

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. Select your project and click Continue.

  3. Click Create instance.

  4. Specify a Name for your VM. For more information, see Resource naming convention.

  5. In the Container section, click Deploy container.

    1. Specify the Container image to use. For example:

      • To select an NGINX 1.12 container image from Cloud Launcher:

        gcr.io/cloud-marketplace/google/nginx1:1.12

      • To deploy an Apache container image from Docker Hub, always specify the full Docker image name:

        docker.io/httpd:2.4

    2. Optional: Click Advanced container options. For more information, see Configuring options to run your container.

  6. To create the VM, boot the VM, and launch the container, click Create.

gcloud

Run the gcloud compute instances create-with-container command:

gcloud compute instances create-with-container VM_NAME \
    --container-image=CONTAINER_IMAGE

Replace the following:

  • VM_NAME: name for the new VM.
  • CONTAINER_IMAGE: name of the container image.

For example, the following command creates a VM named nginx-vm, which launches and runs the container image:

gcr.io/cloud-marketplace/google/nginx1:1.12

gcloud compute instances create-with-container nginx-vm \
    --container-image=gcr.io/cloud-marketplace/google/nginx1:1.12

To deploy an Apache container image from Docker Hub, always specify the full Docker image name:

docker.io/httpd:2.4.

Create a VM instance with access to other Google Cloud Services

If you plan to run an application on your VM that needs access to other Google Cloud services, create a service account before creating the VM, and then set up the VM to run as a service account. A service account is a special account whose credentials you can use in your application code to access other Google Cloud services.

For more information, see Service accounts.

Create a VM instance in a specific subnet

By default, Google Cloud creates an auto mode VPC network called default for each project. To use a different network or a subnet that you manually created in an auto mode or custom mode VPC network, you must specify the subnet when you create the VM.

While creating a VM in a subnet, consider these rules:

  • If you don't specify a network or subnet, Compute Engine uses the default VPC network and the auto subnet that's in the same region as the VM.
  • If you don't specify a network, Compute Engine infers the network from the subnet specified.
  • If you specify a network, you must specify a subnet and it must belong to the same network. Otherwise, VM creation fails.

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. Select your project and click Continue.

  3. Click Create instance.

  4. Specify a Name for your VM. For more information, see Resource naming convention.

  5. Optional: Change the Zone for this VM. Compute Engine randomizes the list of zones within each region to encourage use across multiple zones.

  6. In the Firewall section, to permit HTTP or HTTPS traffic to the VM, select Allow HTTP traffic or Allow HTTPS traffic.

    The Cloud Console adds a network tag to your VM and creates the corresponding ingress firewall rule that allows all incoming traffic on tcp:80 (HTTP) or tcp:443 (HTTPS). The network tag associates the firewall rule with the VM. For more information, see Firewall rules overview in the Virtual Private Cloud documentation.

  7. Expand the Networking, disks, security, management, sole tenancy section.

    1. Expand the Networking section.
    2. For Network interfaces, specify the network details:
      1. In the Network field, select the VPC network that contains the subnet you created.
      2. In the Subnet field, select the subnet for the VM to use.
      3. Click Done.

  8. To create and start the VM, click Create.

gcloud

Using the gcloud command-line tool, follow the same instructions to create a VM from an image or a snapshot, and add the --subnet=SUBNET_NAME and --zone=ZONE flags when you run the gcloud compute instances create command:

gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME \
    --network=NETWORK_NAME \
    --subnet=SUBNET_NAME \
    --zone=ZONE

Replace the following:

  • VM_NAME: name of the VM
  • NETWORK_NAME: Optional: name of the network

  • SUBNET_NAME: name of the subnet

    To view a list of subnets in the network, use the gcloud compute networks subnets list command.

  • ZONE: zone where the VM is created, such as europe-west1-b

    The VM's region is inferred from the zone.

API

Follow the API instructions to create a VM from an image or a snapshot, but specify the subnet field in the request body. To add blank disks, do not add a source image. You can optionally specify the diskSizeGb, diskType, and labels properties.

