Guided Lab: Setting up a Web Server on a VM Instance

Jon-Bonso

Description

Google Cloud Compute Engine allows you to create and run virtual machines (VMs) on Google’s infrastructure. By configuring a VM with a web server, you can host websites or applications directly in the cloud. This lab will guide you through setting up a simple Nginx web server on a VM instance, verifying that it serves content, and ensuring external access through firewall rules.

Prerequisites

To ensure the successful completion of this lab, you must have prior experience in creating VM instances and be familiar with their essential components. If you feel that your knowledge in this area is insufficient, we highly recommend taking this lab to gain the necessary understanding:

Guided Lab: How to Launch a GCP Compute Engine Linux Instance

Objectives

In this lab, you will:

Create a VM instance in Google Cloud.
Configure and run a simple Nginx web server.
Verify that the server is accessible externally.
Apply a firewall rule to allow HTTP traffic.

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Lab Steps

Create a Compute Engine VM Instance

1. Create a VM instance using the following machine configurations:

Name: Enter your desired instance name.
Machine type: Choose e2-micro (Preset)

2. Under OS and storage, click the Change button to modify the Boot disk:

Operating System: Ubuntu
Version: 24.04 LTS Minimal (x86/64, amd64 noble minimal image built on 2025‑12‑17)
Click Select once done.

3. Under Network → Firewall, check:

Allow HTTP traffic

4. Leave other configurations at their default values.

5. Once done, click the Create button.

Set Up a Web Server

1. SSH into the VM from the console.

2. Run the following commands:

# Update system
sudo apt update -y

# Install Nginx
sudo apt install nginx -y

# Start Nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx

# Create a custom HTML page in the HTML directory
echo '<h1>Welcome to my web page!</h1>' | sudo tee /usr/share/nginx/html/mypage.html > /dev/null

# Add the configuration directly
echo 'server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    server_name _;
    root /usr/share/nginx/html;
    
    location / {
        index mypage.html;
    }
}' | sudo tee /etc/nginx/conf.d/server.conf > /dev/null

# Remove the default site to avoid duplicate default_server errors:
sudo unlink /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

# Test and Reload Nginx for the changes to take effect
sudo nginx -t && sudo service nginx reload

# Enable Nginx at boot
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Verify Web Server

1. From your local browser, visit:

http://<VM_EXTERNAL_IP>

2. You should see your custom HTML page.

Congratulations! You have successfully set up a web server on a VM instance in Google Cloud. You created a VM, installed and configured Nginx, ensured firewall rules allowed external access, and verified that your server is serving content. This workflow demonstrates how to host a simple website in Google Cloud, laying the foundation for more advanced deployments such as load balancing, SSL/TLS configuration, and scaling.