Google Distributed Cloud documentation
Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) is our solution that extends
Google Cloud's infrastructure and services into your data center, with
Google-provided software running on your own hardware. Distributed Cloud is built on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
,
with its own Google Distributed Cloud
package that extends GKE for use in an
on-premises environment. With Google Distributed Cloud, you can create and manage Kubernetes clusters on
hardware in your own data center, while using Google Cloud features.
Google Distributed Cloud runs on your premises in a vSphere environment
,
vSphere is VMware's
virtualization platform.
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Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License
. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies
. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC.
[[["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) extends Google Cloud's infrastructure and services into your data center, running on your hardware.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGDC is built on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and includes a specialized package for on-premises environments.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWith GDC, you can create and manage Kubernetes clusters in your own data center while using Google Cloud features.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGDC runs on premises within a vSphere environment, which is VMware's virtualization platform.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Google Distributed Cloud documentation\n======================================\n\n[Read product documentation](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/overview)\nGoogle Distributed Cloud (GDC) is our solution that extends\nGoogle Cloud's infrastructure and services into your data center, with\nGoogle-provided software running on your own hardware. Distributed Cloud is built on\n[Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/kubernetes-engine-overview),\nwith its own *Google Distributed Cloud* package that extends GKE for use in an\non-premises environment. With Google Distributed Cloud, you can create and manage Kubernetes clusters on\nhardware in your own data center, while using Google Cloud features.\n\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud runs on your premises in a\n[vSphere environment](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/index.html),\nvSphere is [VMware's](https://www.vmware.com/company.html)\nvirtualization platform.\n[Get started for free](https://console.cloud.google.com/freetrial) \n\n#### Start your proof of concept with $300 in free credit\n\n- Get access to Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking\n- Free monthly usage of popular products, including AI APIs and BigQuery\n- No automatic charges, no commitment \n[View free product offers](/free/docs/free-cloud-features#free-tier) \n\n#### Keep exploring with 20+ always-free products\n\n\nAccess 20+ free products for common use cases, including AI APIs, VMs, data warehouses,\nand more.\n\nDocumentation resources\n-----------------------\n\nFind quickstarts and guides, review key references, and get help with common issues. \nformat_list_numbered\n\n### Guides\n\n-\n\n [GDCV for VMware overview](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/overview)\n\n-\n\n [Set up infrastructure](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/how-to/vsphere-requirements)\n\n-\n\n [Get started](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/how-to/minimal-infrastructure)\n\n-\n\n [Install components](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/how-to/cloud-sdk)\n\n-\n\n [Create a user cluster in the Google Cloud console](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/how-to/create-user-cluster-api)\n\n-\n\n [Upgrade and update components](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/how-to/upgrading)\n\nformat_list_numbered\n\n### Tasks\n\n-\n\n [Deploy workloads](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/how-to/deploy-first-app)\n\n-\n\n [Set up load balancing](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/how-to/setup-load-balance)\n\n-\n\n [Configure storage](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/concepts/storage)\n\n-\n\n [Operate and maintain clusters](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/how-to/preflight-checks)\n\n-\n\n [Secure your environment](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/concepts/security)\n\n-\n\n [Monitor and log clusters](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/concepts/logging-and-monitoring)\n\ninfo\n\n### Support and resources\n\n-\n\n [gkectl command-line tool](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/reference/gkectl)\n\n-\n\n [Troubleshoot](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/troubleshoot-overview)\n\n-\n\n [Get support](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/getting-support)\n\n-\n\n [Security bulletins](/anthos/clusters/docs/security-bulletins)\n\n-\n\n [Release notes](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.16/release-notes)\n\nRelated videos\n--------------"]]