...
"networkInterfaces": [
{
  "network": "global/networks/NETWORK_NAME",
  "subnetwork": "regions/REGION/subnetworks/SUBNET_NAME",
  "accessConfigs":
    {
      "name": "External NAT",
      "type": "ONE_TO_ONE_NAT"
    }
    {
      "initializeParams": {
         "diskSizeGb": "SIZE_GB",
         "sourceImage": "IMAGE"
    {
      "initializeParams": {
      "diskSizeGb": "SIZE_GB"
     }
 }...]

Replace the following:

  • NETWORK_NAME: Optional: name of the network
  • REGION: region where the specified subnet exists
  • SUBNET_NAME: name of the subnet
  • SIZE_GB: disk size

  • IMAGE: source image for the non-boot disk

    For blank disks, don't specify an image source.

Go

compute/instances/create-start-instance/create_instance_with_subnet.go 
import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/cloud/compute/v1"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
)

// createInstanceWithSubnet creates a new VM instance with Debian 10 operating system in specified network and subnetwork.
func createInstanceWithSubnet(w io.Writer, projectID, zone, instanceName, networkLink, subnetworkLink string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
	// networkLink := "global/networks/default"
	// subnetworkLink := "regions/region/subnetworks/subnetwork_name"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instancesClient, err := compute.NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstancesRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer instancesClient.Close()

	imagesClient, err := compute.NewImagesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewImagesRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer imagesClient.Close()

	// List of public operating system (OS) images: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details.
	newestDebianReq := &computepb.GetFromFamilyImageRequest{
		Project: "debian-cloud",
		Family:  "debian-10",
	}
	newestDebian, err := imagesClient.GetFromFamily(ctx, newestDebianReq)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to get image from family: %v", err)
	}

	req := &computepb.InsertInstanceRequest{
		Project: projectID,
		Zone:    zone,
		InstanceResource: &computepb.Instance{
			Name: proto.String(instanceName),
			Disks: []*computepb.AttachedDisk{
				{
					InitializeParams: &computepb.AttachedDiskInitializeParams{
						DiskSizeGb:  proto.Int64(10),
						SourceImage: newestDebian.SelfLink,
						DiskType:    proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone)),
					},
					AutoDelete: proto.Bool(true),
					Boot:       proto.Bool(true),
					Type:       proto.String(computepb.AttachedDisk_PERSISTENT.String()),
				},
			},
			MachineType: proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone)),
			NetworkInterfaces: []*computepb.NetworkInterface{
				{
					Name:       proto.String(networkLink),
					Subnetwork: proto.String(subnetworkLink),
				},
			},
		},
	}

	op, err := instancesClient.Insert(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create instance: %v", err)
	}

	zoneOperationsClient, err := compute.NewZoneOperationsRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewZoneOperationsRESTClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer zoneOperationsClient.Close()

	for {
		waitReq := &computepb.WaitZoneOperationRequest{
			Operation: op.Proto().GetName(),
			Project:   projectID,
			Zone:      zone,
		}
		zoneOp, err := zoneOperationsClient.Wait(ctx, waitReq)
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %v", err)
		}

		if *zoneOp.Status.Enum() == computepb.Operation_DONE {
			fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance created\n")
			break
		}
	}

	return nil
}

Java

compute/cloud-client/src/main/java/compute/CreateInstancesAdvanced.java 

import com.google.api.gax.longrunning.OperationFuture;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.Type;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Image;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ImagesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Vector;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class CreateInstancesAdvanced {

