Google Cloud Storage Details Test

Google Cloud Storage is a highly scalable object storage service provided by Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and allows you to store petabytes data and retrieve data in the cloud. Data stored in Google Cloud Storage is redundantly stored across multiple locations, providing high durability and availability. Google Cloud Storage offers multiple layers of security controls to protect your data, including encryption at rest and in transit, access controls, and IAM (Identity and Access Management) policies. It integrates well with other Google Cloud Platform services such as BigQuery, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), and Google Cloud Functions, allowing you to build powerful cloud-based applications. Object versioning, object lifecycle management, and multi-region replication for enhanced data management and disaster recovery capabilities are supported by the Google Cloud Storage. Overall, Google Cloud Storage is a robust and reliable solution for storing and managing data in the cloud and supporting a wide range of from small-scale applications to large enterprise workloads.

To configure the storage in Google Cloud, multiple storage buckets are created with access controls, lifecycle management, logging, and monitoring. With a Google Cloud account, you can have access to the main storage types given below:

Standard Storage : This is the default storage class and offers high-performance, low-latency storage for frequently accessed data. It's suitable for a wide range of use cases where data needs to be readily available.

Nearline Storage : Nearline Storage is designed for data that is accessed less frequently but may need to be retrieved relatively quickly when needed. It offers lower storage costs compared to Standard Storage, with slightly higher latency for accessing data.

Coldline Storage : Coldline Storage is intended for data that is accessed infrequently and stored for longer-term retention. It offers even lower storage costs compared to Nearline Storage but with slightly higher data retrieval costs.

Archive Storage: Archive Storage is the most cost-effective option for storing data that is rarely accessed and retained for long periods, such as backups and archives. However, data retrieval from Archive Storage has higher latency and costs compared to other storage classes.

By selecting the appropriate storage type for your data based on its access patterns, retention requirements, and cost considerations, you can optimize storage costs while ensuring that your data remains accessible and durable. In summary, what makes Google Cloud Storage the most desired storage platform is its large storage capacity, reliability, durability, and cost effectiveness. This means that any issue that undermines the performance of a storage account can result in unexpected application outages / poor application performance. Such issues can include, the reduced availability of the storage service, the lack of adequate storage space in an account, poor responsiveness of an account to requests, etc. If such applications front-end your critical business services, then service quality will suffer, causing SLA violations, loss of revenue, and a rise in penalties. To avoid this, it is imperative that administrators monitor the type, usage, and request processing ability of storage buckets that are configured for the target Google Cloud, quickly capture abnormalities, and rapidly initiate measures to right the wrongs before application performance degrades. This is where the Google Cloud Storage Details test helps!

This test automatically discovers the storage buckets configured for the monitored Google Cloud. For each storage bucket, the test then reports the type of that bucket. The test also measures how many API calls made to each storage bucket and how many times a user/service account was authenticated with each storage bucket. Using the authentication count, administrators can ensure that only authorized users and applications are accessing the storage, and can detect any unauthorized or suspicious activity that may indicate a security breach. In the process, this test provides the rate at which the data was transferred from/received by each storage bucket. This helps administrators to find out which storage bucket is slow in sending and receiving the data.

Note:

This test will report metrics only if the Cloud Storage API is enabled in the target Google Cloud project. If you want to know how to turn on a service API in the Google Cloud project, refer Enabling Service APIs.

Target of the test : Google Cloud

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each storage bucket configured for the Google Cloud.

Configurable parameters for the test

Parameters	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The host for which the test is to be configured.
Private Keyfile Name	To connect to the Google Cloud Project in which the services are running, the eG agent requires a private key of a service account with Compute Viewer, Monitoring Viewer, and Cloud Asset Viewer roles in the target project. If a service account pre-exists in the project, then you can download the private key as a JSON file. Then, save this JSON file in the <eG_Install_Dir>/agent/lib folder and provide the name of that file against this parameter. However, if no such service account pre-exists, you will have to create one for monitoring the project. To know how to create a service account and download its private key, refer to How does eG Enterprise Monitor Google Cloud?.
Detailed Diagnosis	To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option. The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled: The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

Measurements made by the test

Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Storage type	Indicates the type of this storage bucket.		The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below: Measure Value Numeric Value Standard 1 Nearline 2 Coldline 3 Achive 4 Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the type of each storage bucket. In the graph of this measure however, the same is represented using the corresponding numeric equivalents only. The detailed diagnosis of this measure reveals the location where each storage bucket is deployed, the location type of the storage bucket, and the time stamp at which the storage bucket was created and updated.
API calls	Indicates the number of API call requests made to this storage bucket.	Requests	API calls for Google Cloud Storage allow developers to interact with and manage their storage buckets and objects programmatically. The developers can perform various operations such as uploading, downloading, deleting, and listing files without having to manually access the Google Cloud Storage web interface. API calls also allow developers to automate tasks, integrate Google Cloud Storage with other services, and build custom applications that leverage the storage capabilities of Google Cloud. This can help streamline workflows, improve efficiency, and enable new use cases for storing and managing data in the cloud.
Authentication count	Indicates the number of times a user/service account was authenticated with this storage bucket during the last measurement period.	Number	This value of this measure helps you track the usage and access patterns of different users or applications accessing the storage service, which can be useful for monitoring and security purposes. It also provides insights into the level of activity and potential risks associated with unauthorized access or misuse of the storage resources.
Object-ACL based access count	Indicates the number of Object-ACL based access requests made to this storage during the last measurement period.	Number	Compare the value of this measure across the storage buckets to identify the storage to which the Object-ACL based access requests made more frequently.
ACL operations count	Indicates how many times access control lists (ACLs) were used to manage permissions and access control for objects stored in this storage bucket during the last measurement period.	Number	The ACLs allow users to specify who can access and perform actions on their data, and the count provides insight into how frequently these permissions are being managed and updated.
Received bandwidth	Indicates the rate at which the data was received by this storage bucket from users or applications during the last measurement period.	Kbps	The value of this measure helps administrators to monitor and optimize the performance of the storage service, as well as to provide detailed usage information to customers for billing purposes.
Sent bandwidth	Indicates the rate at which the data was transferred to external resources or clients from this storage bucket during the last measurement period.	Kbps	The measure helps you understand how much data is being transferred out of the storage buckets and to ensure that they are not exceeding any bandwidth limits or incurring unexpected costs. You can also optimize the data transfer processes, identify potential bottlenecks, and manage the storage costs effectively.
Total storage objects	Indicates the total number of storage objects stored in this storage bucket.	Number	A high value for this measure indicates that large volume of data can be stored in the storage. Monitoring the total storage objects can help you manage data storage costs and optimize storage resources. Additionally, tracking this metric can be useful for compliance and regulatory purposes, as it provides visibility into the volume of data being stored in the Google Cloud environment. The detailed diagnosis of this measure reveals the name, ID, file size and entity type of each storage object and the time at which the storage object was created.