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Short answer: Create a Google Cloud Compute Engine virtual machine, select Ubuntu 24.04 LTS from the Public images tab, choose a machine type, region, disk and network settings, then click Create and use the instance row’s SSH button. This produces a cloud-hosted Ubuntu server; it does not install Ubuntu on a physical computer you own. Keep web traffic separate from administration: enable HTTP or HTTPS only when the VM will actually serve a website.
What a Google Cloud Ubuntu server actually is
In this guide, “server” means a virtual machine (VM) instance in Google Cloud Compute Engine. Google hosts the computer, storage and networking in its data centers; you select the operating system and capacity from the cloud console. The result is an Ubuntu system you can administer remotely, without purchasing hardware or assembling a physical server.
Google’s official walkthrough describes the task as learning to create a Linux VM instance in Compute Engine with the Google Cloud console. The current walkthrough names Ubuntu 24.04 LTS as its boot image. Public images change over time, so treat that version as the one specified by Google’s current walkthrough and confirm the version currently displayed in your console before creating the VM.
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Prepare the Google Cloud project
Complete these prerequisites before opening the instance form:
- Sign in with a Google account that can use Google Cloud.
- Select an existing project or create a new one. Creating a project requires the Project Creator permission.
- Enable billing for the project. A trial or free-tier allowance does not remove the need for a billing account.
- Enable the Compute Engine API.
- Confirm that your identity has permission to create an instance. Google’s instance-creation documentation identifies Compute Instance Admin (v1) as a role containing the required instance-creation permission. Organization policies, folders and other administrator controls can impose additional restrictions.
Use Google’s Linux VM walkthrough for the console sequence and instance-creation permissions and methods when an administrator must grant access.
Choose how to create the VM
The console is the clearest path for a first server. Google also supports command-line and infrastructure-as-code methods. They create Compute Engine resources through different interfaces, so authentication, project selection and zone configuration still have to be handled when you move away from the console.
| Method | Best fit | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud console | A first VM or an occasional manual server | Visual fields for the project, machine, location, boot disk and networking; the browser SSH button is available from the VM list. |
Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) |
Command-line users and repeatable scripts | Requires authentication plus project and zone configuration. Google documents a public-image creation path. |
| REST API | Applications or automation that call Google Cloud directly | Requires authenticated API requests and explicit project, location and instance settings. |
| Terraform | Infrastructure managed as code | Useful when the VM is part of repeatable infrastructure rather than a one-off experiment; authentication and project configuration remain necessary. |
The broader instance-creation documentation covers these alternatives. The console can also generate equivalent code, which is useful for learning the syntax after you have made a working configuration manually.
Create the Ubuntu VM in the Google Cloud console
1. Open the Create an instance form
- Open Google Cloud Console and select the prepared project from the project selector.
- Go to Compute Engine and open VM instances.
- Choose Create instance. If the API or billing is not ready, the console will stop you before the form can be submitted; return to the preparation section and correct the project setup.
2. Name the instance and choose a location
Give the VM a name that identifies its purpose, such as a development role or a site name. Then choose a region and zone. Location affects latency to users and other services, available machine types and the eventual price. The title alone does not establish a correct production location, so select one based on where the application’s users and dependencies are located and what your organization permits.
3. Select machine capacity
Choose a machine family and size suited to the workload. A small test server, a database and a public application have different CPU, memory and disk requirements. Do not copy a machine size from an unrelated tutorial: no universal production size is specified for this guide, and Google’s price depends on the selected machine, location, disk, runtime and network use.
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For a learning VM, start with the smallest capacity that meets the software’s requirements, then watch resource usage and resize or recreate it when evidence shows more capacity is needed. For production, document the expected workload and availability requirements before committing to a machine type.
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4. Set the boot disk to Ubuntu
- In the instance form, open the operating-system and storage settings for the boot disk.
- Select the Public images tab.
- Choose Ubuntu as the operating system.
- Choose Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, the release named in Google’s current introductory walkthrough.
- Review the disk type and size for the workload, then save the boot-disk selection.
