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Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped appliance virtual machine (VM) management lets you provision and deploy
VMs, and manage each VM through its lifecycle.
The VM manager features the following areas:
VM lifecycle:
Provision and manage VMs of arbitrary shape and size, using
kubectl commands, the API, Distributed Cloud CLI, or the GDC console.
Image management:
Use either an operating system (OS) image GDC air-gapped appliance provides or
a custom OS image. You can build custom OS images from a provided OS image,
or from your own image.
Guest OS agent:
Manage your VM access and observability. Serve advanced package tool (APT)
packages, with their dependencies, to your VMs.
Networking:
Integrate with GDC air-gapped appliance networking to maintain stable
ingress and egress IP addresses.
Storage:
Access durable boot or secondary disks, disk snapshots, and machine backups
through tight integration with storage.
VM instruction sets
Instructions in this documentation set are presented for the kubectl CLI, the
GDC console, the gdcloud CLI, or the API, as applicable. In
cases where only kubectl or the GDC console is available, the
instruction set reflects that status. For example, if a feature supports only
two of the three instruction sets, you see only those two sets of instructions.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped appliance enables full lifecycle management of virtual machines (VMs), including provisioning and deployment.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can manage VMs using \u003ccode\u003ekubectl\u003c/code\u003e commands, the API, the Distributed Cloud CLI, or the GDC console, leveraging either provided or custom operating system (OS) images.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGDC air-gapped appliance integrates VM access and observability, advanced package tool (APT) package delivery, network configuration for stable IPs, and durable storage options.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eInstructions for VM management are provided for the \u003ccode\u003ekubectl\u003c/code\u003e CLI, GDC console, gdcloud CLI, or the API, depending on the feature's support.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBefore managing VMs, the \u003ccode\u003egdcloud\u003c/code\u003e CLI must be downloaded and installed, and preparation tasks should be completed.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# VMs overview\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped appliance virtual machine (VM) management lets you provision and deploy\nVMs, and manage each VM through its lifecycle.\n\nThe VM manager features the following areas:\n\n- [**VM lifecycle**](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/appliance/application/ao-user/vms/manage-vms/operations-and-lifecycle/start-and-stop-vm): Provision and manage VMs of arbitrary shape and size, using `kubectl` commands, the API, Distributed Cloud CLI, or the GDC console.\n- [**Image management**](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/appliance/application/ao-user/vms/create-custom-images/create-custom-images): Use either an operating system (OS) image GDC air-gapped appliance provides or a custom OS image. You can build custom OS images from a provided OS image, or from your own image.\n- [**Guest OS agent**](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/appliance/application/ao-user/vms/manage-the-os/guest-environment): Manage your VM access and observability. Serve advanced package tool (APT) packages, with their dependencies, to your VMs.\n- [**Networking**](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/appliance/application/ao-user/vms/connect-to-vm/connect-to-a-vm): Integrate with GDC air-gapped appliance networking to maintain stable ingress and egress IP addresses.\n- [**Storage**](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/appliance/application/ao-user/vms/manage-storage/add-a-vm-disk): Access durable boot or secondary disks, disk snapshots, and machine backups through tight integration with storage.\n\nVM instruction sets\n-------------------\n\nInstructions in this documentation set are presented for the `kubectl` CLI, the\nGDC console, the gdcloud CLI, or the API, as applicable. In\ncases where only `kubectl` or the GDC console is available, the\ninstruction set reflects that status. For example, if a feature supports only\ntwo of the three instruction sets, you see only those two sets of instructions.\n\nUse these instructions after you [download and install gdcloud CLI](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/appliance/resources/gdcloud-download)\non your computer and have completed any open tasks listed on the\n[Preparation](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/appliance/application/ao-user/vms/preparation) page.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\nTo get started, go to the\n[Create and start a VM instance](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/appliance/application/ao-user/vms/create-a-vm/create-and-start)\npage."]]
