Google Cloud Platform Organization Best Practices and Structure

Organizing your Google Cloud Platform (GCP) resources is crucial for efficient management and scalability. A well-structured organization can help you save time and reduce costs.

To start, it's essential to understand the concept of folders in GCP. Folders are used to organize resources at a high level, similar to how you would use a file cabinet to store important documents.

Having a clear naming convention for folders is vital for easy identification and navigation. For instance, you can use a hierarchical naming convention, such as "projects/region/organization." This helps maintain consistency across your organization.

Consistency is key when it comes to naming conventions. It's best to avoid using special characters, such as underscores or hyphens, and instead stick to a standardized naming format. This makes it easier for team members to understand and work with your resources.

If you've just created your Google Workspace or Cloud Identity account and associated it with a domain, you're already halfway to setting up your organization resource. This resource will be automatically created for you.

The organization resource will be provisioned at different times depending on your account status. If you're new to Google Cloud, it will be created when you log in to the Google Cloud console and accept the terms and conditions. If you're an existing Google Cloud user, it will be created when you create a new project or billing account.

All projects and billing accounts created under your Google Workspace or Cloud Identity domain will be children of this organization resource. This means they'll be automatically linked to it.

You'll need to move any existing projects that are listed under "No organization" into your new organization resource. Don't worry, it's easy to do.

Here are the steps to follow:

Each Google Workspace or Cloud Identity account is associated with exactly one organization resource. This resource is linked to your Google Workspace or Cloud Identity account with the project or billing account you created set as a child resource.

Project management in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) organization is a straightforward process. You can create projects in your organization resource using the Google Cloud console after enabling the organization resource for your domain.

To create a new project, go to the Manage resources page in the Google Cloud console, select the organization resource, and click Create Project. You can also create a project by setting its parent field to the organizationId of the organization resource.

Creating a project requires a unique name, which can contain letters, numbers, single quotes, hyphens, spaces, or exclamation points, and must be between 4 and 30 characters. You'll also need to select a billing account and choose the location for your project.

Projects in an organization resource can be listed and viewed by users with access to the organization resource. The Organization Administrator can view and list all projects in the organization resource.

Here's how to list projects in an organization resource using the Google Cloud console:

Alternatively, you can use the projects.list() method to list all the projects under a parent resource.

It's worth noting that the default network for a GCP project is usually configured coarsely, leaving the risk of unwanted access to resources in the network. To avoid this, it's recommended to disable the auto-creation of default networks.

Administration is a crucial part of managing your Google Cloud Platform organization. You can delegate Google Cloud administrators by following a few simple steps.

To start, click the "Delegate setup" button on the Organization Setup page in the Google Cloud console. This will take you to a page where you can enter the email addresses of individuals or groups you want to add as Organization Administrators.

You can add more administrators later by clicking "Set Permissions" on the Identity & Organization page. To get your organization resource ID, go to the Google Cloud console, select your organization resource from the project picker, and click "More" followed by "Settings".

To get a Google Cloud Platform account, you'll need to sign up on the Google Cloud Console website. The registration process is free and takes only a few minutes to complete.

Google Cloud offers a free tier for many of its services, allowing you to try out its features without incurring costs. This tier is perfect for testing and development purposes.

You'll need to provide some basic information, such as your name, email address, and password, to create a new account. Make sure to choose a strong and unique password to keep your account secure.

After signing up, you'll be asked to verify your email address by clicking on a confirmation link sent by Google Cloud. This step is crucial to activate your account and gain access to the Google Cloud Console.

Once your account is activated, you can start exploring the Google Cloud Console and setting up your first project.

Your organization resource ID is a unique identifier that's automatically created when your organization resource is created.

It's formatted as a decimal number and cannot have leading zeroes.

You can get your organization resource ID using the Google Cloud console.

The gcloud CLI is another option for retrieving your ID.

The Cloud Resource Manager API also allows you to get your organization resource ID.

The Settings page displays your organization resource ID for easy access.

To get started with console setup, go to the Google Cloud console. This is where you'll find your organization resource ID.

From the project picker at the top of the page, select your organization resource. This will allow you to access your organization's settings.

On the right side of the page, click More, and then click Settings to access your organization's settings.

Here's a quick rundown of the steps:

To set up your organization resource, you'll need to assign the Organization Administrator role to a user or group. This role is necessary for managing your organization resource and all the resources underneath it.

The Organization Administrator role is assigned using the Identity and Access Management (IAM) role, specifically the roles/resourcemanager.organizationAdmin role. This role is automatically granted to all users in your domain when your organization resource is created.

You can find more information about using Google Workspace or Cloud Identity super admin accounts in Google Cloud in the Super Admin Best Practices document. This is recommended reading for anyone who will be managing your organization resource.

To get started with setting up your organization resource, follow these steps:

Note: If you're an existing Google Cloud user, your organization resource will be created when you create a new project or billing account. Any projects you created previously will be listed under "No organization", and this is normal.

To migrate your existing projects and billing accounts into a Google Cloud Platform organization, you'll need to follow a few steps.

First, all projects created under an organization resource will automatically belong to the organization resource. You can also migrate already existing projects into the organization resource.

If you're an owner or an editor of a project and a Project Creator for the organization resource, you can migrate projects directly. If you're an Organization Administrator, you can request project owners give you control of a project so you can migrate it into your organization resource.

Project migration isn't reversible, so be careful before making the move. After a project is associated with an organization resource, you can't change it back to No organization or move it to another organization resource on your own.

To request project or billing account migration, go to the Google Cloud console Identity & Organization page. In the Request projects or billing accounts from box, add the email addresses for the billing account or project owners you want to request projects from, then click Request.

Here's a step-by-step guide to requesting project or billing account migration:

The billing account or project owners will receive an email with your request for migration. After they approve migration, you'll receive an email with a link to complete migration.