Overview

In this section, you provision a Google Axion C4A virtual machine on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using the c4a-standard-32 machine type, which provides 16 vCPUs and 128 GB of memory. This VM size is required for building a Yocto-based image in the next steps.

Note

For general guidance on setting up a Google Cloud account and project, see the Learning Path Getting started with Google Cloud Platform .

Provision a Google Axion C4A VM in Google Cloud Console

To create a virtual machine using the C4A instance type:

  • Open the Google Cloud Console .
  • Go to Compute Engine > VM instances, and then select Create instance.
  • Under Machine configuration:
    • Specify an Instance name, Region, and Zone.
    • Set Series to C4A.
    • Select c4a-standard-32 as the machine type.

Image Alt Text:Google Cloud Console VM creation page with the C4A machine series selected and the c4a-standard-32 machine type highlightedCreating a Google Axion C4A virtual machine in the Google Cloud Console

  • Under OS and storage, select Change, and then choose an Arm64-based operating system image.
    • For this Learning Path, select Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
    • Increase Size (GB) from 10 to 100 to allocate sufficient disk space.
    • Select Choose to apply the changes.

Image Alt Text:Selecting Ubuntu LTS 22.04 with 100GB disk space highlightedSelecting Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with 100GB disk space

  • Under Networking, enable Allow HTTP traffic and Allow HTTPS traffic to simplify access for later Kubernetes testing.
  • Select Create to launch the virtual machine.

Image Alt Text:Configuring the required networking settingsConfiguring the VM network

After the instance starts, click SSH next to the VM in the instance list to open a browser-based terminal session.

Image Alt Text:Google Cloud Console VM instances list with the SSH button highlighted for a running C4A instanceConnecting to a running C4A virtual machine using SSH

A new browser window opens with a terminal connected to your virtual machine.

Image Alt Text:Browser-based terminal window showing a command prompt on an Ubuntu Linux VM running on Google Axion C4ATerminal session connected to the virtual machine

Note

This is a rather expensive VM given its vCPU and memory usage. It is highly recommended to delete this VM once you have completed this learning path!

What you’ve accomplished and what’s next

In this section, you:

  • Provisioned a Google Axion C4A VM on Google Cloud Platform
  • Configured the VM for Arm64-based Yocto image builds

Next, you’ll use this VM to build a Yocto image for your target hardware. Continue to the Yocto installation section to complete your edge deployment workflow.

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