Google Cloud -Container Optimized OS

Container-Optimized OS

Container-Optimized OS is an operating system image for your Compute Engine VMs that is optimized for running Docker containers, and is Google’s recommended OS for running containers on Google Cloud.

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 and improving your reliability.

Container-Optimized OS powers many Google Cloud services such as Kubernetes Engine and Cloud SQL, making it Google’s go-to solution for container workloads.

Container-Optimized OS benefits

• Run Containers Out of the Box: Container-Optimized OS instances come pre-installed with the Docker runtime and cloud-init. With a Container-Optimized OS instance, you can bring up your Docker container at the same time you create your VM, with no on-host setup required.
• Smaller attack surface: Container-Optimized OS has a smaller footprint, reducing your instance’s potential attack surface.
• Locked-down by default: Container-Optimized OS instances include a locked-down firewall and other security settings by default.
• Automatic Updates: Container-Optimized OS instances are configured to automatically download weekly updates in the background; only a reboot is necessary to use the latest updates.