A virtual machine instance on Google Compute Engine can be controlled like any standard Linux server. Deploy a simple Apache web server to learn the basics of running a server on a virtual machine instance.
Prerequisites
You'll need a fresh Linux instance with HTTP traffic allowed.
- Follow the Quickstart instructions to create a new Linux instance and connect to it.
Install Apache
-
Use the Debian package manager to install the
apache2package.sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install apache2 -y -
Overwrite the Apache web server default web page with the following command:
echo '<!doctype html><html><body><h1>Hello World!</h1></body></html>' | sudo tee /var/www/html/index.html
Test your server
Test that your instance is serving traffic on its external IP.
- Go to the VM Instances page in the Google Cloud Platform Console.
- Click the external IP for your instance under the EXTERNAL IP column.
You should now see the "Hello World!" page.
Clean up
When you're done experimenting, follow the clean up instructions in the Quickstart to avoid incurring charges for the virtual machine instance.
Troubleshooting
Receiving a Connection Refused error
If you are seeing a Connection Refused error, it is possible that your
VM instance is not publicly accessible. This can be caused by two common
errors: the VM instance does not have the proper tag that allows Compute Engine
to apply the appropriate firewall rules or your project does not have a firewall
rule that allows traffic to your instance's external IP address.
To check that your instance has external access:
- Go to the VM Instances page in the Google Cloud Platform Console.
- Click the name of the instance that you are trying to connect to.
- Under Firewalls, make sure the Allow HTTP traffic box is checked. If it is not checked, check it.
- Save your changes.
Test your server again by going to the external IP address of the instance.