  /**
   * Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses an image as the source
   * for the new disk.
   *
   * @param diskType the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)". For example:
   * "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
   * @param diskSizeGb size of the new disk in gigabytes
   * @param boot boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an
   * instance
   * @param sourceImage source image to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to
   * this disk. This can be one of the publicly available images or an image from one of your
   * projects. This value uses the following format:
   * "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"
   * @return AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified image.
   */
  private static AttachedDisk diskFromImage(String diskType, int diskSizeGb, boolean boot,
      String sourceImage) {
    AttachedDisk disk =
        AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
            .setBoot(boot)
            // Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when
            // you delete your VM instance.
            .setAutoDelete(true)
            .setType(Type.PERSISTENT.toString())
            .setInitializeParams(
                AttachedDiskInitializeParams.newBuilder()
                    .setSourceImage(sourceImage)
                    .setDiskSizeGb(diskSizeGb)
                    .setDiskType(diskType)
                    .build())
            .build();
    return disk;
  }


  /**
   * Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.
   *
   * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
   * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
   * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
   * @param disks a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks you want to attach
   * to your new instance.
   * @param machineType machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the following format:
   * "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
   * For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
   * @param network name of the network you want the new instance to use. For example:
   * "global/networks/default" represents the network named "default", which is created
   * automatically for each project.
   * @param subnetwork name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use. This value uses the
   * following format: "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
   * @return Instance object.
   */
  private static Instance createWithDisks(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
      Vector<AttachedDisk> disks, String machineType, String network, String subnetwork)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create()) {
      // Use the network interface provided in the networkName argument.
      NetworkInterface networkInterface;
      if (subnetwork != null) {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).setSubnetwork(subnetwork)
            .build();
      } else {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).build();
      }

      machineType = String.format("zones/%s/machineTypes/%s", zone, machineType);

      // Bind `instanceName`, `machineType`, `disk`, and `networkInterface` to an instance.
      Instance instanceResource =
          Instance.newBuilder()
              .setName(instanceName)
              .setMachineType(machineType)
              .addAllDisks(disks)
              .addNetworkInterfaces(networkInterface)
              .build();

      System.out.printf("Creating instance: %s at %s ", instanceName, zone);

      // Insert the instance in the specified project and zone.
      InsertInstanceRequest insertInstanceRequest = InsertInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(project)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstanceResource(instanceResource).build();

      OperationFuture<Operation, Operation> operation = instancesClient.insertAsync(
          insertInstanceRequest);

      // Wait for the operation to complete.
      Operation response = operation.get();

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance creation failed ! ! " + response);
        return null;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());

      return instancesClient.get(project, zone, instanceName);
    }
  }

Node.js

samples/instances/create-start-instance/createInstanceWithSubnet.js 
/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const zone = 'europe-central2-b';
// const instanceName = 'YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME';
// const networkLink = 'global/networks/default';
// const subnetworkLink = 'regions/europe-central2/subnetworks/default';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Creates a new VM instance with Debian 10 operating system in specified network and subnetwork.
async function createInstanceWithSubnet() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();
  const imagesClient = new compute.ImagesClient();

  // List of public operating system (OS) images: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details.
  const [newestDebian] = await imagesClient.getFromFamily({
    project: 'debian-cloud',
    family: 'debian-10',
  });

  const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    instanceResource: {
      name: instanceName,
      disks: [
        {
          initializeParams: {
            diskSizeGb: '10',
            sourceImage: newestDebian.selfLink,
            diskType: `zones/${zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard`,
          },
          autoDelete: true,
          boot: true,
          type: 'PERSISTENT',
        },
      ],
      machineType: `zones/${zone}/machineTypes/n1-standard-1`,
      networkInterfaces: [
        {
          name: networkLink,
          subnetwork: subnetworkLink,
        },
      ],
    },
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // Wait for the create operation to complete.
  while (operation.status !== 'DONE') {
    [operation] = await operationsClient.wait({
      operation: operation.name,
      project: projectId,
      zone: operation.zone.split('/').pop(),
    });
  }

  console.log('Instance created.');
}

createInstanceWithSubnet();

Python

samples/snippets/sample_create_vm.py 
from google.cloud import compute_v1


def disk_from_image(
    disk_type: str, disk_size_gb: int, boot: bool, source_image: str
) -> compute_v1.AttachedDisk:
    """
    Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses an image as the
    source for the new disk.

