Container-Optimized OS
The OS built for containers, designed for Google Cloud Platform
Try It Free View My ConsoleA Google Curated Container OS
Container-Optimized OS is Google's recommended OS for hosting and running containers on Google Cloud Platform. It is designed and maintained by Google and integrates seamlessly with GCP.
Optimized for Containers
Container-Optimized OS comes with the Docker container runtime and all Kubernetes components pre-installed for out of the box deployment, management, and orchestration of your containers. Container-Optimized OS powers many GCP services such as Kubernetes Engine and Cloud SQL, making it Google's go-to solution for container workloads.
Built to Scale
Container-Optimized OS VMs boot fast and come with cloud-init and Compute Engine's metadata framework, all the tools you need to programmatically configure your instance at boot up, allowing your services to start and serve quickly. And since it comes with all container-related dependencies preinstalled, Container-Optimized OS allows your cluster to quickly scale up or down in response to traffic or workload changes, optimizing your spend, improving your reliability.
Minimal OS, Maximum Security
Container-Optimized OS's small OS footprint minimizes security exposure while still containing essential built-in security features like a minimal read-only root file system, file system integrity check, locked-down firewall, and audit logging. Automatic updates patch security vulnerabilities for you and in a timely manner, further reducing your risk of compromise.
Open Source
Container-Optimized OS is based on the open-source Chromium OS project, a reliable and vetted OS from Google. Container-Optimized OS utilizes the powerful build and test infrastructure of Chromium OS, allowing for state of the art build management, security compliance, and reliable customizations for GCP.
Container-Optimized OS Features
The OS built for containers, designed for Google Cloud Platform
- Container Support
- Includes Docker runtime, Kubernetes system, and Google Container Registry (GCR) for launching, managing, storing, and retrieving containers.
- Automatic updates
- Uses an active-passive root partition scheme to automatically receive updates and install on the passive partition.
- Compute Engine metadata framework
- Supports Compute Engine metadata framework to store and retrieve instance metadata.
- cloud-init
- The de facto initialization manager that configures your instances at bootup through user supplied data.
- Release Channels
- Supports three different release channels (dev, beta, stable) providing different levels of early access and stability.
Container-Optimized OS Pricing
Container-Optimized OS is free to use on Google Compute Engine.