Google regularly updates public images, including updates that contain critical CVE fixes. The release list and labels can change, so verify the image shown in your project at creation time rather than relying on an old screenshot. The OS image lifecycle documentation explains how public images are maintained and retired.
5. Configure the network interface
Keep the default network arrangement unless your project requires a particular VPC, subnet, internal address or other network design. The important beginner decision is whether the VM should accept web requests from the internet. That choice is separate from the ability to administer the machine over SSH.
6. Decide on HTTP and HTTPS access before creating
The form includes options to allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic. They create ingress firewall rules for tcp:80 and tcp:443, respectively. Selecting a checkbox does not install a web server or make an application listen on that port; it only permits matching inbound traffic through the Google Cloud firewall.
- Enable Allow HTTP traffic only if the VM will serve an HTTP website or another service that intentionally uses port 80.
- Enable Allow HTTPS traffic only if the VM will serve TLS-protected traffic on port 443.
- Leave both options disabled for a private learning machine, a development shell or a VM that needs administrative SSH but no public website.
Opening a port increases the machine’s exposure. Allow only the ports required by the intended service, and add or modify firewall rules later when the service design is clear. Google’s public-image creation documentation describes the HTTP and HTTPS firewall behavior.
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- Review the project, instance name, region, zone, machine type, boot image, disk and network selections.
- Check the cost estimate shown by the console for this exact configuration, if available.
- Click Create.
- Wait for the instance to finish provisioning and show a running status in the VM list.
If creation fails, read the error before changing settings. Permission, billing, API and organization-policy errors require project administration; changing the Ubuntu image will not fix those causes.
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Connect with browser-based SSH
When the VM is running, open Compute Engine → VM instances and click SSH on the instance row. Google opens a browser-based terminal session and handles the connection setup through the console. The user who created the VM is added to the sudo group, so that account can perform administrative tasks with sudo.
SSH administration does not require the HTTP or HTTPS checkboxes. If the SSH button is unavailable, first confirm that the instance has finished starting and that your account still has the required IAM permissions. A firewall rule for web traffic will not repair an IAM or instance-state problem.
After the first login: make the server useful without overexposing it
Confirm the operating system and identity
Use the new terminal to verify that you are in the intended project’s VM and that the login account has administrative access. Record the instance name, zone and purpose in your own inventory so that a later cleanup does not remove the wrong machine.
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Ubuntu starts as a general-purpose operating system. A web server, database, container runtime or development tool must be installed and configured separately. Opening port 80 or 443 before a service exists provides no useful website and leaves an unnecessary ingress path, so delay those rules until the service is ready.
Plan updates and access controls
Public images are maintained, but the image’s availability does not replace normal operating-system maintenance after the VM is running. Apply your organization’s Ubuntu update policy, use least-privilege accounts and remove access that is no longer needed. Keep administrative access distinct from public application traffic.
Understand the cost before you leave the VM running
There is no single monthly price for “an Ubuntu server on Google Cloud.” The bill depends on machine type, region, disk type and size, uptime, network egress and other selected resources. Use the estimate in the instance form or Google’s Compute Engine pricing overview and calculator for the exact configuration.
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| Offer shown by Google | Published limit or amount | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| New-user trial credits | $300 in credits for a stated 90-day use period | Eligibility and current terms must be checked when you sign up. Credits are not proof that every VM configuration is free. |
| Compute Engine free tier | One e2-micro VM instance, up to 30 GB of standard persistent disk storage and up to 1 GB of outbound data transfer per month |
This is a bounded allowance subject to Google’s current eligibility and terms. Region, usage and related resources can affect whether charges apply. |
The product page also displays starting figures for VM, storage and network usage, but those figures are not a sound estimate for this guide because the region and configuration are unspecified. Enter your selected machine, location, disk and expected traffic into the calculator instead of treating a starting price as a quote.
Security and image defaults worth checking
Ubuntu public images are maintained with help from open-source communities and other vendors, and Google updates them regularly. Check the image version at creation time and establish an update process after deployment.