    Args:
         disk_type: the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
            "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)".
            For example: "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
        disk_size_gb: size of the new disk in gigabytes
        boot: boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an instance
        source_image: source image to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to this disk. This can be one
            of the publicly available images or an image from one of your projects.
            This value uses the following format: "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"

    Returns:
        AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified image.
    """
    boot_disk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
    initialize_params = compute_v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams()
    initialize_params.source_image = source_image
    initialize_params.disk_size_gb = disk_size_gb
    initialize_params.disk_type = disk_type
    boot_disk.initialize_params = initialize_params
    # Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when you delete
    # your VM instance.
    boot_disk.auto_delete = True
    boot_disk.boot = boot
    return boot_disk


def create_with_disks(
    project_id: str,
    zone: str,
    instance_name: str,
    disks: List[compute_v1.AttachedDisk],
    machine_type: str = "n1-standard-1",
    network_link: str = "global/networks/default",
    subnetwork_link: str = None,
) -> compute_v1.Instance:
    """
    Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        machine_type: machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the
            following format: "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
            For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
        disks: a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks
            you want to attach to your new instance.
        network_link: name of the network you want the new instance to use.
            For example: "global/networks/default" represents the network
            named "default", which is created automatically for each project.
        subnetwork_link: name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use.
            This value uses the following format:
            "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    instance_client = compute_v1.InstancesClient()
    operation_client = compute_v1.ZoneOperationsClient()

    # Use the network interface provided in the network_link argument.
    network_interface = compute_v1.NetworkInterface()
    network_interface.name = network_link
    if subnetwork_link:
        network_interface.subnetwork = subnetwork_link

    # Collect information into the Instance object.
    instance = compute_v1.Instance()
    instance.name = instance_name
    instance.disks = disks
    if re.match(r"^zones/[a-z\d\-]+/machineTypes/[a-z\d\-]+$", machine_type):
        instance.machine_type = machine_type
    else:
        instance.machine_type = f"zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machine_type}"
    instance.network_interfaces = [network_interface]

    # Shielded Instance settings
    # Values presented here are the defaults.
    # instance.shielded_instance_config = compute_v1.ShieldedInstanceConfig()
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_secure_boot = False
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_vtpm = True
    # instance.shielded_instance_config.enable_integrity_monitoring = True

    # Prepare the request to insert an instance.
    request = compute_v1.InsertInstanceRequest()
    request.zone = zone
    request.project = project_id
    request.instance_resource = instance

    # Wait for the create operation to complete.
    print(f"Creating the {instance_name} instance in {zone}...")

    operation = instance_client.insert_unary(request=request)
    while operation.status != compute_v1.Operation.Status.DONE:
        operation = operation_client.wait(
            operation=operation.name, zone=zone, project=project_id
        )
    if operation.error:
        print("Error during creation:", operation.error, file=sys.stderr)
    if operation.warnings:
        print("Warning during creation:", operation.warnings, file=sys.stderr)
    print(f"Instance {instance_name} created.")
    return instance


def create_with_subnet(
    project_id: str, zone: str, instance_name: str, network_link: str, subnet_link: str
):
    """
    Create a new VM instance with Debian 10 operating system in specified network and subnetwork.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
        instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
        network_link: name of the network you want the new instance to use.
            For example: "global/networks/default" represents the network
            named "default", which is created automatically for each project.
        subnetwork_link: name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use.
            This value uses the following format:
            "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"

    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    image_client = compute_v1.ImagesClient()
    # List of public operating system (OS) images: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details
    newest_debian = image_client.get_from_family(
        project="debian-cloud", family="debian-10"
    )
    disk_type = f"zones/{zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard"
    disks = [disk_from_image(disk_type, 10, True, newest_debian.self_link)]
    instance = create_with_disks(
        project_id,
        zone,
        instance_name,
        disks,
        network_link=network_link,
        subnetwork_link=subnet_link,
    )
    return instance

Troubleshooting

To find methods for resolving common VM creation errors, see Troubleshooting VM creation.

What's next?

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