On supported Shielded VMs created from public images, Google documents that vTPM and integrity monitoring are enabled by default, while Secure Boot is disabled by default. These are defaults for supported configurations, not a promise that every image or VM combination has the same settings. Review the security options in the instance form when your workload has a specific attestation or boot-integrity requirement.
Use the narrowest network exposure that meets the application’s needs. Administrative SSH and public HTTP/HTTPS are different access paths; allowing one does not imply that the other is required.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When to use the command line or infrastructure as code
Stay with the console when you are learning the fields, creating one disposable VM or need the browser SSH shortcut. Move to gcloud, the REST API or Terraform when you need repeatability, code review, automated recreation or a fleet of instances.
- CLI: authenticate the account, set the intended project and zone, then use Google’s public-image creation syntax. Keep the command’s image, machine and network values under version control if the VM is part of a script.
- REST: construct an authenticated instance-insert request with explicit project, zone, machine, disk-image and network properties.
- Terraform: define the VM and related resources as configuration so changes can be reviewed and applied consistently.
These methods do not bypass the prerequisites: billing, API enablement, IAM permissions and organization policies still apply. Consult Google’s public-image creation guide for the documented CLI path and the creation-method overview before translating a console setup into code.
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Troubleshoot the common failure points
The Create button is blocked or the API reports a billing error
Check that the selected project has an active billing account and that the Compute Engine API is enabled in that same project. Selecting a different project in the console can make a previously correct setup appear broken.
You receive a permission or organization-policy error
Ask a project or organization administrator to verify Project Creator access if you are creating a project, Compute Instance Admin (v1) or equivalent instance permissions, and any location, machine or network constraints imposed by policy. Do not work around a policy by repeatedly changing unrelated fields.
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is not listed
Public image catalogs are updated and retired over time. Reopen the Public images tab, confirm that Ubuntu is selected, and read the release labels currently offered in your project. Use the version shown by Google’s current console rather than relying on a cached screenshot or an old article.
The VM is running but the website cannot be reached
First determine whether a web service is installed and listening. Then verify that the intended firewall rule exists for the correct port: HTTP uses TCP 80 and HTTPS uses TCP 443. Enabling a rule without a listening service produces no page, while a listening service without the matching ingress rule remains unreachable from the internet.
SSH does not open
Confirm that the instance status is running, that you clicked SSH on the correct row and that your account still has access to the project. If your organization restricts network or identity access, request the administrator’s approved connection method. HTTP and HTTPS firewall selections are not substitutes for SSH permissions.
The estimated cost is higher than expected
Recheck the machine type, region, disk size and type, uptime and outbound traffic assumptions. Compare the console estimate with the pricing calculator, and remember that trial credits and free-tier limits are conditional allowances rather than a universal zero-cost guarantee.
Delete the VM when the work is finished
- Open Compute Engine → VM instances.
- Select the instance you no longer need and choose Delete.
- Read the confirmation carefully and verify that you selected the correct project and VM.
- Inspect related resources before confirming. Keep anything that another workload still needs; remove unneeded resources according to your project’s retention policy.
- After deletion, review the project’s resource list and billing view so that an unattached or separately retained resource does not continue generating charges.
Deleting a VM is the final step for a disposable tutorial server, not a substitute for a backup plan. If the machine contains data or configuration you may need later, preserve the appropriate resources before removal and document what was retained.
Quick Recap
Creation checklist
- Project selected or created with the required Project Creator permission.
- Billing enabled and Compute Engine API enabled.
- Instance-creation permissions confirmed, including any organization policies.
- Ubuntu selected from Public images, with the currently displayed release checked against the intended version.
- Machine type, region, zone, disk and network chosen for the actual workload and budget.
- HTTP and HTTPS opened only when a service needs TCP 80 or TCP 443.
- Creation completed and the VM reached a running state.
- Browser SSH tested from the VM instances list.
- Configuration-specific pricing reviewed before leaving the machine running.
- VM and any unneeded related resources deleted after the exercise.
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